Solidarity in (Post-)Colonial Spaces?

This is a companion blog for the Students Results Exhibition “Solidarity in (Post-)Colonial Spaces?” and the following exhibition “Solidarity in (Post-)Colonial Spaces? Stories of Remembering and the Impact of Anti-Colonial Movements in Bremen” at the Haus der Wissenschaft.

We will share additional information, archival material, interviews, and related projects and activities. In the collection of links, you will find other projects in Bremen that deal with critical approaches to colonialism and its consequences.

Opening Hours Haus der Wissenschaft

Sandstraße 4/5
28195 Bremen

Mo – Fr: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sa: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

News

  • Invitation to the Exhibition Opening at Haus der Wissenschaft

    Invitation to the Exhibition Opening at Haus der Wissenschaft

    We cordially invite you to the opening of the exhibition
    “Solidarity in (Post-)Colonial Spaces? Stories of Remembering and Acting in Anti-Colonial Movements in Bremen”
    on March 11, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. at the Haus der Wissenschaft.

    The exhibition presents selected stories of anticolonial solidarity in Bremen since the late 1960s. It shows how closely memory, responsibility, and solidarity are intertwined and how contested these issues remain to this day:

    How was anti-colonial solidarity put into practice?
    When did debates about restitution of cultural heritage, street renamings, or the absence of colonialism in schoolbooks start?
    How can we critically engage with history today?

    On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Bremen Africa Archive (BAA e.V.), the exhibition focuses on its well-documented collaboration with the Namibian liberation movement SWAPO and on the engagement of anti-colonial solidarity groups, for example in addressing German colonial history and cruelties. Selected stories illustrate how closely remembrance, responsibility, and solidarity are intertwined—and how contested these issues remain to this day. Activists and experts share their perspectives on the engagement of that time and on the gaps in earlier efforts.

    We look forward to your visit, stimulating conversations, and a shared reflection on postcolonial possibilities of remembrance.

    The project is based on a research project of the Institute of History on the Bremen Africa Archive, as well as on an exhibition curated by Cultural Studies students in the summer semester of 2025.

    Funded by the Senator for Culture and by Brot für die Welt e.V.

    In cooperation with the North German Mission and the University of Bremen

    With kind regards,
    The Exhibition Team

  • Impressions from the Exhibition

    Impressions from the Exhibition

  • Solidarity – what does it actually mean?

    “Solidarity is not beneficence or charity.” – Shirin Rai 2018:14

    The concept of solidarity is widely debated in both political and academic contexts. On the one hand, solidarity can be understood as a universal moral obligation, closely linked to ideas of social justice. On the other hand, it can be seen as a practice based on shared (political) interests, aimed at realizing those interests. In social movements, solidarity often functions as a mobilizing tool – a call for various actors to take a stand. Solidarity is always tied to questions of belonging. Depending on how it is defined, it can refer to specific constellations, organizational structures, nationstate identities, or even apply universally to humanity or life itself (Mayer et al. 2024:11).

    What is clear is that solidarity must be distinguished from welfare and humanitarian aid. It arises from shared ideals of social justice or common (political) goals. Efforts to clarify this distinction often emphasize symmetrical and reciprocal relationships as preconditions for solidarity (Jaeggi 2021:54f.).

    Symmetrical and reciprocal relationships – in global contexts of inequality?

    In his influential book “The Wreched of the Earth”, anti-colonial thinker Frantz Fanon argued for the right of former colonies to reparations from their colonizers. The wealth of the West, he claimed, was “built on the backs of slaves” (Fanon 1981:79). From his deeply humanist perspective, Fanon derived a moral obligation for West-ern countries to make reparations – not just materially, but as an acknowledgment of guilt and responsibility for global inequality as a consequence of colonialism.

    What we now call “international development cooperation” could be seen as an attempt to realize Fanon’s demands. But far too often, forms of “neo-colonial policy advising” take place under the guise of development cooperation – following the development agendas of donor countries rather than responding to the needs and visions of the recipients of solidarity, while failing to address existing structures of inequality and dependence (Kerner 2024:38).

    Postcolonial pathways to solidarity?

    Postcolonial perspectives tend to understand solidarity as some-thing that must be continually redefined and negotiated in dialogue. They move away from the idea that we can offer universal answers to the difficult questions of practicing solidarity in unequal conditions and call for case-specific negotiation (Kerner 2024:44).

    According to Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, it is especially important to pursue a shared interest in knowledge in order to create concrete opportunities for solidarity in practice (cf. Spivak 1996a,b). Chandra Talpade Mohanty works with the concept of “coalition” and argues for solidarity without identity. In her view, solidarity is not based on shared experiences or identity, but rather on a strategic alliance aimed at finding compromises on common concerns (Mohanty 1992:84).

  • The Elephant in the Room

    The Elephant in the Room

    „What I read is that there were even names, 1,500 names, commemorating the people that died in the world wars. For you to say I’m taking exactly the same monument and repurpose or redefine its meaning by adding four or five sentences, is that enough? And those are the questions that are asked, and there are questions that should still be asked so that they can be engaged with. […] How do you take something that is so colonial and you are going to decolonize it? How do you do that? How do you decolonize something that is intertwined with colonialism? It’s a very huge task. So, for me, those are very serious gaps.“

    – Martha Akawa, Historian

    The Elephant was built in 1932 as a colonial memorial. In 1990, it was re-designated as an anti-colonial monument with a few sentences, additioning a memorial plaque. In 2009, on the initiative of the BAA e.V. and designed by Thomas Gatter, longtime chairman of the association, a memorial for the genocide of the Ovaherero and Nama was erected. The elephant, in its monumentality and size, symbolically represents the presence and dominance of colonial thought. From its elevated position on a pedestal, it overlooks the memorial. Yet, next to the elephant, the memorial—a stone circle on the ground nearby—appears almost unnoticed and neglected.

    The exhibition poster was part of the exhibition „Solidarity in (Post-)Colonial Spaces?“, which was on display from July 5 to 25, 2025, at the State and University Library Bremen. Visitors were encouraged to interact with the poster and the questions it raises by attaching their own questions, ideas, comments, or critiques in the form of Post-Its. In the aftermath of the exhibition, the notes were documented on this blog.

  • Invitation to the Exhibition Opening

    Invitation to the Exhibition Opening

    We warmly invite you to the opening of the poster exhibition
    “Solidarity in (Post-)Colonial Spaces?”
    on July 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
    in the entrance area of the Bremen State and University Library (SuUB).

    The exhibition was curated by students of Cultural Studies (BA) and Public History (MA). On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Bremen Africa Archive Association (Bremer Afrika Archiv e.V.), it explores solidarity in (post-)colonial contexts — particularly focusing on the Namibia Project and its collaboration with the Namibian liberation movement SWAPO.

    Taking this initiative as its starting point, the exhibition explores how solidarity-based alliances were formed in Bremen, the challenges they faced, and their contributions to critically engaging with Germany’s colonial past. What did practical solidarity look like? What blind spots or pitfalls are visible from today’s perspective?

    We look forward to your visit, stimulating conversations, and a shared reflection on postcolonial possibilities of remembrance.

    Following a few opening remarks, the exhibition team will be available to answer questions and share insights regarding the content and creation process of the poster exhibition.
    You are warmly invited to share your own stories of solidarity.

    With kind regards,
    The Exhibition Team

    Program

    5:00 PM – Reception
    5:15 PM – Official Opening
    5:30 PM – Exhibition Talks

    Photocredits: (cc) Hannes Grobe, 2022