Aktionstag: Erinnerungen an das Kriegsende in Berlin
On Friday 16 May, 2025, the Berlin State Library and Facts & Files invite all to bring memorabilia from the post-World War II era to the Potsdamer Straße building. The personal documents will be digitised on site and published online, along with individual stories.
- Title:
- Arbeiter beim Verladen von Pflastersteinen vor dem Pergamonmuseum
- Institution:
- Central Archive, Berlin State Museums,
- Country:
- Germany
- Copyright:
- CC BY-NC-SA
10:00 — 18:00
(CEST) Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Potsdamer Straße 33, 10785 Berlin Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Saal (Foyer)
Eighty years ago, on May 8, 1945, the Second World War in Europe ended with the signing of the surrender document at the Soviet headquarters in Berlin-Karlshorst. In the midst of a devastated city, this marked a new beginning, combined with great challenges and hopes for the future.
To mark this significant historical event, the Berlin State Library and Facts & Files are launching a citizen science project to digitise and preserve private memories from the immediate postwar period. Letters, photos, diaries, and other personal documents from the period after May 8, 1945, until around 1950 will be digitised free of charge and without prior registration on the day of the event. They will then be made publicly accessible, along with the stories told, on the online portal 1945.transcribathon.eu.
In addition to the day of the event, it will be possible to upload documents independently via the citizen science portal until June 30, 2025. Anyone interested is also invited to register at 1945.transcribathon.eu and participate in the transcription and localization of the memorabilia. The day of the event is part of the Berlin theme week '80 Years Since the End of the War – Europe's Liberation from National Socialism,' a cooperation with Kulturprojekte Berlin, funded by the State of Berlin.