"How does a young person become a democrat?" asked Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during his inaugural visit to Göttingen University in June 2017, referring to Adam von Trott and asking how Trott was able to develop into the free thinker and committed democrat that he was, given his background and the time in which he grew up. This is also the question to which answers are given in the first room of our new permanent exhibition. What and who shaped him? Who were his parents and siblings? What stimuli did he absorb at school and university? What role did his travels abroad - which took him to the USA and the Far East, among other places - play? With the help of creative media, visitors to the exhibition are invited to discover Adam von Trott and his background.
The second room depicts the caesura that the National Socialists' seizure of power also meant for Adam von Trott's life and his search for his own position, professional opportunities and scope. How did he deal with the increasing restrictions, the persecution of Jewish fellow citizens and political dissidents, how did he behave? What decisions did he make?
In the third room, the resistance activist Adam von Trott is portrayed. What did his work actually look like? Who were his friends, how was it possible for him to establish a resilient network of like-minded people? What concepts for a Germany and Europe after National Socialism did he and his fellow campaigners discuss? What happened on July 20, 1944 and afterwards? Visitors to the exhibition can find out all this - and much more - for themselves at various stations.
One aim of the exhibition is to stimulate questions in visitors about the fate and thoughts of Adam von Trott. How do I see the world and democracy in Germany today? How can I behave and what responsibility can I take?
"The exhibition organizers have managed to turn the seemingly difficult spatial situation in the Imshäuser Herrenhaus, Adam von Trott's parents' house, into an advantage." D. Frauke Geyken
The exhibition can be visited byappointment from Monday to Friday between 09:00 - 16:00 on your own or in small groups. Admission is free, donations are requested.
Please also visit our virtual exhibition