Mission statement
The NS-Documentation Centre (NS-DOK) is the centre for critical research into National Socialism in Cologne and its surrounding area. Being a contemporary history museum and memorial centre, we collect and preserve testimonies and personal histories from the Nazi era and we conduct research into it and organise exhibitions about it. We also focus on today's society and aim to inform them and raise their awareness through advisory, educational and event programmes. We see ourselves as having a special responsibility regarding the victims of Nazi persecution and their families.
The NS-DOK is located in the former Gestapo headquarters in the EL-DE-Haus in the centre of Cologne. Hundreds of prisoners' inscriptions on the walls in the prison cells down in the basement vividly illustrate the terror inflicted by the National Socialists. The NS-DOK makes the violence perpetrated by the Gestapo in- and outside the building and documented in these inscriptions comprehensible. It also focuses on the various interrelationships between everyday urban life and the persecution, which also raises questions about the knowledge as well as the actions, consent and participation of "ordinary" Cologne residents.
Out of historical responsibility and with a critical awareness of the continued impact of Nazi ideology, we are dealing with current extreme right developments as well as on social power structures such as racism, antisemitism and other forms of discrimination. We offer our support to those affected. We see the NS-DOK as a place of critical remembrance culture and democracy education that has an impact on society.
Our activities aim to attain a high professional quality with a broad reach to local and international audiences. We are involved in various networks and we also cooperate with partners from academia, culture and politics. We run the EL-DE-Haus, which would not exist without critical commitment "from below" as an open centre for exchanges, learning and reflection. We are present in the city, region and online through our range of programmes. We would like to encourage people from Cologne and beyond to engage with the Nazi past in their local environment and to fight for democratic values in their daily lives.
We pursue respectful cooperation, openness to new perspectives and the sustainability of our actions in a diverse society. We critically examine discriminatory conditions and positions and try to counteract them through our activities and structures.