»Stand in Solidarity! Black Resistance and global Anti-Colonialism in Berlin, 1919-1933«
From September 15, 2023, the project Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City and the Museum Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf will show the joint exhibition »Stand in Solidarity! Black Resistance and global Anti-Colonialism in Berlin, 1919-1933« in the Villa Oppenheim. The exhibition understands itself as a contribution to the decolonization of the city's history and focuses on actors from the former German colonies in Africa and on the history of the Black movement.
In the political forcefield of the Weimar Republic, between the end of monarchy and colonial rule, the ascent of communist internationalism and the rise of the National Socialists, Berlin became a postcolonial metropolis in a largely colonial world: migrants from Germany's withdrawn colonies in Africa already lived here. The city also became a center of attraction for numerous actors from North African, Asian and Arabic regions.
Coming from different colonial contexts, they became politically active, formed anti-colonial alliances, demanded independence for their countries of origin and resisted racism. Although the motives and circumstances of their stays differed, moments of solidarity emerge that are made visible by the exhibition. The Communist International (Comintern) played a central role, which provided a common political language and financial resources.
The anti-colonial Berlin was headstrong, revolutionary, and fleeting. More than thirty actors whose lives crossed paths here will be presented in this exhibition. »Stand in Solidarity!« traces the areas of friction and anchor points their initiatives had in everyday urban life and how, as a global movement, they had an impact far beyond.
The exhibition is the result of a cooperation between the Museum Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and the afrodiasporic and decolonial organizations of the project network Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City. The design is made by Studio visual intelligence.
Entry is free. Access is barrier-free. Exhibition in German and English.
Duration : September 15, 2023 – March 17, 2024
Opening hours : Tuesday - Friday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. & Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 11 a.m. - 5 p.m
Location : Museum Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in the Villa Oppenheim, Schloßstraße 55 / Otto-Grüneberg-Weg, 14059 Berlin
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»Stand in Solidarity! Black Resistance and global Anti-Colonialism in Berlin, 1919-1933« is funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion - District Cultural Fund, the Federal Cultural Foundation, District Cultural Fund Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.
