1950 - 2025: 75 years of CUSTOMS in the Federal Republic of Germany
In the Federal Republic of Germany, hardly any other authority has such a wide range of activities and handles as many essential tasks like customs. After the reunification, 7,500 employees of the GDR customs administration were taken over by the Federal Customs Administration. In the anniversary year, around 48,000 customs officers are in service for all of us every day throughout Germany.
The range of tasks goes far beyond the monitoring of cross-border trade in goods: German customs officers secure the tax revenue of the state they are committed to the protection of all consumers, act against cross-border organised crime and constantly promote social justice and the economy in Germany - also through their fight against undeclared work and illegal employment. The protection of the environment and species is also one of the main activities of customs.
The history of customs itself goes back to antiquity more than 2,000 years ago. The last 75 years in Germany and the European Union illustrate how the customs administration has accepted and mastered new challenges. With the exhibition, the German Customs Museum gives an insight into these 75 years as well as into the activities of German customs officers on water and land.
The exhibition was conceived as a self-explanatory traveling exhibition. 8 October 2025, the exhibition was opened in the “Postblock” of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Berlin, it is currently on display at “The headquarters of the Education and Science Center of the Federal Finance Administration” in Münster, before traveling to Cologne in March and Potsdam in June. Further exhibition venues will follow.
IACM at International Customs Day - Brussels
The 26th of January IACM was present during the International Customs Day celebration at the World Customs Organisation in Brussels. We had prepared a joint presentation with customs heritage objects from a number of our member museums that we showed to interested customs officers from all over the world including Mr. Ian Saunders, the secretary general of the WCO.
The exhibition of course helps us to promote the work of IACM and its members. It will stay at the WCO for six months and fits in well with the WCO theme for 2026: safety which remains the most important task for customs organisations in an ever changing world.
31st GA and Conference of IACM- Antwerp, Belgium
We can certainly look back with satisfaction on the annual conference of the International Association of Customs/Tax Museums, which took place from 22 to 24 October 2025.
It was the fourth time that the Belgian National Museum of Customs and Excise hosted our global museum association, twice as co-host together with our friends in Rotterdam. This time, we welcomed representatives from customs and tax museums in China, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea and Switzerland. The delegates from the museum of the University of Customs and Finance in Dnipro, Ukraine were able to attend the General Assembly and the other meeting online. The staff of the Zollmuseum in Hamburg, Germany could not join us this year but the museum was represented by proxy at the GA. As special guests we welcomed two delegates from the Liverpool Maritime Museum.
In addition to the General Assembly and discussions about a joint exhibition, the program also included visits to the D&A-museum and the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp, a travelling exhibition on Customs during the Austrian Netherlands (1715-1795) in Kapellen and a somewhat stormy heritage walk in the historic harbour district of Antwerp.
Distinguished visitors at the Belgian National Customs & Excise Museum
At the invitation of Administrator-General Vanderwaeren, Minister of Finance Jan Jambon visited the C&E Museum in Antwerp on October 7, along with some 30 other guests. He proved to be not only very interested in the workings of Customs and Excise in the past and present, but also had a personal angle on the subject. Our minister revealed that his maternal grandfather had been a customs officer. He was pleasantly surprised when we told him that the museum holds his grandfather's service record. In 1957, his grandfather ended a distinguished career of more than 36 years with our administration as a lieutenant in Maaseik, after having held positions in four different regional directorates.
Open Day at the European Institutions on Saturday 6 May 2023
It is not every day that the Belgian Customs&Excise Museum can help create a temporary exhibition in an iconic site like the Berlaymont-building in Brussels. This well known structure near the Robert Schuman roundabout houses the headquarters of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union.
The occasion was the very busy Open Day at the European Institutions on Saturday 6 May 2023 and together with our PR-colleagues we provided a number of artefacts – like a contemporary uniform and a number of seizures by Customs past and present. Incidentally, the sniffer dog in the photograph is not one of ours, but he is part of a Tulli team (Finnish Customs) as it is very appropriate on such occasions to stress the all important work of customs officers all over the EU.
World Customs Day 26 January
The first loan from the Belgian National Museum on Customs and Excise in 2023 was linked to the World Customs Day on 26 January. A small exposition was set up at the main headquarters of the Federal Public Service Finance in Brussels. Our contribution included some objects related to drug smuggling and excise fraud past and present and a mannequin in the current uniform for a Level C customs officer.
Thank you Ann
After over a quarter of a century on the Board of the Belgian National Museum on Customs and Excise, Ann Van Puymbroeck is heading for a well deserved retirement from the C&E Administration in 2022.
