Stiftung Exilmuseum Berlin

What Stiftung Exilmuseum Berlin does

Stiftung Exilmuseum Berlin is a charitable foundation (gemeinnützige Stiftung) recognized by the State of Berlin in December 2018 and operating with a team of six from offices at Fasanenstraße 24 in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Its core mission is to establish Germany's first dedicated museum on exile, focused on the period 1933–1945 when approximately half a million people fled Nazi persecution, while explicitly connecting historical exile to contemporary experiences of flight and displacement. The foundation operates an integrated portfolio: the under-development main museum at Fasanenstraße 24 with planned accessibility renovations; the Werkstatt Exilmuseum, a public exhibition workshop opened in March 2023; the Anhalter Bahnhof site hosting a series of artistic installations starting in 2025; the Embassies of Exile program developed by Director Ruth Ur and Thomas Sparr with support from the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung; the Café Exil podcast launching July 2026 in partnership with Herbert und Elsbeth Weichmann Stiftung; free school workshops; and the 10,000-euro Exile Visual Arts Award.

The business model is non-commercial and donation-driven. Recurring revenue streams include individual and institutional donations, endowment contributions (Zustiftungen), grants from the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung and other public funders, and partnership funding. Capital has been raised primarily through high-profile fundraising events, most notably a 6-million-euro auction of Bernd Schultz's private art collection at Grisebach in October 2018 — the foundational start-up capital — supplemented by 110,000 euros contributed on the occasion of patron Joachim Gauck's 80th birthday in 2020. The foundation does not employ proprietary technology systems; its differentiation rests on archival content, international embassy networks, and the credibility of its patrons, including Nobel laureate Herta Müller and former Federal President Joachim Gauck. Customer-facing operations are free at point of use (school programs, public events, podcast), making the foundation structurally dependent on continued fundraising and institutional support.

Name

Stiftung Exilmuseum Berlin

Legal name

Stiftung Exilmuseum Berlin

Website

https://stiftung-exilmuseum.berlin

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stiftung Exilmuseum Berlin is a German charitable foundation building Germany's first museum dedicated to exile from 1933–1945 and contemporary flight, serving school groups, the general public, and researchers through exhibitions, educational programs, and the Embassies of Exile network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Museum & Cultural Heritage

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums (71211), Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF), Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Exile museum programs
• Remembrance culture exhibitions
• Educational school workshops
• International cultural events
• Historical archive collections

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The foundation relies on charitable donations from individuals and organizations. Donations can be made through their website and are tax-deductible for amounts up to 1 million euros as special expenses.
2. State Förderung (Government Funding): The foundation receives funding from various sources including the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung and other institutional supporters. The Berthold Leibinger Stiftung provides specific funding for the 'Embassies of Exile' program.
3. Art Auction Proceeds: Major fundraising through art auctions, including a record 6 million euros raised from Bernd Schultz's private art collection auction in October 2018.
4. Endowments and Testamentary Bequests: The foundation accepts endowment funds (Zustiftungen) that provide permanent capital preservation. Testimonial bequests are also mentioned as a giving option.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The foundation is developing and operating the Exilmuseum Berlin, a museum dedicated to the history of exile during National Socialism (1933-1945) and contemporary flight experiences, located at a historic building at Fasanenstraße 24 in Berlin-Charlottenburg with a memorial/exhibition site at Anhalter Bahnhof. It runs a public event program, free school workshops (Bildung und Vermittlung), an international 'Embassies of Exile' embassy partnership series, exhibitions and art installations, the Café Exil podcast, and the Exile Visual Arts Award, all funded through donations, grants, and art auction proceeds.

Product overview

Stiftung Exilmuseum Berlin operates the Exilmuseum (main museum) as its core product, located at Fasanenstraße 24 in Berlin-Charlottenburg, with a second significant location at Anhalter Bahnhof. The foundation offers multiple interconnected programs: the Werkstatt Exilmuseum (workshop/preview space opened 2023), the Embassies of Exile event series (cooperation with international embassies), the Café Exil podcast (launching July 2026), Bildungsprogramme (educational programs for schools), and the Exile Visual Arts Award. Anhalter Bahnhof features artistic installations and an information tower as a public memorial space. The museum focuses on exile experiences from 1933-1945 while connecting to contemporary issues of flight and displacement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Werkstatt Exilmuseum: The museum workshop/exhibition space that opened in March 2023 as a preview of the future museum.
• Embassies of Exile
• Café Exil
• Exile Visual Arts Award
• Exilmuseum Berlin Podcast

