Das Album.

Disclaimer: This text was written from a white perspective

As Nicolai suggests, many white people might find themselves in a similar situation. In German households, evidence of the country’s colonial past often lies hidden in attics and basements or is prominently displayed in living rooms. And not infrequently, there are stories to be told about a vase from China or a photo album.
We want to alleviate fears and encourage individuals to engage with their own past.
When researching colonial history within families, terms like heritage or cultural heritage are often used, but the term estate is less common. This is usually because the focus has been on large collections from museums, universities, or other institutions. These collections can comprise several thousand objects, and representatives of these institutions manage and hold these collections with a societal mission.
A university is meant to teach and research. A museum should educate the public and preserve knowledge from the past. The predecessors of these institutions acquired objects and relics from former colonies by systematically exploiting people for their own benefit. Since these places have a societal mandate, they must account for why they still possess these objects and have not yet returned them.
However, for an individual, objects are initially part of an estate. You inherit something from a deceased person, which you now care for and must decide its future. This person did not choose this, nor did they receive a direct societal mandate. Therefore, the expectations here cannot be the same as those for museums or universities.
The personal responsibility is not symbolic but direct. Although you are an individual, you now have the power to decide who can and should benefit from this estate. There are several possibilities, and an estate can become a heritage. When you begin to trace the history of these objects, you will undoubtedly encounter questions that are more challenging to answer. You will need to dig deeper to fill in the gaps and voids. But in this opportunity lies a significant gain: the possibility to actively shape how we remember the era of colonial injustices in Germany. You have the chance to impact society in a positive and just manner. You can help uncover injustices to prevent such suffering from being forgotten or repeated.
By actively preserving these pieces as the last witnesses of this time, we can fill gaps in historical narratives and offer new perspectives. For colonial history is still remembered predominantly from the perspective of perpetrators, whose lives are at the center of the story. Yet, as civil society, we have the chance to insist on a different kind of memory. We have decided to remember Bibi Symunza. Even though we know little about her, we wish to honor her memory. Who might you remember when you investigate these stories and encounter individuals whom people wished would be forgotten?
„Europe has no reasonable culture of remembrance. There are always only one-sided narratives. Where violent domination has taken root, there is always a dominant narrative, as history shows. Conversely, this means that we must create a culture of remembrance that is told from various perspectives. This violent domination must be made audible and visible not only from the perspective of the perpetrators but also from the perspective of the victims. The current global rightward shift is due to the fact that we have never cultivated these violent regimes in a reasonable culture of remembrance and made these perspectives accessible.“ — Wilma Nyari