Exhibition 'The SS: Versatile Extremism' in Freedom Museum
The SS is one of the most infamous organisations in history. The name SS immediately recalls images of blond Aryan men, ruthless camp guards, and death squads. However, this image is incomplete. The SS was a very broad criminal organisation that pointed its arrows at every aspect of society. Who knew that the SS organised archaeological expeditions to Tibet, planted herb gardens at concentration camps, and that the Waffen-SS was one of the most multicultural organisations on earth? From 11 October 2017 to 15 April 2018 the National Liberation Museum will present the exhibition ‘The SS: Versatile Extremism’ which will elaborate on the unknown and hidden history of the SS, its structure, its cruelties, and all its weird and bizarre aspects.
The SS often appears in media in myths, fish stories, and stereotypes. The SS is also romanticized in sensationalist pulp documentaries, organisations of ex-SS members, and neo-Nazis. This makes the subject of the SS vulnerable to falsifications of history. The National Liberation Museum then also presents this exhibition with a specific goal in mind: preventing misinformation on one of the most evil organisations of the Second World War and giving a broader and more complete image of the SS.
The common thread is versatile extremism: the goal of the SS was to drive the National Socialist ideology to the extreme. The SS did this in every aspect of life ranging from medicine to corporate life and the reform of Christmas. In all this, the SS was heavily influenced by the personal irrationality and cruelty of the eccentric people in charge and particularly by Himmler’s personal ideas on race, antisemitism and old-Germanic mysticism.
‘The SS: Versatile Extremism’ shows extraordinary objects and photographs on loan from Dutch and German museums and collections amongst which the Eyewitness Museum in Beek and Porzellanikon in Selb. These highlights will be shown along with impressive photographs, video footage and astonishing biographies.