Products and services

• Exilmuseum (Hauptmuseum) The main museum dedicated to the theme of exile, focusing on the period 1933-1945 when approximately half a million people fled abroad from Nazi persecution. Will open in a historic building at Fasanenstraße 24 in Berlin-Charlottenburg and serves the general public, school groups, and researchers.
• Werkstatt Exilmuseum Exhibition workshop and preview space at Fasanenstraße 24, offering a diverse event program including lectures, readings, concerts, and film screenings while the main museum is being prepared. Open to the general public.
• Embassies of Exile International event program in cooperation with foreign embassies in Berlin and German embassies abroad, illuminating little-known personalities from art, literature and science who found refuge from the Nazis in the respective partner country. Includes lectures, readings, concerts, film screenings, and conversations with descendants. Funded by Berthold Leibinger Stiftung.
• Café Exil Podcast Podcast about flight, new beginnings, and the search for freedom. A joint production of Stiftung Exilmuseum and Herbert and Elsbeth Weichmann Stiftung, available to the general public via digital channels.
• Bildung und Vermittlung (Education Program) Educational programs for school classes of all ages dealing with topics such as exclusion, flight, arrival, and building a new life in exile, focusing on NS history and survival in exile. Free of charge for school groups, especially grades 5-7.
• Kunstinstallation am Anhalter Bahnhof (Anhalter Bahnhof Art Installation Series) Series of artistic installations at Anhalter Bahnhof, starting with Nathan Coley's 'I Don't Have Another Land' (2025) and the information tower (2023), transforming the site into a public memorial and art space accessible to the general public.
• Exile Visual Arts Award Award recognizing artworks by artists with exile experience that visualize essential questions such as identity, belonging, or foreignness. Prize amount: 10,000 euros. Awarded during the 'Tage des Exils' festival.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 events during first 'Tage des Exils' festival in September 2023
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IRC Deutschland (International Rescue Committee)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Education partnership announced in July 2026 between the Exilmuseum and IRC Deutschland, including a joint summer reception. IRC President David Miliband spoke at the event about social responsibility in a changing world. The partnership includes educational programs and public events.
• Herbert und Elsbeth Weichmann StiftungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint production partner for the 'Café Exil' podcast launching July 2026, about flight, new beginnings, and search for freedom.
• Einstein ForumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner for the event 'Einstein's Time Machine' at Einstein's summer house in Caputh, featuring music and readings about composer Julia Kerr.
• Staatstheater MainzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner for the Julia Kerr exhibition, which featured the world premiere reconstruction of her opera 'Der Chronoplan' in January 2026.
• Foreign Embassies (Embassies of Exile Program)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerInternational program building network with foreign embassies in Berlin and German embassies abroad. Focus on little-known personalities from art, literature and science who found refuge from National Socialists in each partner country. Events include lectures, readings, concerts, film screenings, and conversations with descendants.
• Akademie der Künste BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on exhibitions including 'Children in Exil' (Kinder im Exil) featuring children of artists in exile 1933-1945, and archival materials from the performing arts archive.
• TU Berlin (Natural Building Lab)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent seminar developing temporary 'Tempohome' housing for the Exilmuseum using converted refugee containers. Students analyzed, designed, remodeled and installed exhibition spaces.
• We Refugees ArchivminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on exhibition content about 'Exile Today' for the ZU/FLUCHT exhibition.
• Leibniz-Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung PotsdamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Robert Mueller-Stahl, historian at the center, is a freelance contributor to the Exilmuseum since 2025.
• Körber-StiftungminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner for various events including the 'Tage des Exils' and readings such as with Afghan author Massum Faryar.
• Grisebach Auction HouseminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHosted the record-breaking auction of Bernd Schultz's private art collection in October 2018, raising 6 million euros for the museum.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt: Frankfurt's Jewish Museum focused on Jewish history and migration with comparable educational programming — operates in a related but different German city and is comparable in subject focus.

Direct peers

• Jüdisches Museum Berlin: Berlin's Jewish Museum, one of Germany's largest and most visited museums on Jewish history, culture, and migration — overlaps directly with the Exilmuseum's focus on Jewish exile during the Nazi era and connects to broader remembrance culture.
• Topographie des Terrors: Berlin memorial and documentation center on National Socialist persecution history located on a historically significant site — operates outdoor exhibition, educational programming, and visitor services with comparable thematic focus.
• Deutsches Auswandererhaus: German Emigration Center in Bremerhaven, a museum dedicated to emigration and immigration history — directly comparable thematic scope (flight, migration, new beginnings) and museum operating model with ticketed admissions.
• NS-Dokumentationszentrum München: Munich's documentation center for the history of National Socialism — comparable educational programming, exhibitions on Nazi-era persecution, and school-group engagement in Germany.
• Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas: Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in central Berlin with an information center and active educational programming — overlaps in mission on Holocaust remembrance and visitor education.
• Anne Frank Zentrum: Berlin-based educational center on Anne Frank's life and exile — strong overlap on themes of Jewish exile, school programs, and contemporary connection to flight/refugee experiences.
• Gedenkstätte Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz: Berlin memorial and educational site on the Wannsee Conference, focused on Nazi persecution history and education — comparable mission in remembrance education, school programs, and visitor engagement on Nazi-era history.

Others

• International Rescue Committee Deutschland: International humanitarian organization addressing contemporary refugee crises — already a strategic partner of the Exilmuseum for joint education programming, sharing thematic alignment on contemporary flight and displacement.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsches Historisches Museum: Germany's national historical museum in Berlin — a broader incumbent offering exhibits on German history including 1933–1945 exile, but not specialized in the niche focus of the Exilmuseum.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/exilmuseum
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@exilmuseum-berlin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftung-exilmuseum-berlin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Stiftung Exilmuseum Berlin