3 May 2024 press release

The German Museum of Books and Writing at the German National Library in Leipzig will be launching a showcase exhibition on 8 May to mark the 75th birthday of the Basic Law.

Titled "This is us! 75 years of Basic Law. A publication history", it will explore how this major work has been received on the publication market. The exhibition will be accessible both virtually and in person in order to reach as wide a public as possible. Starting with the original documents of 1949, which are bound in parchment resp. red leather, the exhibition will present an extensive range of editions and adaptations of the Basic Law: the expensive and the cheap, the literary and the artistic, the humorous and the technical through to the free editions provided for each advanced secondary school class. Literary versions such as those by Herta Müller and Wolf Biermann will be displayed alongside editions in Braille, art books and children's books. There will also be comics, caricatures and a wealth of specialised legal literature and translations. Visitors to the promotional area at the exhibition will be invited to explore the themes of Basic Law, rule of law and democracy interactively.

As the memory of the nation, the German National Library preserves hundreds of editions and reprints of the constitution in its stacks in a wide variety of surprising formats and textures. Some editions of the Basic Law are subject to the cycles of contemporary history, while others have had a long tradition of regular publication since 1949. Collectively, these holdings make up a repository of knowledge on the democratic essence of Germany. Originally created as a stopgap in 1949, the Basic Law became the national constitution following the reunification of Germany in 1990. It compels the state to protect its citizens from despotism and violence. The exhibition testifies to the significance and value of the Basic Law as the foundation of a democracy which cannot be taken for granted but must rather be lived out in practice again and again – especially in times when sceptical, negative attitudes towards democracy are being voiced at increasing volume.

The exhibition therefore also perceives itself as a contribution by the German National Library to "Freedom of Speech Week", in which attention will be drawn to the importance of freedom of speech in a free, democratic and diverse society.

More information
"This is us! 75 years of Basic Law. A publication history"
Foyer presentation at the German National Library’s German Museum of Book and Writing
9 May to 17 November 2024
Exhibition opening on Wednesday, 8 May, 18:00
dnb.de/grundgesetz

Virtual exhibition
https://ausstellungen.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/75-jahre-grundgesetz-dnb/

Background

The German National Library collects, documents and archives all written publications and sound recordings issued in Germany since 1913 together with works in German and about Germany published worldwide; it then makes them available to the public. It offers a comprehensive range of services at its sites in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main along with digital services that can be accessed all over the world.

With the German Exile Archive 1933-1945 and the German Museum of Books and Writing, the German National Library also has valuable and rich special collections. It regularly organises readings, exhibitions, presentations and concerts to draw attention to its treasures and promotes a culture of books, reading and music with a diverse programme of events.

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