Speech by the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, at the opening of the exhibition "Merovingian Period - Europe without Borders" on 12 March 2007 in Moscow
Press release from 03/12/2007
Germany and Russia have a long shared history, a history that is not only characterised by real political developments, but also to a large extent by close cultural ties and connections. Literature, music, theatre and the fine arts have had a profound and lasting mutual impact in both countries. Museums, libraries and archives and the people who build up, maintain and make accessible this cultural memory form a very important foundation for art, culture and science. You know that Germany and Russia are also and above all culture. They know that the self-image of relationships is not based on territorial or ethnic aspects but on cultural aspects, which can ultimately establish a canon of values.
Culture needs knowledge, needs history and tradition. Through knowledge we learn to understand, we learn to grasp connections. With cultural education, we learn to set standards and orientate ourselves - in our own and in others. History teaches us that we could have been different and why we did not become so. Tradition guarantees that we are part of certain ways of life that have shaped us and that we do not have to reinvent ourselves every day.
Only if we invest in cultural education will we create the decisive conditions for the necessary openness to think in new ways and for the necessary appreciation of living together humanely. An economically determined world view alone is not enough. It must be complemented by our cultural self-image and our ability to engage in cultural dialogue. This is the soul of every relationship, our soul.
The barbarism of the 20th century brought the happy years of German-Russian relations to an abrupt end; the war started by Germany desecrated our cultural assets. We have lost our soul. After all this disaster, after all this alienation, we have once again become very aware of the deficits and shortcomings precisely because of our cultural education. Germany and Russia are related to each other in a special way. There is an almost lively interest in agreeing on common ideas again. "We are opening a new white page", Irina Antonova once said in an interview. Yes, and I would add, not by narrowing our view, but by recognising the historical dimension of the future.
Today's opening of the Merovingian exhibition is in many ways a successful start to making the soul sound again.
We have deliberately chosen the title: Merovingian period - Europe without borders. It is the Migration Period from the 4th to the 8th century, which was formative for European history, sealed the downfall of antiquity, promoted the emergence of new empires and signalled a cultural awakening from the Urals to the coasts of the Atlantic, through which a unified cultural area paradoxically expressed itself in the diversity of cultures - that which still characterises Europe today. But it was also a great opportunity to organise a highly professional and trusting collaboration between the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Russian Historical Museum and the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Berlin in order to realise an outstanding exhibition and academic conferences on the subject.
Our sincere thanks go to all those involved. An outstanding result has been achieved. But the exhibition also has another dimension. The majority of the objects on display are cultural artefacts from the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Berlin that were "relocated" due to the war.
These artefacts were considered lost for over sixty years. As part of the preparations for the exhibition, the Berlin scientists were given access to the Russian special depots for the first time and received all the support they needed to process the artefacts. A comprehensive catalogue in Russian, German and English will be published as permanent documentation, showing the wealth of the collections, but also their absurd fragmentation. The exhibition aims to achieve transparency, enlightenment and historical awareness and to demystify the term "looted art". The big question about the future of looted art has not yet been resolved. But the exhibition opens up opportunities in the political discourse. This step was desired by both sides at the expert level. It can already be stated that the results were achieved in a very positive and trusting working atmosphere, that the strengthening of contacts through bilateral exchange is desired and that further themed exhibitions including the respective collection history are planned.
The experts are fulfilling their mandate here to bring the treasures back into the scientific and public eye. The opportunities for further steps lie in the public impact associated with the exhibition.
After all, the history of collections is the history of knowledge. The respective collections of the museums are the intellectual diary of society - collected in the spirit of the Enlightenment and with an interest in the historical roots of Europe.
I wish the exhibition in Moscow and then in St Petersburg great success. I cherish the hope that the cultural context will once again determine the whereabouts and not the concept of the trophy.