Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn

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Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn
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Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn

Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn

Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn

Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn

14th pictures

Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn
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Individually mobile in post-war Germany: with an auxiliary motor on the bike and…

Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn
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Now she is currently adorning a special exhibition.

Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn
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The much admired Zundapp Sport Combinette…

Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn
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Museum highlight on contemporary history:

Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn
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Just make it big (II): “Hooligans” with jeans and mopeds.

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… to Spain.

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Just make it big (I): The Vespa “Queen” from 1954 carried its owner…

Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn
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…authentic rust, which may be older than some of the visitors.

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the Simson moped from Suhl, including…

Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn
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Mass mobile for working people…

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…J. F. Kennedy.

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The authorities BMW remembered the state receptions in Bonn, for example…

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…Messerschmitt cabin scooter.

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Exactly this 50s was a present for the millionth guest worker in 1964.

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Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn

Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn
Contemporary history on two wheels

The much-visited House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn is a historical museum for politics and history since 1945. But it also prominently shows various motorcycles: Contemporary history on two wheels.

Thomas Schmieder

01/08/2015

At the beginning everyone has to go through rubble: Several hundred thousand visitors a year first pass memories of a country in ruins, of DRK search services, reconstruction and care packages. But also of the boom in democracy in West Germany and that of socialism in East Germany. Vehicles from the construction and transition period are part of this. A bicycle with a crank and a flanged Miele auxiliary motor illustrates the timidly resurgent private transport – between the VW Beetle and the Messerschmitt cabin scooter. In contrast, a Simson moped stands for the mass mobility of working people in the GDR.

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Contemporary history on two wheels

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Two-wheelers in their historical, social context. This is exactly what is special about Bonn: This is not about technology, but about the interpretation and meaning of the motorcycle. There are much more important motorcycle museums with more machines and more important types. But as one of the ten most visited museums in Germany, the House of History confronts a surprising number of aspects of two-wheel history. His entertaining permanent exhibition on the development of Germany since 1945 sets standards through diversity and modern, multimedia presentation; his temporary exhibitions are widely recognized. And always in the thick of it: special two-wheelers.

Sensible, exciting, elegant and dignified

It looks elegant and dignified Vespa “Queen” with chrome trim and spare wheel in perfect condition. The 125cc scooter with 5 hp and twist grip shifted for a whopping 1525 marks in 1954. It stands for the economic miracle and the longing for the Italian way of life in the Federal Republic of the 1950s, for the first vacation trips to the other side of the Alps, for “affordable luxury and a lifestyle”. Come out into another world!

Exciting in the 1950s department are photos of “youngsters” on mopeds – small escapes or a total breakout from a supposedly petty-bourgeois idyll? The memory of how jeans and leather jackets were a taboo break in the musty (West) German society of the 50s and 60s fits in with this. Sensible: The movie poster for “The Wild One” shows Marlon Brando as the leader of a rocker gang. Representative: A former escort BMW in police green from the 1960s illustrates the chapter on state receptions in the Bonn republic at the subway entrance to the museum. Fittingly in front of photos and film recordings of John F. Kennedy’s visit to the Rhine in 1963, on which many “white mice” drive, that is the nickname thanks to the drivers in snow-white leather.

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Complex story (s) with typical two-wheelers illustrated

One of the most famous exhibits in the whole house – and there are thousands of them – also has two wheels: the Zundapp Sport Combinette of the millionth guest worker in West Germany. Prepared for a museum, the 1970s await with student unrest and “flower power”, with Che Guevara and the leather jacket (!) Of street fighters. And with a brightly painted overseas shipping container on the subject of imports and exports.

Inside is a Honda CB 750 F, a small Bol d’Or. Together with hi-fi equipment and cameras, the 750 series is a symbol of how Japanese products flowed to Europe and Germany in this era: inexpensive, large-scale and of high quality. Small flaw: The four-cylinder Honda is equipped with a retrofit fairing, so it never arrived brand new from the land of the rising sun. The curator was wrong here. Nevertheless, it is praiseworthy, as the museum repeatedly illustrates complex history (s) with typical two-wheelers. Original enamel signs on the walls with advertising for moped, motorcycle and car brands from the 50s and 60s are evidence of the once very rich two-wheeler culture in Germany. In 2013 a special exhibition showed “The American Way – the USA in Germany”. In addition, the museum focused on a replica of the Harley chopper “Captain America”, among many other topics. The accompanying text was readable for everyone: “The Harley-Davidson (…) is a symbol of the desire for freedom and adventure.” PR for the motorcycle, made by the historical museum.

