Design Museum Den Bosch Bans Selfies at Nazi Design Exhibition

The Design Museum Den Bosch in the Netherlands has banned selfies at its current exhibition, 'Design of the Third Reich,' which opened on September 8 and runs until January 19, 2020. The museum prohibits visitors from taking selfies with the artworks to prevent misinterpretation. The exhibition examines how design was used as a propaganda tool during the Nazi dictatorship, manipulating various segments of the population. It has attracted over 10,000 visitors and sparked controversy among leftist and anti-fascist groups who fear it may be seen as a shrine to Nazism. The museum emphasizes that each object is placed in a historical context highlighting the regime's horrific conclusion. Offenders can be expelled from the museum. The show features items like the Volkswagen Beetle and the media campaign for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, illustrating the contradictions of the Third Reich: fanatical idealization of history, obsession with the future, ideas of progress and prosperity alongside mass deportations, and the concept of racial purity.