Decolonial Objections Against the Humboldt-Forum
Decolonial Objections Against the Humboldt Forum
The so-called “Humboldt-Forum”, the centerpiece of the reconstructed Berlin Palace, will host the ethnological collections from Africa, Asia and the Americas. But what kind of symbolism is being created when the ethnological collections, which to a considerable extent are the result of looting during colonial times, are shown behind a Prussian façade, Prussia being the architect of German colonialism? In order to raise this question and to stimulate a public debate about German colonialism, AfricAvenir will host Dialogue Forums and a touring exhibition which take a critical and decidedly decolonial look at recent developments from September 2013 onwards. To prevent – or at least scandalize – the inauguration of yet another eurocentric and restorative museum, the colonial history of ethnological objects will be discussed and the project “Berlin Palace – Humboldt Forum” will be questioned in content and form from African and Afro-European perspectives.
Publication
Kritikpunkte der seit 2013 arbeitenden Kampagne „No Humboldt 21!“ erreichen ein immer breiteres Publikum. Seit der Grundsteinlegung fordert diese einen sofortigen Baustopp, damit der kolonialen Vergangenheit des Ortes, der ethnologischen Sammlung wie auch der dahinterstehenden Wissenschaft Rechnung getragen wird. Bis in das Jahr 2017 ist der von der Kampagne "No Humboldt 21!" geforderte Baustopp nicht eingetreten. Nun soll mit diesem Buch auch die Kritik an diesem revisionistischen Projekt mit in Berlins Mitte ziehen.
Die Publikation vereint Texte, Interviews, Kollagen und Bilder, die im Rahmen der von AfricAvenir mitgetragenen Kampagne entstanden sind und nun erstmalig in deutscher Sprache vorliegen. Hier finden ältere und neuere Beiträge zusammen und bilden ein Panorama des Insistierens über die letzten vier Jahre. Wissenschaftler*innen und Aktivist*innen kommentieren das Museum und seine Sammlungen, stellen die Forderungen nach Rückgabe und entwerfen Visionen für einen gleichberechtigten Dialog, der dem koloniale Erbe des Berliner Schlosses und der ethnologischen Sammlungen Rechenschaft trägt. So lässt sich nachvollziehen, dass nicht die Institution selbst die ‚kritischen Einsichten‘ geboren hat, sondern dass diese durch die unermüdliche Arbeit von Aktivist*innen aus migrantisch-diasporischer Perspektive und der kritischen Kultur- und Bildungsarbeit Eingang in die Debatte gefunden haben.
Mit Beiträgen von Kwame Opoku, Ciraj Rassool, Kien Nghi Ha, Pascale Obolo, Kokou Azamede, Edward Matenga, Aminata Traoré, Idrissou Njoya, Lilia Youssefi, Mboro Mnyaka Sururu, Christian Kopp und Arbeiten von Artefakte//anti-humboldt und AFROTAK TV cyberNomads.
Mit Kollagen von Stefan Endewardt und Hanna Prenzel und Bilder der Photographers in Solidarity, Layout von Dora Ferenczy.
Background & Motivation
Since the foundation stone ceremony in june this year, “Germanies contribution to the peaceful cohesion and mutual understanding of civilizations” is cast in stone in the historical center of Berlin. The Humboldt- Forum in the reconstructed Berlin Palace claims to envision the „equality of cultures”. By 2018/19, the City of Berlin and the Federal Republic of Germany want the “Germany's most important cultural and political project at the beginning of the 21st century” to have been completed. The building will not only host the ethnological museum, it is also to be used by the central state library as well as the Humboldt University. The plan is to establish the “Agora”, a “Forum for Science, Culture and Politics” as the “heart of the Humboldt Forum.” This “project of the century” will be located in the city centre and will cost 590 million Euros. The City of Berlin wants to contribute 32 million Euros.
Hermann Parzinger, president of the “Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz” (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation), first presented the concept in 2011. Its title reads: “The Humboldt Forum: ‘To be in Touch With as Much of the World as Possible’”. In Parzinger’s concept, the project is consistently formulated in superlatives. For instance, a “cultural centre of national and international distinction” is planned, which should establish Berlin as “a leading cultural and museum city around the world.” Furthermore, apart from creating an outstanding "location for the arts and cultures of Asia, Africa, America, Australia and Oceania," the re-location of the ethnological collections from Dahlem to the city centre is supposed to make the Humboldt-Forum a unique "centre for the research of non-European cultures." At the same time, this venue shall rehabilitate Germany on an international level by “referring to the best of Prussia, to our tradition as a nation of science and culture”.
But what kind of symbolism is created when the ethnological collection, which to a considerable extent is a result of looting during colonial times, is shown behind a Prussian fassade? Which traces of the colonial past are left on these objects and this location? And which expectations must a museum fulfill in order to create the preconditions for an equal ‘dialogue of cultures’?
We aim to address these questions and initiate a public debate through Dialogue Forums, a travelling exhibition, and on this website. We will emphasize German colonial history and highlight recent demands for the restitution of these arts and cultural objects. The project ‘Berlin Palace – Humboldt Forum’ in its current form and content will be challenged from an African and migrant perspective. An exhibition in suitcases is going to actively intervene in museum spaces. Finally, curators will speak on different exhibition forms and practices that consciously and willingly emphasize colonial ownership and interpretative models, thereby envisioning a decolonial world.
