Tuesday, October 1
Petition calls on Berlin to expose right-wing donors behind Humboldt Forum
The decision to rebuild the Berlin Palace as the Humboldt Forum was always controversial. At first glance, the symbolism of painstakingly reconstructing the imperial residency of the Hohenzollern dynasty appeared deliberately conservative and backward-looking for a city that had struggled for a more self-reflective historical reckoning.
Then, there was the decision to fill the rooms of the palace with the contents of Berlin’s Ethnological Museum. That is, artefacts plundered during the reign of Germany’s colonial empire from all corners of the globe, including many human bodies, stolen from graveyards or murdered and taken as trophies.
Most recently, there have been a number of controversies over right-wing donors to the Humboldt Forum. Many of the people who paid for the reconstruction of the historical facade are known to hold extreme right-wing and anti-Semitic positions.
Now, a petition has been launched to “Repossess the palace”, which calls on the Bundestag to “end the one-sided glorification of Prussia” by physically “re-illustrating” the building’s facade. In addition, the petition makes some clear demands, including:
- An independent review of all donors of the facades of the Berlin Palace with regard to right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic statements.
- A transfer of donations from right-wing extremist, anti-Semitic and anonymous donors to an anti-racist initiative.
- The temporary visualisation of the components financed with these donations.
- The announcement of an artistic realisation competition to break the Prussian-glorifying appearance of the building.
- The termination of cooperation with the Berlin Palace Friends Association.
Those interested can sign the petition here
