Future of the 1950s Museum in Bremerhaven uncertain: What now?

Transparenz: Redaktionell erstellt und geprüft.
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Bremerhaven is faced with the challenge of making the 1950s museum future-proof after the location has been canceled and the doors closed.

Bremerhaven steht vor der Herausforderung, das 50er-Jahre-Museum nach Standortkündigung und geschlossenen Türen zukunftssicher zu gestalten.
Bremerhaven is faced with the challenge of making the 1950s museum future-proof after the location has been canceled and the doors closed.

Future of the 1950s Museum in Bremerhaven uncertain: What now?

The 1950s Museum in Bremerhaven faces an uncertain future. It has been closed since October 9, 2025, and the former exhibition rooms in the former military chapel are empty. Over the past two decades, the museum has presented around 40,000 original items from the 1950s, which are still housed in a warehouse. Nils Schnorrenberger, the managing director of the Bremerhaven business development agency BIS, confirmed that all exhibits are now temporarily housed in an adjacent warehouse. These include such surprising objects as the inventory of a former pub, Coca-Cola advertising signs and a rotary telephone. The city has provided space in the warehouse for the next five years at a symbolic price of one euro.

But what is behind the closure? The reason lies in a tough dispute between the Bremerhaven Society for Investment Promotion and Urban Development (BIS) and the museum operators, Kerstin von Freytag Löringhoff and Dr. Rüdiger Ritter, is held. They had to leave the building because there was interest in buying the property. An eviction lawsuit is currently pending because the operators have not yet vacated the building. Discussions between the cultural city councilor Michael Frost, the museum associations and the operators are ongoing, but solutions seem to be rare.

Difficult negotiations

The head of the cultural department, Frost, emphasized that the city's tight budget situation means that financial support for the museum is not possible. The museum has so far only been able to exist thanks to BIS's favorable rental conditions. The lease for the building expired in 2018. The BIS had offered the operators support to accommodate the exhibits, but this was not accepted. The desire for a permanent solution that preserves the museum-worthy collection without interrupting its public presentation is all the clearer.

The 1950s Museum is considered an important enrichment of the museum landscape not only in Bremerhaven, but also has national significance. The uniqueness of the house to the everyday culture and mentality history of the post-war period in West Germany cannot be easily replaced. A petition is currently circulating that calls on the city council and the magistrate to take measures to preserve the museum in its current form. This is intended to largely exclude the public presentation of the exhibits and their damage.

The future is open

While the empty chapel is set to make way for an event location and a production facility for musicians, the question remains: What will happen next with the exhibits? The museum director now has five years to find a solution, but there is great uncertainty. A concept has been commissioned that describes thematic focuses as well as required spaces and financing options. The initiators are doing everything they can to preserve the legacy of the 1950s. Establishing a support association is also being considered in order to secure the financial basis and ensure the museum's identity in the future.

So the situation is still tense. Discussions are ongoing and the committed operators are doing everything they can to save the charm and uniqueness of the 1950s museum for Bremerhaven and beyond. We can only hope that the negotiations will soon move in a positive direction. We're staying tuned.

For more information about the museum's continued existence, please visit the website Buten and inland, read more at NWZ Online and sign the petition Change.org.