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The 22 reliefs by Andreas Schlüter, displayed on the walls of the courtyard rather than in one of the museum’s exhibitions, portray the horrors of war in an unusually immediate way.

Luther’s portrait, by Lucas Cranach the Elder, is the focal point of exhibition rooms devoted to Martin Luther and the Reformation.

This group of Meissen porcelain figures reflects the fascinating relationship between the two continents.

A full-sized steam engine from the year 1847 marks the entrance to the exhibition on the Industrial Revolution.

Among the many exhibits illustrating the years under Nazi rule is the jacket of a concentration camp inmate – a chilling reminder of the Third Reich.

The moving allegorical figure of Gloria Victis, created by the French sculptor Antonin Mercié, bears witness to the death of a friend during the final days of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1.

This painting by Sebastian Vrancx, dating from around 1600, depicts a scene from the wars of religion that tore the Netherlands apart during the 16th century.

A valuable saddle, dating from the middle of the 15th century, is decorated with elaborately carved plaques made of ivory.

An original section of the Wall, together with the banners of a peaceful pro-unification demonstration in 1989, commemorates the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In the foyer, an original SS 20 rocket of the former Soviet Union reminds visitors today of the perils of the Cold War years and the attempts to create a so-called “nuclear equilibrium”.