As part of a campaign by cultural and developmental NGOs and associations, AfricAvenir has launched a moratorium in order to bring this issue to a broader public. We demand that the work on the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace be stopped and that a public debate take place. A museum concept that denies colonial responsibility, while at the same time executing a “lasting influence on the self-perception of nations,” violates the dignity and property rights of communities in all parts of the world.
Finally, a publication will be released which will document all activities and statements, including further political and cultural analyses. This publication will be accessible and available to the international public and provide an informed perspective on the topic.
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No Humboldt 21 - Moratorium: Stop the planned construction of the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace
We demand that the work on the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace be ceased and that a public debate is held: the current concept violates the dignity and property rights of communities in all parts of the world, it is Eurocentric and restorative. The establishment of the Humboldt Forum is a direct contradiction to the aim promoting equality in a migration society.
Explanatory Statement:
The State Museums of Berlin are not the “legitimate owners of their holdings”.
The majority of the over 500,000 valuable items from all over the world ended up in Berlin through colonial conquests. The Europeans often even resorted to physical violence, in order to gain ownership of central objects belonging to the colonised societies – for example thrones, sceptres and cult objects. By taking the credit for these objects, the city of Berlin receives material benefits as well as intangible advantages up until the present day. We demand the disclosure of the ownership history of all the exhibits as well as adherence to the UN Resolution which is unequivocal regarding the “repatriation of cultural artifacts to countries which have been the victims of expropriation.” The dialogue concerning the future homes of the plundered art and the colonial loot must be sought with the descendants of the artists and the legal owners of the exhibits. This is particularly important regarding the stolen human remains, which are currently to be found in the possession of the “Preußischer Kulturbesitz” foundation.
Berlin’s colonial past is redeemed.
It is currently planned that the collections from all over the world will be returned to the palace of the Hohenzollerns, where Berlin’s first overseas treasures have already been presented. As it was then, this is about nothing other than representing power and global relevance. For the descendants of the colonised, both national and abroad, it is particularly disrespectful, that this should take place in the resurrected residence of the Brandenburg-Prussian monarchs. The Hohenzollerns were primarily responsible for the enslavement of thousands of people from Africa as well as genocides and concentration camps in Germany’s former colonies. Therefore we roundly reject any presentation of objects in the Berlin Palace which were brought to Berlin during colonial times.
The cultures of the world are discriminated against, being marked as “strange” and “other”.
As already was the case during those times when “exotic curiosities” were displayed in the “cabinets of wonders” belonging to the Princes of Brandenburg and the Prussian Kings, the Berlin Palace – Humboldt Forum will apparently serve the purpose of developing a Prussian-German-European identity. This concern is actually directly opposed to the aim of promoting a culture of equality in the migration society and is being pursued to the detriment of others. The supposed “stranger” and “other” will be constructed with the help of the often centuries old objects from all over the world, and the extensive collection of European art on Berlin’s museum island will be put to one side. In this way, Europe will be constructed as the superior norm. We reject this degrading form of presentation. We demand that the “Preußischer Kulturbesitz” foundation makes an effort to ensure that experts from the countries of the global south are involved in presenting their own works in a way that promotes equality of opportunity, has an awareness of power dynamics and focusses on portraying similarities between peoples.
The “research on non-European cultures” is not problematized.
The exploration of the world and its populations by European “researchers” was a colonial project for many years and still affects the regimentation and exploitation of the global south to this day. One of the two people this project is named after, Alexander von Humboldt, was involved in this project to a great extent. The Spanish royalty and its overseas colonial regime, which was based on genocide and slavery, were particularly interested in the results of his expeditions in South and Middle America, and they supported him to the best of their ability. In this way, the Prussian “who really discovered America” who even stole buried corpses and shipped them to Europe, embodies colonial dominance. Humboldt is not an appropriate person to name an intercultural centre after.
The cultural treasures of the world remain exclusively for the good of the people of the north.
In the written concept, the President of the foundation, Hermann Parzinger, invites “visitors from Asia or the descendants of indigenous Indian or African Societies” to the German capital. In an era where people drown daily in the Mediterranean Sea because they have no other means to enter Europe, such an invitation can only be described as cynical. Aminata Traoré, the former Culture and Tourist Minister of Mali, put it in a nutshell: “Our cultural works enjoy civil rights in places, where even our entire community is denied permission to stay.” We demand the “Preußischer Kulturbesitz” foundation to enable access to Berlin’s non-European collections to all people of the world. The looted art must be returned – permanently. Moreover, this should take place through the loan the artworks to the countries without any cost to them in order to realize international exhibition projects in all regions of the world where the artworks now located here were created.
