The effects of colonialism can still be felt, also in Bremen. However, the topic receives little attention from society. Even though there are now professional and public discussions about looted art, for example, there is little historical knowledge among the population. A reappraisal of colonialism and an awareness of postcolonial traces in one’s own city are still in their infancy.

For many people, the colonial era seems distant. Even though Germany’s time as a colonial power from 1884 to 1918 was relatively short and now dates back 100 years, parts of colonial ideas are still anchored in society today. Furthermore, global injustices that took their course during the time of colonialism continue to exist. This perpetuation of global injustice still results in poverty and unequally distributed resources.

In Bremen, the traces of German and European colonial history are visible and formative in public space. Yet they are often not perceived as such. With our peer-to-peer education project we want to change that. The aim is to educate about colonial traces, to make them visible and to deconstruct them.

Therefore we train jung people between 14 and 30 years to work as tour guides bringing guests to those places in Bremen where traces of the colonial era are still visible.