Publications on the subject of two-wheelers

The successful publications of the house in the series “Zeitgeschichte (n)” are recommended. The volume for the Zundapp Sport Combinette is entitled “A present for the millionth guest worker”. It reminds of the two-wheeled gift, the further development of this one Sport Combinette and the search for this special mokick. Other chapters are devoted to the fate of Armando Rodrigues de Sá and his family as well as the topic of immigration to Germany in general. A great book for a cheap 7.90 euros (purchase: on site and at https://shop.hdg.de).

In the same row and with a similar presentation, format 21.5 x 21.5 cm) Hans Walter Hutter has the volume “Motorroller: Vespa & Co. “published. For scooter fans, the little book is a rich treasure trove for the fascination of Vespa, Lambretta, DKW Hobby, Heinkel Tourist, Goggo and Schwalbe. Also available for 7.90 euros. The House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany, which opened in 1994, has even more two-wheelers in its pool, but these are not on public display. It is located on Willy-Brandt-Allee in 53113 Bonn, phone 02 28/916 50, www.hdg.de/bonn. Admission is free, the opening times are Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m..

Museum highlight on contemporary history


Motorcycles in the House of History in Bonn


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Museum highlight on contemporary history: the much admired Zundapp Sport Combinette.

Guest worker gift with fan motor

Cologne-Deutz station, September 10, 1964, 9:32 a.m.: The special train from Spain comes to a screeching halt. More than 1000 guest workers get out, suddenly men in black suits are facing each other: The Confederation of German Employers’ Associations is celebrating the millionth foreign worker with drums and trumpets. Armando Rodrigues de Sá should be. The lot has chosen the 38-year-old carpenter from the small Portuguese village of Vale de Madeiros.

He receives a flower-adorned Zundapp Sport Combinette as a thank you and token of appreciation for the work to be done in Germany soon. A famous photo shows Armando Rodrigues de Sá, completely perplexed and intimidated, sitting on his brand-new Zundapp moped and listening, rather embarrassed, to the sounds of “Let’s go, torero”. The greeting with a large train station went through all German newspapers, and the newsreels reported on the ceremony in moving images.

The original model of the Zundapp can be found in the House of History in Bonn

Nobody told the Portuguese what to do in the middle of the platform with the 50s, but he was happy about the mokick after all: he spontaneously took it with him to his new place of work in Stuttgart. Particularly important for newcomers to the country: Mokicks were generally tax-free to drive with a class 5 driver’s license.

The original example of the Zundapp is in the Bonn House of History: Only carefully restored, the Zundapp is one of the most famous exhibits in the museum. Professor Dr. Hermann Schafer writes in the foreword to the book about this Zundapp Combinette: “In the mid-1960s, the Mokick symbolized new beginnings and mobility: it was an opportunity to get to know the country. Many young people in Germany use the opportunity of individual motorization. “

Sport Combinette 1964 the best-selling German mokick

The Sport Combinette, presented in 1963, is the best-selling German mock-up in 1964 for a price of 1,078 marks: a 50-cubic-meter two-stroke engine with 2.6 hp, fan-cooled, three-speed gearbox with footshift and kick starter on the left, which has proven itself hundreds of thousands of times. Its chassis with a “modern die-cast body” had a telescopic fork, four hydraulically damped struts and a closed chain case. The 12.5-liter tank and “elegant double seat bench” (Zundapp advertising text) looked adult. Only this one special, so famous Zundapp of the carpenter, who died in 1979, was long considered lost. But in 1999 the German embassy in Portugal found what they were looking for: the family members reported that the mokick they were looking for was still there – Armando Rodrigues de Sá returned to Portugal in 1970.

The news of the existence of the mokick sparked joy and skepticism in the House of History. Was it really the original vehicle? Jurgen Kurzhals, head of the embassy branch, should clarify this when visiting the family. He reports: “We met four generations” – widow, daughter, grandson and great-grandchild of the 1979 deceased. “Occasionally you had the feeling that the purchase of the British Crown Jewels was being negotiated. The motorcycle is dusty in a shed and is no longer in the best condition, but it is definitely suitable for exhibition purposes. The vehicle has a Portuguese registration, and Armando Rodrigues de Sá’s nameplate is attached to the saddle (as was mandatory at the time). “

Change of ownership for 10,000 marks

The grandson emphasizes the reliability of the mokick, with which other family members drove after the grandfather’s death. The comparison with photos from the gift in 1964 and the examination of the type plate, chassis number 5429253, clearly confirm that this is the original Mokick. It changes hands for 10,000 marks (!) – the family understood the importance of their property.

The Zundapp, which was shipped to Bonn by a forwarding company, honored the ARD “Tagesschau” as outstanding evidence of German history and the guest workers in this country. In 2000, the Museum Piece Mokick was integrated into the permanent exhibition of the House of History. In the same year it adorns the exhibition pavilion on the subject of “work” at the world exhibition Expo in Hanover: small motor, great symbolic power.

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