Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum)

Housed in the Baroque Zeughaus — Berlin's oldest surviving building on Unter den Linden — and a striking I.M. Pei glass annex, this is Germany's national history museum covering two millennia in depth. The permanent collection is vast and genuinely illuminating, especially on the 20th century. The Pei spiral staircase alone is an architectural highlight. It can feel overwhelming; focus on the 20th-century galleries if time is short.

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