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Decolonial Objections Against the Humboldt Forum – Poster Campaign
“Collecting” cultural and artistic objects was one of the favorite activities of many “explorers” and colonialists. Thus, most of the ethnological objects which are planned to be exhibited at the Humboldt Forum in the reconstructed Berlin Palace were “acquired” during the colonial era – with a significant amount of objects originating from former German colonies. In many cases, valuable cultural possessions were not given away or sold voluntarily. They were obtained by fraud, extortion, or looting. Today, it is with the aid of the very same objects that the Berlin Palace is expected to host a “Dialogue of Cultures” in the center of the city. As part of the campaign “No Humboldt 21!,” we make a stand against the cynical logic of this prestigious project. To showcase its colonial legacy, our poster campaign is disclosing exemplary histories of problematic acquisition of ethnological objects. We demand more transparency from the State Museums of Berlin, and the establishment of a respectful dialogue with the communities of origin who should be able to decide autonomously what should happen to their treasures.
All posters of the campaign are licensed as Creative Commons. They can be downloaded as pdf, and are to be used for all non-commercial purposes stating the indicated license number:
Poster 1 / Poster 2 / Poster 3 / Poster 4 (each 30 MB printable data)
The campaign “No Humboldt 21!” is carried out by AfricAvenir, AFROTAK TV, cberNomads, artefakte/anti-humboldt, Berliner Entwicklungspolitischer Ratschlag, Berlin Postkolonial, glokal, Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD).
“Ever looked at Looted Art?” – The King's Mother Idia, Benin, Nigeria
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When Oba Ovonramwen, ruler of the Edo Kingdom, refused to bow to the English colonialists, the British in 1897 invaded the residential city of Benin, located in present day Nigeria. During this military invasion, the British lootec hundreds of valuable bronze statues from the King’s palace and sold them off to interested parties all over the world. Felix von Luschan, then head of the African Department at the “Königliches Museum für Völkerkunde” (Royal Museum for Ethnology) of Berlin, took notice and immediately sent one of his assistants off to London where the latter acquired numerous bronzes. For many years, the Oba of Benin, important Nigerian art historians, as well as the Nigerian Ministry of Culture are demanding the return of these objects, especially as Luschan had full knowledge of their illegitimate acquisition at the moment of the purchase. Nonetheless, the regional government of Berlin is arguing up to this day that they had never heard of such restitution demands.
“Empty the Colonial Treasure Chambers!” – Protective God Makabu Buanga, Possession of Prince Ischiehwu, Congo
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Ludwig Wolf, the doctor who accompanied colonial officer Hermann Wissman’s “expedition,” extorted the Protective God Makabu Buanga from the Congolese Prince Ischiehwu. Since Wolf had first caught sight of the statue, he had been heavily determined to seize it. Once Ischiehwu – according to the doctor – had behaved disloyally toward the Europeans, Wolf extorted the statue under the threat of death sentence. Wolf himself did not make a secret of this extortion. In his travel diary he wrote: “Under normal circumstances I could not have obtained the Makabu Buanga, not for any form of sacrifice.”
„Freedom of Movement?!“ – Nefertiti, Egypt
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Since the existence of the bust of Nefertiti in Berlin was disclosed to the public in 1923, the Egyptian State and Germany are fighting about its legitimate place. The statue was excavated in Northern Africa in 1913 and then secretly shipped to Germany under unsettled circumstances. The Egyptian State has ever since been incessantly pressing for its return, or at least an exhibition of the statue in Egypt. But while Egypt continues to loan prestigious objects to Germany, the State Museums of Berlin explained in a cynical manner that “after 3000 years, the lady [is] not willing to travel.” Hence, the space reserved for Nefertiti in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization is still empty. While the other non-European treasures are meant to contribute to the “Dialogue of Cultures” on the Schloßplatz, the African bust that some call the “most beautiful Berlinerin” will stay in the Egyptian Museum on the Museum Island, in the middle of institutions devoted to European art.
“Prussian Cultural Heritage?” – Mandu Yenu, Foumban, Cameroon
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Why would a king voluntarily give away his throne? According to the description of the State Museums of Berlin, this is exactly what King Ibrahima Njoya, the legendary ruler of the Bamum in Cameroon, has done. In 1908, he sent his famous throne “Mandu Yenu” to Emperor Wilhelm II, allegedly to buttress his position as ally of the house of Hohenzollern. But this narrative of the State Museums ignores the power relations in the former colony: A picture of the throne had hardly reached Germany as the heads of ethnological museums instigated a race for the grand throne. It was only after enduring pressure from the German side that Njoya accepted the modeling of a copy in order to satisfy the Germans while preserving his symbol of power. And it was only when the copy was not finished in time that he finally gave the original to the Germans and kept the duplicate. In return, Emperor Wilhelm II did not offer him his throne, but a life-size portrait of himself.
The Anti-Humboldt-Box - An exhibition in a suitcase
The Anti-Humboldt-Box is an exhibition by Artefakte//anti-humboldt (Brigitta Kuster, Regina Sarreiter, Dierk Schmidt) and AFROTAK TV cyberNomads (Michael Küppers-Adebisi) in cooperation with Andreas Siekmann and Ute Klissenbauer.
The exhibition addresses the debate surrounding the current reconstruction of Berlin’s historical centre in the form of the Berlin Castle/Humboldt-Forum. The Anti-Humboldt-Box makes the criticism leveled against the Humboldt-Forum mobile, enabling its presentation in different venues. The exhibition in the suitcase - based on Marcel Duchamps boîte-en-valise - is simultaneously art and information. The exhibition pieces - artistic miniatures, video material, flyers, posters - were created in the framework of the No Humboldt 21! campaign.
