5.9.2018 to 4.11.2018 at the Stadtmuseum Bonn

For more than four years, life in what is now the city of Bonn was dominated by the war on the fronts of the First World War.

Despite the increasing shortage of almost all everyday necessities - people suffered from a lack of food, clothing and fuel - and despite the fact that almost every family in Bonn had to mourn the fallen, the majority of the population supported the war effort of the German Empire on the "home front" with great willingness to make sacrifices until the very end.

At the same time, "normal life" continued in many areas, as demonstrated by the large number of cultural events and leisure activities on offer.

The exhibition focused on the decisive year of the war, 1918: for most people in Bonn, it began with the hope of an imminent - and for the German side - victorious peace. The year brought death and destruction to the city for the first time with the air raid on October 31 and ended completely unexpectedly for almost everyone with the retreat of the German troops across the Rhine.

The exhibition documented the events of that time, primarily using the rich treasures of the Bonn City Archives. In particular, it was able to draw on Bonn's "war collection", which was established 100 years ago and whose holdings have survived the turmoil of the time to an extraordinary degree, parts of which were now presented to the public for the first time.

In addition, there was a supporting program with the topics "When will this misery end?" On the supply and food situation in Bonn during the First World War (Dr. Stephen Schröder), Culture in Bonn at the time of the First World War (Dr. Arnold Maurer), "Without significant shocks for Bonn..." The end of the war and revolution (Dr. Christoph Studt) and "We never want to forget what happened in these days." Bonn in the air war 1914 - 1918 (Richard Hedrich-Winter).