Museum Burg Zug
Kirchenstrasse 11
CH-6300 Zug
T +41 (0) 41 728 29 70
info@burgzug.ch
Tour bookings (private)
Opening hours
Tue – Sat 2 - 5 pm
Sun 10 am - 5 pm
Mon closed
Your suggestions and wishes
Special Exhibition
June 19th 2019 to January 26th 2020
Emergency! Switzerland during the Cold War
2019 will see the 30th anniversary of the end of the Cold War. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the political upheaval in the Eastern bloc states represented an historical caesura. Characteristic traits of the Cold War included the pervading fear of a nuclear war as well as mutual feelings of distrust and suspicion. From the 1970s onwards, social demands increasingly began to override the political and ideological conflict.
The «balance of terror» was also tangible in Switzerland. Politics, society, the economy and culture were much affected by the Cold War and its enemy stereotypes. The political climate was highly charged and characterised by anti-communist bias. Against the background of a growing anti-nuclear and peace movement, Switzerland experienced socio-political tensions that erupted publicly in 1989 with the «Fichenskandal» or secret files scandal and an initiative that called for the Swiss army to be abolished launched by GSoA, the Group for a Switzerland Without an Army.
The exhibition traces the formation of bipolar worldviews during the Cold War period, outlines the mutual enemy stereotypes and highlights the political and social antagonisms that arose from them.
The leaflet of the exhibition and its events is only available in German. You can download it here.
Private guided tours
We are happy to guide you and your group through the exhibition. On demande we indulce you at the end with one of our selfmade aperos.
Kindly contact us with the form below.
Guided tours and workshops for school classes
We offer special dialogical guided tours and workshops about the exhibition and its topic. They are supposed for classes aged secondary level I and II. Please book them with the form below. For more information kindly contact Regula Hauser: rhauser@burgzug.ch or 041 728 29 74 (Tue to Thu)
The exhibition is supported by:
Media contributions exhibition:
Newspapers / Magazines:
- NZZ, "«Ich war entsetzt, als ich von dieser Initiative gehört habe»: Vor 30 Jahren wollten linke Pazifisten die Armee abschaffen - und versetzten die Bürgerlichen in Angst und Schrecken", 26.11.2019
- WOZ, "Das Comeback nationaler Reflexe", 28. 11.2019
- ASMZ, "Ernstfall! Die Schweiz im Kalten Krieg", 1.9.2019
- Zuger Presse, "Museum nimmt Vorreiterrolle ein" und "Im Spannungsfeld von Krieg und Frieden", 3.7.2019
- Zuger Zeitung, "Museum Burg Zug zeigt Sonderausstellung zur Schweiz im Kalten Krieg", 18.6.2019
- Zentralplus, "Ausstellung: Ernstfall! Die Schweiz im Kalten Krieg", 26.6.2019
- Zentralplus, Damals Blog, "Als russische Soldaten am Zugerberg interniert waren", 6.7.2019
- Stadtmagazin, "Die Schweiz im Kalten Krieg", Mai 2019
- Zug Kultur Magazin, "Zwischen roten und blauen Feindbildern", Juli 2019
- Hochparterre, "Ernstfall!", 24.7.2019
- Zuger Presse, "Warum Weihnachtskugeln im Kalten Krieg zum Politikum wurden", 14.8.2019
- Zuger Bieter, "Weihnachskugeln im Kalten Krieg", 14.8.2019
- Schweiz am Sonntag, Zuger Zeitung, "Museumsführung in Gebärdensprache", 24.8.2019
Radio / TV:
- Radio SRF, Regionaljournal Zentralschweiz, "Zuger Ausstellung zeigt wie der Kalte Krieg die Schweiz bewegte", 19.6.2019
- Radio Svizzera Italiana, Rete due, "La Svizzera, la guerra fredda e l'anticomunismo", 12.8.2019
- ArtTV, "Gleichgewicht des Schreckens, Kalter Krieg, ein Blick in die Schweiz der nahen Vergangenheit.", 25.6.2019
- Radio Sunshine, "Die Rolle der Schweiz im Kalten Krieg", 17.6.2019
Media contributions Crowdfunding:
Newspapers / Magazines:
- Zentralplus, "Museum Burg Zug startet Crowdfunding", 10.4.2019
- Zentralplus, "«Bloodhound»-Lenkwaffe zieht ins Zuger Zentrum", 31.5.2019
- Zuger Woche, "Auf den Spuren des Kalten Krieges", 14.04.2019
- Zuger Presse, "Eine Lenkwaffe im Burghof", 17.4.2019
- Zuger Zeitung und Luzerner Zeitung, "Ein Symbol des Kalten Krieges", 20.4.2019
- Zuger Zeitung und Luzerner Zeitung: "Crowdfunding der Burg Zug geht in die zweite Runde", 8.5.2019
- Zuger Zeitung und Luzerner Zeitung, "Die Burg Zug kriegt einen stählernen «Bluthund»*, 4.6.2019