Interview: "Mein Weg ist der Weg der Versöhnung", Prince Kum'a Ndumbe III. bei AfrotakTV
Interview von Prince Kum'a Ndumbe III. auf AFROTAK TV cyberNomads. Im Rahmen der Debatten um den Wideraufbau des Stadtschlosses und der Errichtung des Humboldtforum spricht Prince Kum'a Ndumbe III. über die Geschichte seines Großvaters Lock Priso, dessen Widerstand gegen die deutschen Kolonialisten, den Raub des Tangué (Königsinsignien seiner Familie) und dem beschwerlichen Weg zu Aus- und Versöhnung.
Further Reading & Links
The following list has been put together by Mareike Heller of AfricAvenir:
Anthropology and its relation to German colonial past
- Cornelia Esser (1986): Das Berliner Völkerkunde-Museum in der Kolonialära. Anmerkungen zum Verhältnis von Ethnologie und Kolonialismus in Deutschland. In: Hans J. Reichhardt (Hg.): Berlin in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Jahrbuch des Landesarchivs Berlin. Berlin: Wolf Jobst Siedler Verlag.
- Gothsch, Manfred (1983): Die deutsche Völkerkunde und ihr Verhältnis zum Kolonialismus. ein Beitrag zur kolonialideologischen und kolonialpraktischen Bedeutung der deutschen Völkerkunde in der Zeit von 1870 bis 1975. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
- Laukötter, Anja (2007): Von der "Kultur" zur "Rasse" - vom Objekt zum Körper? Völkerkundemuseen und ihre Wissenschaften zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts. 1. Aufl. Bielefeld: transcript (Science studies).
- Penny, H. Glenn (2003): Objects of culture. Ethnology and ethnographic museums in Imperial Germany. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
- Smith, Woodruff D. (1987): Anthropology and German Colonialism. In: Arthur J. Knoll und Lewis H. Gann (Hg.): Germans in the tropics. Essays in German Colonial History. New York: Greenwood Press.
- Stelzig, Christine (2004): Afrika am Museum für Völkerkunde zu Berlin 1873-1919. Aneignung, Darstellung und Konstruktion eines Kontinents. Herbolzheim: Centaurus (Kulturen im Wandel, 10).
- Weber, Kristin: Objekte als Spiegel kolonialer Beziehungen – Das Sammeln von Ethnographica zur Zeit der deutschen kolonialen Expansion in Ostafrika (1884-1914). 1. Kölner Afrikawissenschaftliche Nachwuchstagung.
- Zimmerman, Andrew (2001): Anthropology and antihumanism in Imperial Germany. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Colonial past of artifacts and discussions about restitution
- Eyo, Ekpo (2008): From Shrines to Showcases. Masterpieces of Nigerian Art.
- Flynn, Tom: The Universal Museum. A valid model for the 21st century?
Gabriel, Mille; Dahl, Jens (Hg.) (2007): Utimut. Past Heritage - Future Partnerships - Discussions on Repatriation in the 21st Century. IWGIA. Copenhagen. Online verfügbar unter: http://www.iwgia.org/iwgia_files_publications_files/0028_Utimut_heritage.pdf - Geary, Christraud; Njoya, Amadou Ndam (1985): Mandu Yenu: Trickster Verlag.
- Greenfield, J. (2007): The Return of Cultural Treasures: Cambridge University Press. Online verfügbar unter http://books.google.de/books?id=-r032DSDsOIC
- ICOM (2004): Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums. In: ICOM News (1), S. 4.
- Hilden, Patricia Penn (2000): Race on Sale. Narratives of Possession in Two "Ethnic" Museums. In: TDR 44 (3), S. 11–36.
- Husemann, Manuela (2013): Golf in the City of Blood. The Translation of the Benin Bronzes in 19th Century Britain and Germany. In: Polyvocia (5), S. 3–24. Online verfügbar unter http://www.soas.ac.uk/research/rsa/journalofgraduateresearch/
- Kazeem, Belinda (2009): Die Zukunft der Besitzenden. Oder fortwährende Verstrickungen in neokoloniale Argumentationsmuster. In: Belinda Kazeem, Charlotte Martinz-Turek und Nora Sternfeld (Hg.): Das Unbehagen im Museum. Postkoloniale Museologien. Wien: Turia + Kant (Schnittpunkt Ausstellungstheorie & Praxis, 3), S. 43–60.
- Oberhofer, Michaela (2009): Zwischen Tradition und Innovation. Geschichte der Bamum-Sammlung des Ethnologischen Museums in Berlin, 30.05.2009. Online verfügbar unter http://about-africa.illov.de/zuerich/vortraege/Z%C3%9C-2009FT-11.php#top, zuletzt geprüft am 12.05.2011.
