in 1985, international attention was focused on bergen-belsen. the camp was hastily included in ronald reagan's itinerary when he visited west germany after a controversy about a visit to a cemetery where the interred included members of the "waffen ss" (see bitburg controversy). shortly before reagan's visit on may 5, there had been a large memorial event on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the camp's liberation, which had been attended by german president richard von weizsäcker and chancellor helmut kohl. in the aftermath of these events, the parliament of lower saxony decided to expand the exhibition centre and to hire permanent scientific staff. in 1990, the permanent exhibition was replaced by a new version and a larger document building was opened.