“World Village Leipzig”? What Museum Activities Reveal About Conflicting Identity Concepts in a Civic Society Between Global Orientation and Small-Town Values

Abstract

Leipzig, with its famous fairs and renowned international bookprinting and music traditions, is a place which always measures itself against European and global standards but is basically a middle-sized, family-oriented and still surprisingly homogeneous town in mostly rural Saxony. In its exhibitions and outreach projects the Leipzig City Museum regularly explores the common ground and hidden treasures, as well as the rifts and repressed darker sides of Leipzig history and identity. The paper summarizes experiences especially from the groundbreaking exhibition Kennzeichen L from 2021 to highlight the possibility at the same time to preserve local traditions and stories, and to challenge common narratives and all too flattering self-images of Leipzig civic society as a telling example for many, if not all, European towns. Finally, the paper exploits the example of Leipzig museum projects like the Capa House or the Schiller Garden to encourage other museum teams to develop new structures and bolster their outreach activities by crossing the border between empathetic local history and critical memorial culture.