- Opoku, Kwame (2013): Columbian Objections To Lending Artefacts for Exhibition Honouring German Ethnologist: Lessons For Nigerians And Other Africans? Online verfügbar unter: http://www.modernghana.com/news/510645/1/colombian-objections-to-lending-artefacts-for-exhi.html
- Opoku, Kwame (2013): Germans Debate Legitimacy and Legality of Looted Artefacts In Ethnology Museum, Berlin. Online verfügbar unter: http://www.modernghana.com/news/510010/1/germans-debate-legitimacy-and-legality-of-looted-a.html
- Opoku, Kwame (2013): Did Germans Never Hear Directly or Indirectly Nigeria's Demands for Return of Looted Artefacts? Online verfügbar unter http://www.no-humboldt21.de/information/nigeria/, zuletzt geprüft am 07.10.2013.
- Opoku, Kwame (2013): Will Nigeria Finally Raise Resitution of Benin Artefacts at UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee? Online verfügbar unter http://www.modernghana.com/news/483026/1/will-nigeria-finally-raise-restitution-of-benin-ar.html, zuletzt geprüft am 28.08.2013.
- Opoku, Kwame (2013): „Benin Plan of Action“ (2): Will This Miserable Project be the Last Word on the Looted Benin Artefacts? Online verfügbar unter: http://www.modernghana.com/news/451636/1/benin-plan-of-action-2-will-this-miserable-project.html
- Opoku, Kwame (2008): Benin to Berlin Ethnologisches Museum: Are Benin Bronzes Made in Berlin? Online verfügbar unter: http://www.modernghana.com/news/157501/1/benin-to-berlin-ethnologisches-museum-are-benin-br.html, zuletzt geprüft am 28.08.2013.
- Paczensky, Gert von; Ganslmayr, Herbert (1984): Nofretete will nach Hause. Europa - Schatzhaus d. "Dritten Welt". München: Bertelsmann.
Singh, Kavita (2009): The Universal Museum: View from Below. In: Scientific and Cultural Organization United Nations Educational (Hg.): Witnesses to history. a compendium of documents and writings on the return of cultural objects. Paris, S. 123–130. - Vrdoljak, Anna Filipa (2006): International Law, Museums and the Return of Cultural Objects: Cambridge University Press. Online verfügbar unter http://books.google.de/books?id=hYWMhDUrGBUC
- Weber, Kristin: Objekte als Spiegel kolonialer Beziehungen – Das Sammeln von Ethnographica zur Zeit der deutschen kolonialen Expansion in Ostafrika (1884-1914). 1. Kölner Afrikawissenschaftliche Nachwuchstagung.
Power, Museums and the Representation of the 'Other'
- Alexandertechnik//anti-Humboldt (2009): Der Anti-Humboldt. Eine Veranstaltung zum selektiven Rückbau des Humboldt-Forums. Alexandertechnik. Berlin, 12.07.2009.
- Bose, Friedrich von (2008): Die Musealisierung des "Anderen". Gedanken zu ethnologischem Ausstellen als kultureller Praxis. In: Beate Binder und Dagmar Neuland-Kitzerow (Hg.): Kunst und Ethnographie. Zum Verhältnis von visueller Kultur und ethnographischem Arbeiten. Münster ; Hamburg ; Berlin ; London: Lit (Berliner Blätter Ethnolographische und ethnologische Beiträge, 46), S. 187–198.
- Bose, Friedrich von (2011): Im Schaudepot. Die museale Ordnung von innen heraus anfechten. In: Berliner Blätter (57), S. 131–142, zuletzt geprüft am 27.02.2013.
- Connelly, Frances S.(2010): Authentic Irony. Primitivism and Its Aftermath. In: Critical Interventions, Bd. 7.
- Coombes, Annie E. (1994): Reinventing Africa. Museums, material culture, and popular imagination in late Victorian and Edwardian England. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Förster, Larissa (Hg.) (2013): Transforming Knowledge Orders. Museums, Collections and Exhibitions. Paderborn: Fink (Morphomata).
- Grewe, Cordula (2006): Between Art, Artifact and Attraction. The Ethnographic Object and its Approriation in Western Culture. In: Cordula Grewe (Hg.): Die Schau des Fremden: Ausstellungskonzepte zwischen Kunst, Kommerz und Wissenschaft. Stuttgart: Steiner, S. 9–44.
- Ha, Noa (2014): Perspektiven urbaner Dekolonisierung: Die europäische Stadt als ‚contact zone‘, in: Sub\urban, Bd. 2/1, S.27-48.
- Karavanga, Christian (2008): Konserven des Kolonialismus. Die Welt im Museum. eipcp. Online verfügbar unter translate.eipcp.net/transversal/0708/kravagna/de/print, zuletzt geprüft am 10.04.2013.
Kazeem, Belinda; Lauré al Samarai, Nicola; Pietsche, Peggy (2008): Museum. Raum. Geschichte: Neue Orte politischer Tektonik. Ein virtueller Gedankenaustausch. eipcp. Online verfügbar unter http://translate.eipcp.net/transversal/0708/kazeemetal/de/print, zuletzt geprüft am 10.04.2013. - Maupeu, Sarah; Schankweiler, Kerstin (2009): Ein Universalmuseum für Berlin? Über "Die Tropen - Ansichten von der Mitte der Weltkugel" im Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin. In: Texte zu Kunst 19 (73), S. 253–257.
