Topic of the third week
Black during German Colonialism

Colonialism is a subject most of us have studied about at school. Many regions of this earth have either a history of colonizing, being colonized or both.

By Gloria Ssanyu Mukasa

Colonialism tells the story of people’s occupation and control by foreign social groups. For some regions of this world colonialism is not a past but present chapter.

That we can count 54 countries on the African continent today, is a result of colonial history – More specifically, the result of an event that was held from November 15th 1884 till February 26th 1885 in the former German Empire: It is known as the Berlin Conference.
The event was organized under the rule of chancellor Otto von Bismarck and brought all European colonial powers to the table. Aim was to discuss how to divide the African continent between them.

Highly problematic.

Problems as uprooting of identities and cultures, unequal power relations, violence, systemic oppression or social division exist until today.

Colonialism changed political, cultural and economic systems in Africa lasting.
So did Germany change through its colonizing history of thirty years which is reflected in present German society and the influence it has globally.

A responsibility that Germany is facing nowadays, lies in negotiating its memory culture and the global power relations.