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Berlin's colonial past: A look at the new findings!
On April 22, 2025, experts in Berlin will present a conference proceedings on the city's colonial connections. The focus is on historical perspectives and digital research approaches.
Berlin's colonial past: A look at the new findings!
On May 6, 2025, an important conference volume entitled "Berlin's Path to Modernity. Colonial Flows of Goods and Desires 1713-1918" was presented in Berlin. This publication, edited by Lilja Ruben-Vowe, Prof. Dr. Klaus Weber and Felix Töppel at the eleventh annual scientific conference of the HiKo_21 network of the Historical Commission in Berlin, is dedicated to researching the colonial connections in the capital of Germany and looks at them from a historical perspective. The event took place on April 22, 2025 in the Senate Chamber and included a wide range of contributions and discussions.
In her lecture, Ruben-Vowe discussed colonial visual history and the associated Eurocentric claims to power. She advocated postcolonial and interdisciplinary approaches that view not only historiography but also archives as places of knowledge production and reflection. Felix Töppel also spoke and presented his research on the Prussian maritime trade, which made it clear how closely the maritime heritage is linked to colonial practices. He called for a critical examination of the colonial past and its effects on today's society.
Historical research and modern perspectives
The conference proceedings are groundbreaking because they not only shed light on Berlin's colonial past, but also focus on the period before the formal colonial period from 1884 to 1918. Prof. Dr. Klaus Weber emphasized that the traditional understanding of this era limits awareness of the continuities in colonial history. The volume is intended as a starting point for future research and discussions and does not claim to present a conclusive analysis.
In the context of the ongoing discussions about colonialism and its legacy, the IN_CONTEXT project, which is based at the Berlin State Library (SBB), is of great relevance. Its aim is to advance the digitization of holdings from colonial contexts. The SBB, which has played a central role in collecting historical documents since the 17th century, is supported by funding from the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK).
Virtual research environment and public debate
The IN_CONTEXT project creates a virtual research environment that is made accessible to relevant collections from Germany and international partners. This platform will not only serve to find and analyze historical sources, but also stimulate institutional reflection. Public debates about how to deal with the colonial past, including the return of museum objects and the renaming of institutions, are becoming increasingly important. Cultural heritage institutions are therefore rethinking their colonial connections.
Overall, both the conference proceedings and the IN_CONTEXT project represent measures not only to document colonial history, but also to actively bring it into the social discussion. This paves the way for a more comprehensive reflection and understanding of Berlin's role in the colonial past.
The analysis of colonial connections and their contemporary implications will therefore continue to be extremely explosive, both in academic circles and in the general public. Lilja Ruben-Vowe, Klaus Weber and Felix Töppel also pointed this out in their work.
European University reports on the book launch and its contents, while IN_CONTEXT the digital processing and the role of the SBB are highlighted.