Mathur, Saloni (2005): Museums and Globalisation. In: Anthropological Quarterly Bd.78/3, 697-708. - Meza Torres, Andrea (2011): The Museumization of Migration in Paris and Berlin and Debates on Representation. In: Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge 9 (4), S. 5–21.
- Ogbechie, Sylvester Okwunodu (2012): Making History. African Collectors and the Canon of African Art. Milano: 5continents.
- Phillips, Ruth B.; Steiner, Christopher Burghard (1999): Unpacking culture. Art and commodity in colonial and postcolonial worlds. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Price, Sally (2007): Paris primitive. Jacques Chirac's museum on the Quai Branly. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Ugiomoh, Frank A. O. (2007): The Crises of Modernity. Art and Definitions of Culture in Africa. In: Third Text 21 (3), S. 297–305.
Selfrepresentations
- Enwezor, Okwui; Achebe, Chinua (2001): The short century. Independence and liberation movements in Africa, 1945-1994. Munich, New York: Prestel.
- Lauré al Samarai, Nicola (2011): Diasporisches Denken,ex-zentrische Kartographien. Grundlegungen zur Wechselausstellung Homestory Germany - Schwarze Biographien in Geschichte und Gegenwart. In: Anna Greve (Hg.): Museum und Politik - Allianzen und Konflikte. 1. Aufl. Göttingen, Niedersachs: V & R unipress (Kunst und Politik, 13).
- Mears, Helen; Modest, Wayne (2012): Museums, African Collections and Social Justice. In: R. Sandell und E. Nightingale (Hg.): Museums, Equality and Social Justice: Taylor & Francis.
- Ugiomoh, Frank A. O. (2007): The Crises of Modernity. Art and Definitions of Culture in Africa. In: Third Text 21 (3), S. 297–305.
Links
The Anti-Humboldt
A lecture about the 'selective demolition' of the Humboldt-Forum with workshops on nationabranding, postcolonial displays and demands for resitution on the 12th of july 2009, Sophiensaele, Berlin.
Black Bismark
Theaterstück über Bismark, deutsche Koloniale Vergangenheit und Gegenwart und Weiß-Sein.
Play about Bismark, german colonial past and present and whiteness.
www.andco.de/index.php
Dark Matter 11: Afterlives
Ausgabe des Online-Journals „Dark Matter“ von Artefakte//anti-humboldt zu postkolonialer Erinnerungskultur in Deutschland – im speziellen zum Humboldt-Forum
Issue of the online journal „Dark Matter“ by Artefakte//anti-humboldt on postcolonial memory in Germany – especially the case of the Humboldt-Forum
www.darkmatter101.org/site/category/issues/11-afterlives/
'Freedom Roads'
Ausstellung zu kolonialen Straßennamen und postkolonialer Erinnerungskultur
Exhibition about colonial street names and postcolonial commemorative culture
www.freedom-roads.de/frrd/willkom.htm
Homestory Deutschland
Schwarze Biographien in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Eine Ausstellung der Initiative Schwarzer Menschen in Deutschland (ISD e.V.)
Homestory Germany
Black biographies in history and present. An exhibition by the Initiative Schwarzer Menschen in Deutschland (ISD e.V.)
www.homestory-deutschland.de
Humboldt-Forum.info
Homepage, auf der die Diskussionen rund um die Rekonstruktion des Berliner Schlosses bis 2009 dokumentiert ist.
Homepage documenting the discussions around the reconstruction of the Berliner Schloss up to 2009.
www.humboldt-forum.info
Kampagne “Nofretete geht auf Reisen”
Webseite der Kampagne “Nofretete geht auf Reisen”. Diese Kampagne forderte 2007 die deutsche Regierung dazu auf das berechtigte Interesse und die Rechte der Ägypter an der Büste der Nofretete angemessen würdigen.
Campaign „Nofretete geht auf Reisen“
In 2007, this campaign demanded of the German government to recognize the legitimate interests and rights of Egypt on the bust of Nofretete.
nofretete-geht-auf-reisen.de/willkomm.htm
Kampagne “Kein Schloss in meinem Namen”
www.kein-schloss-in-meinem-namen.de
Kwame Opoku auf Modern Ghana
Aktuelle Berichterstattung über Rückgabeforderungen und Verhandlungen von Dr. Kwame Opoku
News on claims for restitution and current discussions by Dr. Kwame Opoku
www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/columnist/category.asp
Pambazuka Articles
„Will other holders of Benin bronzes return them? An interview with Prince Edun Akenzua of Benin“ (01.05.2014)
www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/91568
„Nigerian archaeologists protest German exhibition of looted art“ (13.11.2013)
www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/89621
„George Clooney and the return of Africa’s stolen artefacts“ (26.03.2013)
www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/91113
Projekt “Humboldt 21. Rückbau Berliner Schloss Humboldtforum”
von Marion Pfaus
www.humboldt21.de/GEGENWART.html
Media Coverage
Daniel Pelz: Streit um Schädel: Dunkles Kolonialerbe in deutschen Museen, Deutsche Welle, 6.04.2018
Stephan Speicher : Duell der Kulturen. Gibt das Humboldt-Forum alle Ansprüche auf?, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 11.07.2014
Rüdiger Schaper: Das Amazonas-Modul. Wie das Humboldt-Forum von Innen aussieht, Der Tagesspiegel , 09.07.2014
Kerstin Krupp: Humboldt-Forum: Neues Ausstellungskonzept für das Berliner Schloss, Berliner Zeitung, 09.07.2014
Horst Köhler: In Berlin soll jetzt das Weltgespräch beginnen, Die Welt, 03.07.2014.
