Intertwined Memories

Abstract

What traces of colonial and Nazi violence can be found in the Humboldt Forum exhibitions? How relevant is this heritage for democracy today? In the collaborative project ‘Intertwined Memories,’ people from Berlin’s diverse urban society, international partners from Namibia, Rwanda, Jamaica and Israel, and employees of the Ethnologisches Museum and the Stiftung Humboldt Forum are working together to develop educational formats for schoolchildren and adults.

The combination of the architecture and history of the Humboldt Forum with the exhibition of anthropological collections from colonial contexts has created a tension that has been articulated in numerous debates since the museum opened. Dialogue-based educational programs create the opportunity to negotiate controversial topics with different visitor groups. We see criticism of anti-Semitism and racism as two important building blocks of our educational formats.