17:00 - 19:00
Halitplatz
Kassel's colonial traces: A post-colonial city tour shows new perspectives
European colonialism cost at least 70 that about 80 Mio. life of indigenous people in America. In the transatlantic slave trade 12 Mio. People uprooted and turned into commodities. The plunder of the colonies, their raw materials and precious metals, took between the 16. and 20. century to gigantic proportions. White domination over others was justified by racist ideologies. But what does that have to do with us here and today in Kassel?? Kassel is also a place, which is deeply entangled in the history of German colonialism. The anatomist Samuel Thomas Soemmering developed a theory of "scientific racism", the Henschel works made rails and trains, the colonial soldiers and raw materials transported, and colonial exhibitions were held in the orangery. This historical legacy is not immediately visible in today's cityscape. But it is important for a responsible handling of history, to make the traces of colonial rule visible again - for example the locations of grocery stores and exhibitions, the training centers for colonial farmers, the racial experiments in research.
Die Initiative kassel postcolonial has been leading since 2015 post-colonial city walks and invites you to do so, Getting to know Kassel anew. the aim is, To draw connections between Kassel's role in historical colonialism and our everyday life today and to consider the interweaving of Kassel with global social developments. That means, a critical look at power relations, Throwing trade routes or architectures, consciously taking both their history and their present seriously.
The next city tours will be on 15. and 29. take place in June, every Thursday at 17 o'clock take place. They last between one and a half and two hours.
meeting point is the Halitplatz (Dutch street, in front of the cemetery entrance).
Organized by Kassel Postcolonial
(questions to: Franziska Müller, | Aram Ziai, )