Conception of the air force museum:
The museum being in German Federal Armed Forces is supposed not to represent military history isolatedly, but in connection with the historical entire evolution of the respective eras. The emphasis of the representation rests with that on the military evolution in Germany since 1945th So a special emphasis is placed to the “Bundeswehr” and to the “Nationalen Volksarmee” in their integration into the respective alliance systems and the way onto the history from the confrontation for the production of the German unit in the year 1990.
The air force museum represents the history of the military aviation and aerial warfare guided tour in Germany of their beginnings up to the presence and puts it into the historical entire connection. This includes the processing of the aerial warfare operations of opposing armed forces in the world wars against Germany and the presence of other armed forces on German ground after 1945.
History of the air force museum:
His origin of the collecting-passion of an official to the German Federal Armed Forces administration owes the air force museum of German Federal Armed Forces. In 1957 the “Regierungsamtmann” Helmut Jaeckel had begun to gather pieces of equipment of soldiers of the “Wehrmacht” at the air force site Uetersen. Those ones were uniforms, technical device, orders and honor signs. A gold served gymnasium was first place of issue on the airfield Uetersen that is called “Marseille-Kaserne” today. In order to be able to overcome expenditure combined with the company of the museum, in 1963 was set up the "Kuratorium Luftwaffenmuseum e.V." In 1967 Oberstarzt Dr. Boecker took over the management of the collection that had increased within the last ten years to a considerable museum. Under his direction the resistance-technical page of the museum was expanded. The incorporation of a Heinkel He-111 and a Messerschmitt Bf-109 belonged for this purpose as a present of the Spanish air forces.
 Also the expansion of the uniform collection did in this time great headway. After just further ten years the museum with more than 15.000 exhibits on 5.000 square m of one of the largest of his kind in Europe was, with that had accepted also an extent that did not approve the continued existence supported only onto private donation money. With that themselves did not let either the current operating costs cover even bigger new purchases allow. The “Kuratorium” offered the museum to the an Federal Armed Forces as present. The incorporation of the museum occurred officially 1987. From the “Kuratorium Luftwaffenmuseum” was the “Foerderverein des Luftwaffenmuseums der Bundeswehr e.V.”, that today in amplified form the museum in a lot respect advises and supports.
The museum arose from private initiative, and it does not become in spite of governmental working group without the commitment as soon as the aid and relief of the supporting-association reach the ambitious destinations.
After the recapture of the unit of Germany the documentation of the history of the air forces of the National Nation Army and the incorporation of the corresponding airplanes began, technical devices and uniforms. Through that the existence of the exhibits of the museum increased itself around about 70 % !
The decreed transfer of the museum of Uetersen according to Berlin-Gatow began on 1st April 1995, it was completed on 1st March 1996. In an unprecedented action the existence of the air force museum became on the street, of the rail and promoted onto the new site on the airway. The transfer of the air force museum became in the frame of form and further education of the Repair-, transportation and envelope personnel of the air force support, also in cooperation with transportation strengths the other partial armed forces. 42 technicians and 40 more soldiers were busy with the dismantling of the airplanes and the packing of the material in Uetersen of in total 13.240 hours. With 553 Lkw shipments (plus 74 supporter) 3030 t were advanced material. 58 airplanes were flown in the air transport in 199 flight hours of helicopters as an exterior burden to Berlin. Right in the removal the museum opened at the 23.September 1995 reason of the 40. years consisting of the German Federal Armed Forces at the new site with a special exhibition "For the history of the military aviation in Germany 1886-1990" his receptions. At this inauguration celebration about 40.000 visitors were counted. In 1996 about 65.000 aviation interested ones visited the new Berlin museum, in 1997 already 112.000 visitors were it.
|
