Politics and historical blockbuster exhibitions looking at the Staufer exhibition in Stuttgart in 1977.
Abstract
The Staufer exhibition in Stuttgart in 1977 was a historical blockbuster
exhibition, which established a type of state exhibitions in public's
consciousness and in historical culture. It contributed to the rising interest in
History in the public and played a vital part in rediscovering the Middle Ages
in Germany. It is asked who took the initiative to put it on? Which were the
aims intended by this exhibition and did the exhibition meet its set goals? The
research in the archives showed that what is said in the catalogue about the
initiative, is not the whole truth, because at first it was the wish of the then
State Prime Minister for a representative exhibition, but the theme and the
connection with the 25th anniversary of the state Baden-Wurttemberg were
proposed by others.