A broom displayed at Dortmund's LWL Industrial Museum at Zeche Zollern tells a poignant story about the enduring impact of German colonial history: The sturdy street brush, still available today, is crafted from fibers of the piassava palm.
"Owners of a piassava bristle factory in Herford became millionaires with this product," explains curator Barbara Frey, as she speaks about a product that is native to Brazil.
This colonial-era household item, emblematic of economic exploitation in the colonies, is just one of 250 exhibits featured in a comprehensive exhibition organized by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen Lippe (LWL), a regional economic organization.
The item, one of the exhibit's more innocuous, will be on display as part of the show "This is colonial" (Das ist kolonial). The exhibit opens on Thursday evening and runs until October 2025. The LWL aims to make the legacy of German colonial history in Westphalia more visible.
The museum has concealed some of the exhibits behind frosted glass - primarily out of consideration for people who have experienced racism due to their appearance or skin colour. The viewer has to approach, change their perspective or lift a slide.
"When we talk about colonialism, we also have to talk about racism," warns Zola Wiegand M'Pembele, who contributed to the accompanying booklet for children and will guide visitors through the exhibition. "The two are closely linked," Wiegand M'Pembele, who is black, says.
For people of color, seeing stereotypical depictions of Africa or objects linked to their own family history can be painful, she explains.
There is, for example, a missionary donation box in the form of a black boy kneeling and nodding gratefully after inserting a coin.
For instance, there's a missionary donation box shaped like a kneeling black boy, gratefully nodding after receiving a coin. Photos depict "Völkerschauen," exhibitions where people with black skin were displayed like zoo animals, and children's books like Pippi Longstocking, in which the N-word was still used in older editions.
The exhibition also touches on topics such as looted art, its restitution, and the resistance of indigenous groups against foreign rule, often leading to wars and genocide.
Museum organizers emphasize that these exhibits highlight how deeply rooted colonial structures continue to influence society today.
"Our common goal is to show the traces of colonialism and its consequences for our society in the region today and to shed light on this previously overlooked topic from diverse perspectives," says LWL Director Georg Lunemann.
The history of the exhibition's creation underscores significant divergences in perspectives: A participatory workshop from the exhibition's inception ensured that many voices, including those from marginalized groups, were heard.
This workshop, designated as a so-called "Safer Spaces," was reserved for people of colour for four hours every week. Months after the workshop was launched, the museum was accused of marginalizing white people in posts on social media.
The museum received a flood of comments which, according to the museum, were of a racist and offensive nature. Right-wing slogans were posted on the museum gate, and the museum called the police. According to the museum, the police subsequently investigated several cases on suspicion of incitement to hatred.
Local far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) politicians fumed that this was an example of publicly funded "racism against whites." However, their demands for the dismissal of the museum management and other consequences went unheard.
Others saw the AfD as orchestrating a campaign seeking to stifle artistic freedom. Olaf Zimmermann, managing director of the German Cultural Council, spoke of a "perfidious campaign" by AfD politicians in response to the wave of criticism.
He added: "Right-wing forces want to restrict our artistic freedom. We must not allow that."
Museum Director Anne Kugler-Mühlhofer said at the presentation of the exhibition that the "Safer Spaces" format had been further developed following the experience gained. There will also be group-specific programmes to accompany the exhibition. She did not provide other details.
"The LWL Museum has done pioneering work with this 'Safer Space' approach," adds Wiegand M'Pembele - especially in a museum world in which a Eurocentric perspective continues to dominate. She and others in the curatorial team would therefore like to see more protected spaces in which non-white people can engage with such topics.
