When a chocolate factory in National Socialist Germany hands out pay packets bearing the message: “Remember your duty to maintain confidentiality”, it is natural to assume that something rather more explosive than chocolate is being produced there. And indeed, the factories set up in Geretsried Schwaige in the late 1930s were there to manufacture gun powder. Because it made the skin of the men and women who were forced to work there turn yellow, the (slave) labourers were soon dubbed “canaries” by the local population. This inglorious chapter in the history of Geretsried ended with the American occupation; the relocation of displaced people in the year 1946 finally marked the actual beginning of the city’s history, which was very much defined by the different cultures, skills and traditions of its new settlers.
The divided history of the city is also mirrored in our exhibition design, where we chose to exploit the fact that the museum consists of two separate buildings. This means visitors initially enter the smaller building in front of the main museum, which takes them directly to the explosives factory, before they “step into the shoes” of refugees relocated to Geretsried at the end of the war. They have to traverse a deliberately uncomfortable path over a ramp offering glimpses back to their homeland, which takes them to the main building of the museum. There they first have to undergo a delousing session, before getting a detailed insight into what life in the barracks was like for such displaced people. How Geretsried developed from this barrack state to become a prosperous city, thanks to the different cultures, skills and traditions of Egerland, Danube Swabian, Silesian and Transylvanian settlers, is the focus of the main part of the exhibition, which features a rich mix of original artefacts, listening posts and interactive exhibits.