Ann has been a staunch supporter of IACM as well, as member of the Belgian delegation during numerous conferences and as Secretary on the IACM-Board (1998-2002). The colleagues in Antwerp recently took the opportunity of one of her last days “at the office” to present Ann with flowers and gifts and a big “Thank You” for all her hard work since 1994. However, it is not a definite goodbye as Ann will be doing research projects for the Belgian C&E museum on a voluntary basis.
Change of uniforms
The Luxemburg Customs Museum is still displaying the customs uniform of the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The Slovenian customs uniform replaced the historical uniform of Portugal that was on display for the past 6 months.
Luxemburg Museum days
The 24th edition of Luxembourg Museum Days attracted a total of 82 visitors to our location in the weekend of 15 and 16 May 2021.
The fact that there were no restrictions in museums in 2019 and the 2020 edition had to be held in digital form means that this year's Luxembourg Museum Days can still be deemed a success.
A medal for Ann
Royal support
Queen Máxima of The Netherlands has officially opened the new exhibition “Crazy about money” on the
25th of June 2019. The queen is the honorary chairman of the platform “Mony Wise”. With this exhibition, the Dutch Customs and Tax Museum focuses on the theme of
financial education and dealing with money.
This exhibition was created in collaboration with De Nederlandsche Bank and makes part of the unique National Numismatic Collection visible to the public again.
More information about the exhibition you can find here: https://www.bdmuseum.nl/tentoonstellingen/gek-op-geld/
“…Uw vaderland nuttig zijn” (In the service of your country).
On 19 February 2019 the Belgian C&E Museum kicked off our new temporary exhibition “…Uw vaderland nuttig zijn” (In the service of your country).
The exhibition “can be visited until 28 June 2019, the 100th anniversary of the Versailles Peace Treaty. Read more about it here
In this exhibition you will see a broad variety of containers used for smuggling. There are stories about journeys on foot for a few pennies and about the millions made in organised crime. The illusionist Jochem Nooyen takes you to a magic place where you will see smuggled objects from past till present.
All objects were seized by the Dutch Customs Authority. A hollow bible for tobacco, a decorative wooden elephant with drugs in its behind, a package of 'cigarettes' with illegal money, shoes,
musical instruments and much more, all with hidden spaces. Kids will love it!
From 12 until 16 February the Customs & Excise Museum in Antwerp opened its doors for families with children.
Several fun activities were especially created for Krokuskriebels. Children of all ages had a nice time today, and so did we!
For more pictures we invite you to check our website.
On Friday Januari 26, The tax & Customs Museum in Rotterdam wants to raise awareness for the Dutch customs officers who maintain the border security. A special guest will visit the museum, Mr. Leon Warnies.
For many years Mr. Warnies worked with tracking dogs at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. In a workshop this former Customs officer will explain working with sniffer dogs and tell about his experiences at Customs at Amsterdam's international airport. Visitors can hear and learn about the seizures of illegal goods.
Just before Christmas the employees of the Lithuanian Customs Museum organized the Animal Day at the Customs, and invited animal lovers to come to the Museum with their pets.
Click here to read the entire story and see a lot more lovely dog pictures.
In 2015 our friends of the National U.S. Customs Museum Foundation have set up a new exhibition on U.S. Customs at the historical site of the New London Custom House in Connecticut.
Most of the display is on permanent exhibit. You can find all the pictures here.
This Customs Museum is located at 150 Bank St., New London, CT. - USA.
From 20 until 22 September the annual IACM - Conference and general assembly was held in Vienna. Colleagues from 13 countries were present to share their experiences. More pictures and some of the presentations can be found here.
26th June is the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and the theme of this year is “Listen First”. On the morning of 26th June, 2016, China Customs Museum held a special event for the youth and their families, which is a lively performance of Drug Dogs. More than 150 students and their parents attended the event. Read more about it here.
The traveling exhibition “Boter bij de vis” is the result of a cooperation between the Centre for Agricultural History (CAG), the Department Agriculture and Fishery of the Flemish Government, the Catholic University of Louvain and 12 heritage partners, including the National Museum on Customs and Excise in Antwerp.
On 18 February the exhibition was officially opened by Kristian Vanderwaeren, Administrator-general of Customs and Excise and Robert Robbrecht, chairman of
the museum association, with some 80 guests in attendance. Read more
February 17 2016
Spring Festival in the China Customs Museum
February 15, 2016
Krokuskriebels in the Belgian Customs and Excise Museum
February 15, 2016
Night at China Customs Museums
January 5, 2016