McNair Museum News

[uscob]

see here:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...85#post4509385

[Christophe]

Sad, sad, sad....

Hi Nico,

This is indeed very sad news, and to see the pics you posted is really despairating...

You will see here the museum end of last year :
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=483529

Thanks to Nico, I have visited it at the last minute, I believe. And Nico's fears about this development project have been - unfortunately - confirmed. I hope you managed to keep the collections in a safe place and that you will find a new place soon.

BTW, if you need room for some of them...

Good luck, Nico, and , please, let me know if I can help !!

Cheers.

Ch.

PS : It is really time to post more pic of the Museum. Coming soon...

[Ralph P]

Nico - Sorry to read that this is now happening. I hope this can get resolved soon so collectors and person who enjoy Cold War history can see a snap shot of history...

[uscob]

the translation of the news article:


“McNair Museum Worried About its Future”<o></o>

Memorial Museum to the Three Western Allies in Berlin has to Clear its Rooms- years may pass before a planned building site is finished<o></o>
“Berliner Morgenpost” February 5, 2011<o></o>
<o></o>

by Brigitte Schmiemann<o></o>
(translated by Mariya Fogarasi)<o></o>
<o></o>
It’s cold, the landlord has turned off the heat and the mood of the club members is dark: the friends of the former western allies in Berlin – amongst them many former civilian employees of the US army but also countless US soldiers who have chosen to make Berlin their home, are more than just a little concerned. Their museum which took so many years to establish is in danger of closing for good because the owner of the former McNair Barracks in Lichterfelde, whose rooms they have been able to use, wants to renovate and turn the space into apartments. The club, which has used the space for its exhibits since 1998, has to move out, at least for the time being…but where to store all the inventory which allows visitors to relive the story of postwar Berlin right up until 1994, when the allies departed?<o></o>
<o></o>>
On display are American, British and French uniforms and helmets as well as old telephones which once stood in the military offices. Visitors can see typewriters from the Teufelsberg Field Station with dual keyboards for Cyrillic letters and endless paper rolls so that the Cold War radio messages from the Soviets could be recorded as quickly as possible. Thanks to the quick-thinking and long-sighted dedication of former civilians and soldiers alike, much memorabilia ranging from utensils to signs was saved for display. For instance, one sign “No Wall Too High” gave encouragement to radio operators in the Clayallee headquarters. The “Initiativkreis Stiftung Berlin” dedicated another area of the museum to the history of the Armed Forces Network and the German-American “Volksfest” (festival) which took place annually on Hüttenweg . <o></o>
<o></o>
The investors have offered the club two containers in which to store their displays but the club chairman, Peter Kauschke (67) and board member James Calvin Moss (68) fear that this solution won’t work. “If we have to store our exhibits for years, our club will die.”<o></o>
<o></o>
Through an addendum to the sales contract in 2007, previous owners of the property ensured that the club would get space in one of the newer buildings under favorable rental terms, and according to Bartosz Dzbuk, Managing Director of the Lesley Lofts company, this is still planned. However, financing for the project is planned for the existing, older buildings in which 11,000 square meters of living space, consisting of 162 lofts and penthouses will be built (construction began already in December). “The apartments are supposed to be finished by the end of 2012, and the financing of the new museum is supposed to come from the profit, which we will start at the latest in 2013”, explained Dzbuk. <o></o>
<o></o>
The club fears that delays may lead to everything taking much longer than foreseen and thus, members need a solution for the time being to keep their “meeting place” for German- Allied friendship alive. They want to try and rent space in the area, and warehousing/storage capacity is also needed. Unfortunately, the club does not have much money; up until now they paid only EUR 480 in operating costs. General Manager Dzbuk may well pay part of the cost “if it’s within reason as containers for storage would also cost money. Up until now, we had already paid the approx. EUR 1400 heating costs”.<o></o>>
<o></o>
The next meeting with District Mayor Norbert Kopp (Christian Democrat) on February 17^th was to have found a solution acceptable to both parties. <o></o>
……………………..<o></o>
Current status on March 16^th: the club moved out on March 10^th and handed over the keys. To date, no further progress has been made. <o></o>
<o></o>>
For info: the club has 250 members, mainly former employees of the three western allied powers, who run and maintain the memorial site on the Goerzalle in Lichterfelde, which is also visited by veterans and school classes. The club is also supported by Ted Mohr (86), former translator for General Lucius D. Clay. <o></o>

[ehrentitle]

Nico, Any update on the McNair museum's status?

[uscob]

Sadly not.
We're still waiting for the houseowners money to start something new.
Personally he owes me also some thousand Euros.
The Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, a kind of volunteer District Government decided thet the district has to support us in the realization of a new Museum, but the Mayor said in a Newspaper interviev that he isn't able to do so.
I really cant understand that. When we were "in Business", he allway's used us to promote himself , like coming to Parties, VFW, or Embassy Events etc. But after that, he doesn't knows us anymore.

[ehrentitle]

That's too bad, I was hoping for better news. It was an excellent museum and I was very fortunate to visit it before it closed.

[uscob]

That's too bad, I was hoping for better news. It was an excellent museum and I was very fortunate to visit it before it closed.

I hope in the future I can give you better news. Greetings from Uwe to you.
He asked when you'll come back to Berlin. He really liked it to meet you again.

[ehrentitle]

I hope in the future I can give you better news. Greetings from Uwe to you.
He asked when you'll come back to Berlin. He really liked it to meet you again.

Give my reguards to Uwe. Tell him he can send me that sign from his garden gate. Hopefully I'll be back in Berlin next year, although my wife is more interested in visiting Italy and France.