Christiane Peitz: Weltmeister des Verstehens: Debatte um das Humboldt-Forum, Der Tagesspiegel, 02.07.2014.
Livia Gerster: Zwei Wochen nach der Räumung: Der Protest auf dem Oranienplatz geht weiter, Der Tagesspiegel, 24.04.2014.
Velten Schäfer: Exorzismus des Exotismus – Der Weg zur Entgiftung der Dahlemer Sammlung für das “Humboldt-Forum” in Berlin ist noch weit (pdf), Neuen Deutschland, 27.03.2014
Andrea Dernbach: Streit um afrikanische Gebeine: Abgeschoben aus dem Charité-Museum (pdf), Der Tagesspiegel, 24.03.2014.
Gwendolin Hilse: Namibische Forderungen nach Reparationen bleiben, Deutsche Welle, 22.03.2014.
Tendai Marima: Bones of Contention: The Politics of Repatriating Namibia’s Human Remains (pdf), Think Africa Press, 19.03.2014
Jaques Pezet : L’Allemagne souhaite rendre le os de son passé coloniale, Le Nouvel Observateur, 19.03.2014
Kien Nghi Ha: Humboldts Erben – Das Humboldt-Forum in Berlin ignoriert koloniale Verstrickungen und betreibt nationale Nabelschau, analyse und kritik, Nr.592, 18.03.2014.
Svenja Bednarczyk: Massengrab im Depot – Bundesregierung will tausende Gebeine aus der Kolonialzeit loswerden. Ihre Rückführung bedeutet viel Arbeit (pdf), TAZ, 18.03.2014
Gemeinsame PM des Zentralrats der Afrikanischen Gemeinde, der Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland sowie der Bündnisse “No Humboldt 21!” und “Völkermord verjährt nicht!”: Bundesregeierung plant Abschiebung von Gebeinen aus der Kolonialzeit (pdf), 17.03.2014
Anke Schwarzer: Übergabe ohne Publikum: Deutschland hat Namibia erbeutete Schädel aus der Kolonialzeit zurückgegeben – ohne die Opferverbände einzuladen (pdf), Jungle World, 14.03.2014
Michael Scatturo: Germany returns to Namibia the remains of Herero victims of colonial-era massacre, DW Africalink on Air, 05.03.2014
Aufarbeitung der Kolonialzeit: Deutschland soll sich für Völkermord in Namibia entschuldigen (pdf), Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg, 04.03.2014
Julia Vitalis: Taktierei um Skelette. Ethnologische Sammlung: Weiter Streit über die Rückgabe von Gebeinen aus Afrika (pdf), Neues Deutschland, 04.03.2014
PM des Bündnisses “Völkermord verjährt nicht!”: These bones are not enough! (pdf), 03.03.2014.
EPD: Völkermord: Namibia soll Gebeine erhalten (pdf), Südwestpresse, 03.03.2014.
PM des Bündnisses “Völkermord verjährt nicht!”: Berlin muss Gebeine afrikanischer Menschen zurückgeben, 01.03.2014
Katarina Wagner: Bündnis fordert Umbenennung in Nelson-Mandela-Straße, Quiez, 25.02.2014
Michael Scatturo: Peaceful protests in Berlin calling for the recognition of those killed during Germany’s colonial era in Africa (start 7:30), DW AfricaLink on Air, 24.02.2104
Wladek Flakin: Straße für Madiba, Junge Welt, 24.02.2014
Gesa Steeger: Wegweisende Beleidigung, TAZ, 23.02.2014
Susanne Memarnia: Rassistische Wissenschaft – Der Schreck sitzt in den Knochen, TAZ, 22.02.2014
Controverse autour du futur musée ethnologique, Dernières Nouvelles D’Alsace, 22.02.2014
Mirko Heinemann: Im Kolonialladen: Der Streit um das Humboldt-Forum, ZITTY Berlin, 18.02.2014
Laurent Berthault, Deborah Berlioz: De l’art spolié au futur musée ethnographique de Berlin?, Radio France International, 29.01.2014
Berlin: Kunstwerke aus Kolonialzeit, Arte News, 05.01.2014
Wolfgang Kaschuba: Kolonialismus im Humboldt-Forum?, Berliner Zeitung, 05.01.2014
Interview mit Michael Eissenhauer: Gemälde und Skulpturen gehören zusammen (pdf), Der Tagesspiegel, 05.01.2014
Volker Hassemer: Politik ist ein Männer und Frauen mordendes Geschäft (pdf), TAZ, 04.01.2014
Leadership (Abuja): Nigeria: Centenary – Where Are Nigeria’s 6,500 Artefacts Worth N313 Billion? (pdf), AllAfrica.com, 03.01.2014
Andrea Dernbach: Deutschland und sein koloniales Erbe – Ausfahrt aus der Mohrenstraße (pdf), Der Tagesspiegel, 28.12.2013
EPD: Menschliche Gebeine und koloniale Beutekunst (pdf), Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung, 28.12.2013
Sverre Gutschmidt: Polemik gegen Humboldtforum, Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung, 28.12.2013
Kwame Opoku: Germans Debate Legitimacy of Looted Artefacts in Ethnology Museum Berlin, Museum Security Network, 27.12.2013
Kwame Opoku: Colombian Objections to Lending Artefacts for Exhibition Honoring German Ethnologist: Lesson for Nigerians and other Africans, Museum Security Network, 27.12.2013
Andrea Dernbach: Rassismus im Stadtbild – Sprache ist Macht, Der Tagesspiegel, 21.12.2013
Dirk Jericho: Mandela- statt Mohrenstraße: Initiative ‘No Humboldt 21!’ fordert Umbenennung (pdf), Berliner Woche, 18.12.2013
D. Tamino Böhm: Straßenkampf um Nelson Mandela in Berlin (pdf), Südafrika-Portal, 18.12.2013
Eckhardt Fuhr: Berlins Stadtschloß hat ein Beutekunstproblem (pdf), Die Welt, 17.12.2013.
