Day 1
The excursion began with a decolonial city tour organized by Decolonize Berlin, which included, among other things, a visit to the site of the so-called Africa Conference, as well as the colonial portraits at the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building.
The group was then introduced to the importance of gender-specific perspectives in the culture of remembrance through a presentation by the Stiftung Asienhaus on the Japanese military’s handling of sexual violence during World War II.
The students also had the opportunity to learn about street renaming in Marzahn-Hellersdorf. They visited the “umbennen” exhibition at the district museum, which focuses primarily on street renaming during and after the GDR era.
To conclude the first day, the students met with activists from the support group for the Colombian Truth Commission in Germany to learn more about the culture of remembrance in diasporic contexts.
Day 2
On the second day, the students had the opportunity to engage in a discussion with members of the Berlin Senate’s Cultural Administration, thereby learning more about the practical political processes, possibilities, and limitations regarding the culture of remembrance.
The group then visited the “Monument to the Polish Soldier and German Anti-Fascists” in Berlin-Friedrichshain. In discussions with a staff member of the German-Polish House, the students explored the tension between state-led remembrance policies and civil society engagement, and learned more about German-Polish relations since World War II.
The final stop on the field trip once again focused on the topic of street renaming: The students visited the Wedding neighborhood, where activists from Berlin Postkolonial e.V. have successfully campaigned to rename streets that were named after colonial criminals.
The field trip brought the seminar’s content to life in a vivid way and facilitated direct dialogue between students and activists in the field of remembrance culture. We would like to thank all the sites and initiatives we visited for their time and for providing enlightening insights into their work.