Emergency network established
In recent decades, cultural and scientific institutions throughout Germany have formed emergency alliances. Disasters like the collapse of the Cologne City Archive and the fire at the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar demonstrated the necessity of acting quickly and collectively in such situations.
In Bremerhaven, a total of ten cultural and scientific institutions have now signed a contract to establish an emergency alliance. This agreement stipulates that, in emergencies, they will provide each other with personnel and material resources, thereby contributing to the active protection of cultural assets.
The representatives of the participating institutions presented the emergency alliance project to the public. © Magistratspressestelle / Photo: Anja Müdeking
This includes providing solidarity and swift assistance in acute emergency situations such as fires, floods, and damage from severe weather, through collegial support and, for example, the availability of alternative storage spaces. Annual practical exercises in collaboration with the fire department and disaster control in Bremerhaven, as well as regular meetings of contact persons, are planned, along with specialist events, possibly together with the Bremen emergency alliance. Membership in the emergency alliance is also open to other partner institutions.
“I am very pleased that the good cooperation of the cultural and scientific institutions involved in our city, as well as their mutual solidarity, has now been documented contractually,” says Mayor Melf Grantz, the competent official for disaster and civil protection. “Bremerhaven is rich in cultural and scientific treasures, the protection of which will be even better ensured from now on. This is good news for our city,” says Grantz.
Current partner institutions include: the Office for Occupational Safety, the Fire Department of Bremerhaven, the Historical Museum Bremerhaven, the City Archive Bremerhaven, the City Library Bremerhaven, the City Theater Bremerhaven, the Alfred Wegener Institute – Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, the Deutsches Auswandererhaus Bremerhaven non-profit GmbH, the German Maritime Museum – Leibniz Institute for Maritime History, and the University of Bremerhaven.
“I explicitly welcome that important institutions of culture and science have agreed to an emergency network independently of their respective sponsorship and I thank the director of our city archive, Dr. Julia Kahleyß, for her initiative,” says City Councilor Michael Frost, head of the cultural department. “The cooperation ensures mutual support in the safeguarding and preservation of valuable cultural heritage in a hopefully not occurring emergency, as unfortunately other municipalities have experienced to varying degrees,” Frost continued.
Based on a Bremen initiative, initial discussions about founding an emergency network in Bremerhaven took place as early as 2016. The City Archive Bremerhaven, together with the Archive for German Polar Research (AWI), hosted a workshop in 2017 at the German Maritime Museum on the topic “Water on! Solution strategies for emergency networks of cultural institutions.” This led to the formation of a working group consisting of representatives from various cultural and scientific institutions. Over time, more joined, and the idea of a formal establishment of an emergency network was further pursued. Supported by a magistrate’s decision and departments I and IV, a “Letter of Intent” for the establishment of an emergency network was drafted in 2019, which ultimately resulted in the current contract.