Tom Bristow: South Africa lukewarm over „Mandela square“, The Local, 17.12.2013.
Dokumentation: Unterwegs zu den Kulturen der Welt. Das Berliner Schloss und seine Zukunft, 3sat, 16.12.2013.
Stephan Wiehler: Berliner Schlossplatz sollte nach Samuel Maherero umbenannt werden, Der Tagesspiegel, 16.12.2013.
Mamapress: Mandela não é um Patrimônio Cultural da Prússia!, 16.12.2013.
Gemeinsame Pressemitteilung des NGO-Bündnisses „No Humboldt 21!“ und der „Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD-Bund)“: Mandela ist kein Preußischer Kulturbesitz! (pdf), 16.12.2013.
Archinaut: Wann kommt der Mandela-Burger?, Der Freitag, 14.12.2013.
CS: Mandela statt Mohren: Initiative will an südafrikanischen Nationalhelden statt am Schloss an der Mohrenstraße erinnern, Der Tagesspiegel, 13.12.2013.
Berlin diskutiert über Straßennamen, Berliner Zeitung, 13.12.2013
Pressemittelung des „Zentralrats der Afrikanische Gemeinde in Deutschland“: Kein Nelson-Mandela-Platz am Berliner Schloss/Humboldt-Forum! (pdf), 13.12.2013.
Gemeinsame Pressemitteilung des NGO-Bündnisses „No Humboldt 21! Moratorium für das Humboldt-Forum im Berliner Schloss“ und des „Global Afrikan Congress“: Berliner Mohrenstraße soll in Nelson-Mandela-Straße umbenannt werden“ (pdf), 12.12.2013
Archive & Public Culture, Out-of-the-box actions critique Berlin’s resuciated Humboldt-Forum, South Africa, 12.12.2013.
Sabine Rennefanz: Mandela und das Märchenschloss, Berliner Zeitung, 11.12.2013.
Ralf Schönball: Ein Berliner Platz für den Freiheitskämpfer. Der Platz vor dem Schloss soll nach Nelson Mandela benannt werden, Der Tagesspiegel, 11.12.2013.
Bernhard Schulz: Propagandistischer Pulverdampf. Streit um das Humboldtforum, Der Tagesspiegel, 9.12.2013.
Rüdiger Schaper: Von Dahlem Dorf nach Mitte. Die Raubkunstfrage und das Humboldt Forum, Der Tagesspiegel, 6.12.2013.
Thomas Loy: Berlin und seine koloniale Beutekunst. Kritiker fordern Baustopp am Humboldt-Forum, Der Tagesspiegel, 04.12.2013.
Andrea Dernbach: Ein Showroom für Raubkunst, Berliner Tagesspiegel, 04.12.2013.
Aya Bach: Beutekunst aus Afrika?, Deutsche Welle, 02.12.2013.
Hubertus Vollmer: Das Wort Völkermord bleibt tabu: Bundesregierung auf Distanz zu Schädeln, N-TV, 20.11.2013.
Velten Schäder: Im Schatten der Schädel, Neues Deutschland, 19.11.2013.
Laura Wösch: Ein Koffer voll koloniales Erbe, taz, 18.11.2013.
Christian Odoj: Alles nur geklaut, Neues Deutschland, 29.10.2013.
Isabell Jürgens und Gabriela Walde: Eine Herzensangelegenheit aller Deutschen (pdf), 13.06.2013.
Bernd Kammerer: Kaiserwetter und Trauerzug (pdf), Neues Deutschland, 13.06.2013.
Bernd Kammerer: Schloss nach Spenderlaune, Neues Deutschland, 12.06.2013.
Pressemitteilung: No Humboldt 21! Kampagne fordert Moratorium für das Humboldt-Forum im Berliner Schloss (pdf), 06.06.2013.
Nadja Vancauwenberghe: Colonialism on Display, EXBERLINER, 20.09.2012
Bernhard Schulz: Koloniale Erben – Eine Schloßdebatte, Der Tagesspiegel, 12.11.2008.
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