Press release

A virtual journey through time before departing from BER
A project by Gebr. Heinemann, the COLD WAR MUSEUM Berlin and Berlin Brandenburg Airport

Passengers can now even go on a journey through time at BER Airport. In the Terminal 1 and 2 departure areas, the company Gebr. Heinemann is offering a new high-tech experience in cooperation with the COLD WAR MUSEUM Berlin. At three different locations, passengers have the opportunity to experience a piece of Berlin’s history from 1961 for themselves as a “360° VR history experience”: “The Leap” on 15 August 1961: the photo of the fleeing GDR border guard Conrad Schumann into West Berlin, went around the world at the time as the ‘Leap into Freedom’. Passengers can experience this event for themselves at BER: with the latest generation of VR glasses, which the ‘time travellers’ put on, they go to individual stops on Bernauer Straße in 1961. There they take on either the perspective of the border guard or that of the photographer who captured this moment in the world-famous photograph: in line with the principles of the COLD WAR MUSEUM Berlin: ‘two sides of the same story’. Tickets for this 360° VR journey through time are available at the airport for € 12.

As part of the campaign, Gebr. Heinemann is offering the COLD WAR MUSEUM Berlin’s latest collection at its duty-free shops at BER. The products can be ordered by mobile phone, for example, and sent to the desired home address. This avoids extra carry-on baggage.

The spacesuit of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is on display in a large museum display cabinet directly on Terminal 1’s Market Place. He was the first man in space on 12 April 1961, four months before the border guard’s “leap”. The spacesuit stands for this globally significant step and is on temporary loan from the museum to Gebr. Heinemann and BER Airport. In the museum, the exhibit stands next to astronaut John Glenn’s spacesuit as part of the exhibition in the central “Space Race” area.

Aletta von Massenbach, Chief Executive Officer of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH: “We are delighted about this new offer at BER Airport. The joint project with Gebr. Heinemann and the COLD WAR MUSEUM Berlin fits in very well with our ‘Willy Brandt’ Airport. Between 1957 and 1966, Willy Brandt experienced the Cold War first-hand as Governing Mayor of Berlin, and throughout his life, even later as Federal Chancellor, he campaigned for freedom and German unity.” 

Steffen Jopp, Managing Director Gebr. Heinemann in Berlin “At Gebr. Heinemann, we turn travel time into valuable time, which is why we are very pleased to be able to turn this extraordinary project with the COLD WAR MUSEUM into reality. The project conveys history in a modern and very vivid way and, therefore, is perfectly suited to Berlin. The leap installation is a real highlight and ensures passengers an unforgettable experience here at the airport and in our area.”

Carsten Kollmeier, Founder and Managing Director COLD WAR MUSEUM Berlin: “The new and only COLD WAR MUSEUM Berlin is committed in a variety of ways to arousing interest in culture and history among a broad public as the latest generation high-tech museum. We use our state-of-the-art technology not only in the museum itself, but also go out directly to the people. With this in mind, we would like to thank Gebr. Heinemann and BER for the unique opportunity to once again get guests from all over the world enthusiastic about Berlin as a place of exciting history before their flight home. They should remember the city as a metropolis that is both rich in history as well as diverse and modern.”

Find out more information using the following links:

https://www.heinemann-shop.com/de/global

COLD WAR MUSEUM Berlin

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