Intertwined Memory(s) at the Humboldt Forum

What traces of colonial and National Socialist histories and crimes can be found in the exhibitions of today’s Humboldt Forum? In the collaborative project Intertwined memory(s)? experts from Berlin’s urban society, international partners, employees of the Ethnologisches Museum of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss reflect on the possibilities of education and mediation to deal with memories of the Shoah and crimes of colonialism from multiple perspectives. They have found vivid examples in the collections of the Ethnologisches Museum and the history of the site of the Berlin Palace: The sculpture of the Cameroonian Queen Mother Naya, for example, was presented in a National Socialist propaganda show as early as 1933; today it can be seen in the Colonial Cameroon room in the Humboldt Forum. Biographical traces are also linked to the specific history of the site: The racial hygienist Eugen Fischer was a senator of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society based in the Berlin Palace.

Today’s memory also plays a role in the guided tours and discussions. How can the recognition of difference be translated into a social memory that leaves room for pluralistic Jewish and post-colonial voices of the present?

Two one-hour guided tours in English and German at 1 pm (meeting point F, 2nd Floor) and 2 pm (meeting point A in the Foyer) present different traces, biographies, objects and places of colonial and Nazi history.

The event will conclude with a panel discussion in English on the opportunities for a culture of solidarity and remembrance in a post-migrant society in Room 5 on the 1st floor at 5 pm It will be framed by a musical performance by Alex Stolze.

The events take place as part of Museumssonntag Berlin and are free of charge. They are supported by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion as part of the program for the prevention of anti-Semitism and the promotion of interreligious dialogue.

Caroline Assad is a consultant for international affairs and diversity in the Strategy Department at the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss. Caroline Assad has experience in organizational development, management and diversity orientation in international cultural work. She worked at the German Center for Integration and Migration Research on a study on diversity in foreign cultural and educational policy and developed discussion and publication formats on the topic. Prior to this, she worked in cultural education, including at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, at UNICEF in Khartoum and at HKW in Berlin. As managing director of the association WIR MACHEN DAS, she has experience in managing projects with international authors, artists and other cultural workers from war and crisis regions. She studied Education at the Free University of Berlin and Public Administration at the Hertie School.

Eliaou Balouka is a clinical psychologist and PhD Student in Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck University. His research engages with Jewish-Muslim histories of minoritization in northern Africa and in the European urban diaspora outside and beyond the question of Israel-Palestine. It provides important scholarship by engaging with long indigenous history and its rupture in modernity. It highlights the legacy of little-known histories of judeo-muslim symbiosis and minority diversity in Algeria and gives voice to populations whose histories have not been heard.

After studying for three years at a Talmudic school in al-Quds/Jerusalem, Eliaou obtained a master’s degree in clinical psychology, psychopathology and psychoanalysis at the University of Strasbourg, France and did a clinical specialisation in peer-support at Université Paris 5.

Eliaou worked as a clinical psychologist for five years, drawing on his profession to develop a research project at the articulation of psychosocial aspects at stake in traditionalist religious communities and transgenerational effects of exile/migration.

Christian Hajer studied landscape planning and urban and regional planning in Berlin and Venice. He has worked in planning communication for the Topography of Terror, the Federal Chancellery, Tempelhof Airport and the Humboldt Forum. His current areas of interest include climate adaptation and sustainable urban development.

Since the 1990s, he has been travelling as a freelance speaker and consultant for international delegations on planning issues in Berlin and the region.

Patrick Helber studied History and Political Science in Tübingen and Dublin and received his PhD in Modern and Contemporary History in Heidelberg in 2014. His book “Dancehall and Homophobia” is about postcolonial perspectives on Jamaican history and culture. He lives in Berlin, works at the Ethnological Museum as a research assistant in the field of education and outreach, and hosts a radio program on Caribbean popular culture. In addition, Patrick Helber has been putting out reggae, ska and dancehall on vinyl under the name Scampylama Sound since 2003.

Onias Landveld is a Dutch multidisciplinary artist and playwright who also uses spoken word and animation in his work. Both his parents have Surinamese Maroon roots (Saamaka and Ndyuka). As a child, his family had to flee South America due to the civil war and, although his family did move back to Suriname, Onias returned to the Netherlands in 1998. Onias has a strong connection to his community of origin, their traditions and knowledge – he has been in contact with the Ethnologisches Museum/Humboldt Forum regarding an object in the collection that was taken from the Ndyuka village Wanhatti, where Onias’ uncle is a traditional leader.

Assumpta Mugiraneza is a French-Rwandan academic with degrees in education, social psychology and political science. Since 1994, her research has focused on genocides and extreme violence, in particular through intensive discourse analyses. Since 2010, she has been co-founder and director of the IRIBA Centre for Multimedia Heritage. This centre for audiovisual archives from Rwanda works at the interface between academic research and practice. It comprises materials from over a century and is freely accessible.

She is the author and co-author of a number of articles on hate speech, propaganda, the communication of history and the role of archives in state building and the deconstruction of hate ideologies.

Andrea Scholz is curator for transcultural collaboration in the Ethnologisches Museum and Museum für Asiatische Kunst in Berlin. She is a trained anthropologist with a focus on Amazonia and has been working in various collaborative projects with indigenous communities and educational projects, mainly in Latin America.

Alex Stolze is an East German Jewish musician, producer and songwriter. His art reflects a life spent engaging with his Jewish identity and connection with Israel. He is active in educational work and organises events, including music festivals and those related to the Jewish community. Alex is currently involved in the project Intertwined Memory(s)?

Marc Wrasse is curator for education and mediation at the Academy of the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss. He is currently developing educational formats for a sustainable examination of the colonial legacy in the history of the site. Previously, he worked for the Jewish Museum Berlin for a long time on communicating German-Jewish history, its ruptures and its resilience.

Roey Zeevi studied communication and cultural studies. He led educational groups at Yad Vashem for a decade before switching to organising nationwide tours with a team of educators six years ago.

His main focus is on teaching Holocaust remembrance, for which he cooperates with over 2000 Israeli teachers every year. With his innovative approaches to Holocaust education, he endeavours to ensure that the profound lessons of history find their way into educational institutions.

- free admssion, no ticket required

- English, German

- Berlin Exhibition, 1st floor, Hall 5 Berlin Room