Until the Second World War, the Museum of Oceanography built up an important collection of maritime exhibits. However, war damage and the subsequent confiscation destroyed Kaiser Wilhelm II's dream.

Yes, there really was such a thing - a museum of maritime history in the centre of Berlin, founded under the shipping enthusiast Kaiser Wilhelm II and a must-see for every patriotic-minded German at the time. Now part of the collection of the German Museum of Technology and also represented with individual exhibits in the Military History Training Centre (WGAZ) in Flensburg-Mürwik, it was world-class at the time. It was opened on 5 March 1906 in the rooms of the Chemical Institute at Georgenstraße 34-36 in Berlin-Mitte. As part of Berlin University, it was intended to awaken the public's interest in seafaring, which was entirely in keeping with the Emperor's wishes.