A popular military museum in western Germany is turning away nationals of 26 countries that Berlin has deemed pose "specific security risks."
Entry restrictions at the Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology in Koblenz have been in force for several weeks but news of the unusual rule emerged recently in Ukrainian media after a mother from that country was denied access.
"At the entrance we were shown a list of countries that are prohibited from entering," the woman said in a social media post, adding, "We drove with our children for two hours [to get there]."
A notice on the website of the museum dated March 3 notes that visitors must present identification documents at the entrance. "Due to military security regulations," the notice warns, "access to the collection is currently denied to nationals of countries listed in accordance with Section 13, Paragraph 1, Number 17 of the Security Clearance Act."
A staff member of the museum, who declined to be named, told RFE/RL that he was unable to comment fully on the selective ban but stressed "it's not our rule."
The facility belongs to the Bundeswehr -- Germany's armed forces -- and, despite being open to the public, is designated a "defense technology study collection." The museum worker said the entry restriction "is a topic which is also a problem for us," adding, "We don't know [how] to handle it."
Kristian Klinck, a spokesman for the branch of the Bundeswehr that oversees the museum, told RFE/RL on May 13 that the Koblenz facility is primarily intended as a training facility to familiarize staff with foreign and domestic military hardware and is only open to the public in a "secondary capacity."
Klinck added that, "as most of the weapons in the study have not been demilitarized, the study is located within a Military Security Area," with subsequent security restrictions.
In response to a question about the nationalities banned from entering the museum, Klinck directed RFE/RL to Germany's Interior Ministry, which maintains a list of countries deemed to pose a potential security risk for Berlin.
The latest version of the list, compiled in 2022, includes Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Iran, Pakistan, Moldova, Afghanistan, all Caucasus nations, and all five Central Asian countries. Berlin has not publicly revealed any specific reasoning for countries being included on the list.
Recent Google reviews of the German museum indicate the access restrictions have caused heated scenes at the entrance.
One Ukrainian woman complained in March, saying, "I'm honestly shocked," adding, "I never thought you could be denied entry to a museum based on your nationality." The woman claimed she had been threatened with a gun during a dispute with a security guard.
The museum responded to the one-star review, saying, "No one from the security staff will threaten you with a weapon."
The Koblenz military museum spans some 7,200 square meters and holds one of Europe's largest collections of military hardware. Since 1982 more than 1 million people have visited the facility, according to its website.
