The Decolonize Dortmund project, comprising Black people and people of colour, is dedicated to addressing Dortmund’s colonial past. The city’s hidden historical connections and colonial continuities are revealed through meticulous research. The project has developed a city tour and an audio walk that is available online in German, English, French and Kiswahili.

As part of this year’s IFFF Dortmund+Köln, Fidel Amoussou-Moderan invites you on a tour to Fredenbaumpark. In the park he will explain the history attached to this location, the site where African people were presented to the public at the end of the 19th century. These »Völkerschauen« (people shows) were organised by Hamburg zoo director and animal dealer Carl Hagenbeck, who put African people and other so-called »exotic peoples« on display in a staged setting. The people were treated like animals and often viewed in a derogatory manner by the audience. These shows were designed to demonstrate the supposed superiority of European culture and reinforced racist stereotypes. The tour in Fredenbaumpark not only tells the story of these shows but also encourages people to question the long-term impact of these colonial practices.

Fidel Amoussou-Moderan, historian, curator and PhD student specialising in colonial violence, Richard Opoku-Agyemang (RAZZMATAZZ), musician and artist, and Mona Laiser, social scientist and expert on Blackness and Afrofuturism, are co-founders and active members of Decolonize Dortmund. The work they do is essential to creating a new awareness of the city’s history. They not only address the past but also look at the present and the future with the aim of bringing about lasting change in the structures of racism and discrimination. The tour offers a valuable opportunity to discover Dortmund from a new perspective and to engage with the city’s colonial history.

In cooperation with Theater im Depot.

decolonizedortmund.de