German Resistance Memorial Center 1945 to the Present
The Bendler Block from 1945 to the Present
July 20, 1952
On the initiative of relatives of the resistance fighters of July 20, 1944, Eva Olbricht, widow of General Friedrich Olbricht, laid the cornerstone for a memorial in the courtyard of the Bendler Block.
July 20, 1953
Berlin's mayor Ernst Reuter unveiled the monument created by Professor Richard Scheibe, the bronze figure of a young man with his hands bound.
In front of the monument is a text by Professor Edwin Redslob:
You did not bear the shame.
You fought back.
You gave the great,
Forever tireless
Sign of change,
Sacrificing your glowing life
For freedom,
Justice, and honor.
July 20, 1955
The Bendlerstrasse was ceremonially renamed "Stauffenbergstrasse".
July 20, 1960
Mayor Franz Amrehn unveiled a memorial plaque in the commemorative courtyard bearing the names of the officers executed in the Bendler Block on July 20, 1944.
July 20, 1967
On the initiative of surviving members of the resistance and their relatives, the Berlin Senate resolved to establish a memorial and educational center intended to inform the public about resistance to National Socialism.
July 20, 1968
The permanent exhibition in three of the historical rooms on the second upper floor was opened.
November 29, 1979
The parties in Berlin's state parliament reached agreement on the proposal to expand the memorial and educational center on Stauffenbergstrasse.
1980
The memorial courtyard was remodeled according to a design by Professor Erich Reusch. The following inscription was engraved in the wall of the entrance to the commemorative courtyard:
"Here in the former Army High Command, Germans organized the attempt to overthrow the lawless National Socialist regime on July 20, 1944. For this they sacrificed their lives."
1980-83
The Federal Republic of Germany progressively made additional rooms in the Bendler Block available to the state of Berlin.
1983
Berlin's mayor Richard von Weizsäcker commissioned historian Professor Peter Steinbach from Passau and designer Professor Hans Peter Hoch from Stuttgart to create a new permanent exhibition depicting and documenting the entire broad and varied spectrum of German resistance.
July 20, 1986
Partial opening of the new exhibition of the German Resistance Memorial Center.
July 19, 1989
The permanent exhibition Resistance to National Socialism in the historic rooms of the attempted coup of July 20, 1944, on the second floor of the Bendler Block was fully opened to the public. In twenty-six sections, more than 5,000 photographs and documents illustrate the motives, actions, and goals of individuals, groups, and organizations involved in resistance to National Socialism.
July 1, 2014
Opening of the new permanent exhibition Resistance to National Socialism in the historic rooms of the attempted coup of July 20, 1944, on the second floor of the Bendler Block.
