War, Destruction, Reconstruction
Major damage to buildings and exhibits.
Towards the end of the Second World War, the museum is badly hit during bombing raids. 80 percent of the buildings and 20 percent of the exhibits are damaged or destroyed. The first task after the end of the war is to provisionally weatherproof the museum. In addition, the museum staff have to protect the ruins from looters day and night. They secure the collection objects and clear debris. Then they work on the reconstruction. Companies associated with the museum provide fitters and materials.
The first building to be provisionally restored is the Congress Hall, which opens in January 1946. The income from renting out the rooms is to finance the reconstruction. Temporary tenants include the bombed-out Technical College, a large post office, the UNRRA University (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration University) for Displaced Persons and a number of companies.
On 25 October 1947, a first special exhibition opens: 50 years of the diesel engine. The official reopening of the Deutsches Museum follows on 7 May 1948, initially with only one department open to visitors, Physics. Year after year, exhibition after exhibition, the museum expanded, but it was not until 1965 that the exhibition space returned to its pre-war level.