The Berlin Humboldt Forum was criticized even before the opening: due to the constant postponement of the completion of construction, due to the high cost of the project, due to the “old-fashioned” decision to preserve the elements of the Baroque façade of the former Berlin Palace. No less discussion was caused by plans to place objects from the collections of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art in it. On September 22, the official opening of the exhibition spaces of these two museums took place. And special attention was riveted to this event, since we are talking about controversial exhibits relating to the past of Germany.
Controversial exposition of the “Forum of Humbolds”
On the second and third floors of the western wing of the building, there are objects from non-European collections that came to Germany in the era of colonialism and ended up in German museums under not fully understood circumstances – only about 20 thousand exhibits from the collections of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art on an area of 8500 square meters. The permanent exhibition covers five continents and two thousand years of history. Some artifacts are shown for the first time. The exhibition will be open to the public on 23 September.
For example, in the exhibition you can see a huge silk painting depicting the sermon of the Buddha, which was created in 1770 by the Beijing court painter Ding Guanpeng. It was acquired by Kaiser Wilhelm II in the early 20th century to demonstrate his high rank.
Painting on silk, 50 sq.m. – an exhibit in the “Forum of the Humboldts”
The new halls of the Humboldt Forum also house partially reconstructed rock paintings from caves along the Silk Road, a 19th century throne from the kingdom of Bamum, boats from various regions of Oceania and cultural treasures of Hinduism. The most famous exhibits include Benin Bronze – bronze items from the palace of the ruler of the Kingdom of Benin, which can be seen in 2022.
Another famous object on display is a 15-meter boat from Luf Island. This largest exhibit of the Ethnological Museum was brought to Germany in 1903 by the director of the German trading company Hernsheim & Co from the territory of modern Papua New Guinea.
German colonialism and blind spots in historical memory
The proper approach to the presentation of objects of colonial origin and the importance of Germany’s confrontation with the dark pages of its history were the main themes at the inauguration of the new exhibition halls. The President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier took part in the ceremony. He pointed to the need to rethink the country’s colonial past.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the opening of a new exposition in the “Forum of the Humboldts”
“As for the colonial era, we Germans, for all our historical awareness, have too many gaps. White spots in our memory and in our identity,” the politician said in Berlin. According to him, the “Humboldt Forum” should become a place of remembrance and reminder of militarism and nationalism in the “Third Reich”, as well as of German colonialism. “The lawlessness that the Germans committed in the colonial era affects our entire society,” Steinmeier stressed, adding that the Humboldt Forum should educate, promote discussion, countering racism and discrimination in modern Germany, “a country with migratory roots.”
The German Government Commissioner for Culture and Media Monika Grütters called the Humboldt Forum the most significant cultural project since German reunification and an arena for a democratic debate culture. The presentation of colonial sites should contribute to a critical revision of the country’s history. According to the director of the Berlin cultural complex Hartmut Dorgerloh, the placement of exhibits of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art in his building is decisive for the success of the entire Humboldt Forum project.
Hermann Parzinger: New exhibition – a chance for intercultural dialogue
Reflection on colonial museum objects should not be perceived as a burden – it is a chance for intercultural dialogue, the head of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, emphasized earlier. He called the exposition the thematic backbone of the Humboldt Forum. “The discussion about the colonial context of this exhibition led to the fact that museums not only in Berlin and not only in Germany began to change their attitude towards such artifacts,” he was quoted by the dpa news agency. According to Parzinger, significant restitutions should be expected next year. In particular, it is planned to return the Benin bronze to Nigeria after the exhibition in Berlin.
The Humboldt Forum introduces cultural values from Africa, Asia, America and Oceania. In the photo – a fragment of a door frame from Cameroon
To expedite the process of finding out the origin of some objects from the non-European collection and their return, a special department for intercultural cooperation was established. Its leader, Andrea Scholz, noted that museums with problematic collections are just the tip of the iceberg, and perhaps German society is just beginning to grasp its size. The goal is to open museum collections and pay tribute and justice to people from the regions that are home to such objects.
Expositions in the “Forum of the Humboldts” taking into account criticism
The placement of objects with colonial roots in the new cultural complex drew a lot of criticism. Some see the new exhibition as a demonstration of the former colonial power of Germany. The representative of the Berlin Postkolonial initiative called at the opening in Berlin “provocation and humiliation” that cultural values are exhibited in the reconstructed palace of the Prussian kings without the consent of the peoples from whom they were “stolen”. The organizers are also accused of “false transparency”, which the “Humboldt Forum” demonstrates under public pressure.
The exhibition concept was built taking into account critical remarks. Postcolonial studies of provenance are covered in a free brochure on the permanent exhibition of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art. Information about the origin of objects can be read by QR codes. A multimedia presentation on colonialism has been prepared for children. Visitors to temporary exhibitions, also available with the opening of two museums at the Humboldt Forum, are told about the traces of colonial politics in the former German territories of Cameroon, Namibia and Oceania.
The installation, titled “Ansichtssache (n)” (“A Question of Perspective”), reflects the views that contributed not only to colonialism, but also to the formation of the perception of other peoples in Western European culture. Another temporary exhibition introduces the results of the collaboration of scientists from Berlin with the association of museums from Namibia, which dealt with the genocide of the Herero and Nama tribes, perpetrated by the colonial forces of imperial Germany in the early 20th century.
Boat from Loof Island
The criticism helped to decide the fate of the famous boat from Loof Island. Earlier, the historian Götz Aly wrote about how she got to Germany 20 years after the massacre on the island by the Kaiser’s army. But only now it was decided to find the descendants of the people who once built the ship. Descendants have been found. And the deputy director of the Ethnological Museum Alexis von Poser said the other day that they do not claim the original and ask for a copy of the boat to renew the tradition and create new objects.
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