Welcome to the city tour of Göttingen postcolonial
Which scientist from Göttingen collaborated in the formation of racist thinking? Why were women from Göttingen involved in emigration to the colony of German Southwest Africa (today Namibia)? What does the theft of the eagle from the Southwest Africa Monument have to do with resistance? And which critical colonial perspectives can be cast on the former student of the University of Göttingen Otto von Bismarck?
Who wants to know more about the city’s colonial history and its continuities until today is right here. If you are interested in how colonialism still affects and is visible in the city society today, then welcome! At various stations, we will explore colonial traces that are still (partly) responsible for structural racism in Göttingen and worldwide.
Why this tour?
Traces of colonialism and its effects today are usually not to be found at first glance in the cityscape. However, for a racism-critical approach to history, it is central to point out the traces of colonial power. Therefore, we would like to invite you to (re)discover Göttingen through a “post- and decolonial lens”.
The places that are to be visited in Göttingen within this tour represent only parts of the subject: they are starting points for a deeper examination of colonialism, which manifests itself in particular in relation to domination and structures. For this reason, the tour is intended to encourage visitors to engage with the colonial impact on (German) society. At best, it will inspire criticism and intervention regarding colonial continuities.
A trigger warning: racism is reproduced in some parts of the tour for pedagogical reasons. We have tried to do this only when it was not possible to convey the topic in any other way.
Now let’s get going!
One option is to be guided through Göttingen’s city center via a smartphone app – all information can be found here. Alternatively, the tour material is also available here on this homepage. Simply click your way through the individual stations:
This tour was designed and created by a group of committed people from the Göttingen postcolonial network.
The coordination was done within the framework of the One World Promoters position of the Development Information Center in Göttingen (EPIZ).
We hope you are getting some interesting insights while exploring!
Anna Weßling, Charlotte Becker, Chris Herrwig, Johanna Strunge, Moritz Baumeister and others involved
English