Leon Wyczolkowski District Museum Exploseum

Top secret and highly explosive: the world visitors explore when entering the Exploseum was sealed to strangers for a long time. Right here one of the largest ammunition factories of the Third Reich came into being with the beginning of World War II, well hidden in the woods surrounding Bydgoszcz (Bromberg). The two-kilometre-long tour of the museum partly leads through subterranean concrete hallways uncovering a dark period. The core of the exposition recounts the fate of the prisoners-of-war and concentration camp prisoners working here for the Dynamit Aktien-Gesellschaft (DAG) to produce explosives for the German Wehrmacht. The presentation includes acts of sabotage committed by several workers at the risk of their own lives to cause harm to the Nazi war economy. Other parts of the exhibition deal with the history of the DAG and its founder Alfred Nobel. The museum's largest building is devoted to a comprehensive historical review of the evolution of arms and explosive materials – from the 15th century to the nuclear age. Multimedia displays allow the almost purely preserved architecture to take centre stage.

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Leon Wyczolkowski District Museum Exploseum
Muzeum Okręgowe im. Leona Wyczółkowskiego EXPLOSEUM - DAG Fabrik Bromberg
Alfreda Nobla
85-006 Bydgoszcz
Kujawsko-Pomorskie
Poland
+48 (0) 52 - 5859966
Homepage

History

57 acres, more than one thousand buildings, 400 kilometres of paved roads, 40 kilometres of tracks, the whole secretly concealed under roofs planted with vegetation, and connected by an extended network of underground passages: the ammunition factory Bromberg was an enormous, perfectly camouflaged industrial plant built from the ground within only five years following 1939. The products: nitroglycerin, TNT and smokeless powder for the German war machine – in total 13.700 tons. This was only made possible by the massive deployment of prisoners-of-war and concentration camp prisoners. The exposition displays, among other things, a transport list featuring the names of one thousand female Jewish forced labourers "supplied" by the commander of the concentration camp of Stutthoff to prepare ammunition. Factory identity cards and metal identification tags with personal information of workers reflect both the factory's despotic system and high security standards. After the war the Red Army dismantled all technical installations. During the 1950s part of the industrial complex was transformed into a chemical plant.

The decision to dedicate another part to a museum was made 2008. Three years later the Exploseum opened. Today it covers eight buildings of the former "NGL-Betrieb", a nitroglycerin production zone. The material's highly explosive consistence dictated the design of the unit. For instance, explosion protection walls, the staggered arrangement of entrance doors and safety distances were intended to prevent chain reactions in case of explosions. In addition, manufacturing facilities were doubled in order to minimize the risk of collapsing production. The museum is set up in one of the twin assembly lines of "NGL-Betrieb". The other line is kept in ruins and thus makes the Exploseum an excellent example of an industrial architecture still retaining its original shape since World War II.

Duration of a guided tour:120 Minutes
Admission:Charge
Access for persons with disabilities:For details see website
Infrastructure for children:
Catering:
Gift and book shop on site:yes

April to September:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday - Sunday 9am-5pm, Thursday 9am-7pm
guided tours in groups 9.30, 11.30, 12.30am, 2.30pm, 4.30pm (only Thursday)
October to March:
Tuesday - Sunday 8am-4pm
guided tours in groups 9.30, 12.30am, 1.30pm

for more details see website

  • Guided tours only
  • Tours in other languages
  • Guided tours for children