“The world has perhaps never witnessed plundering on such a scale”. This was how a journalist in Lagos, West Africa, summed up the outcome almost 140 years ago of the Berlin West Africa Conference, which began in Berlin on 15 November 1884. The colonial powers agreed on guidelines on dividing up and ruling Africa among them. They were invited by the German Reich Chancellor at that time and the conference was organised by the Foreign Office. There was not one single representative of the affected countries or societies at the table.

Germany’s colonial policy was marked by injustice, violence and racism. It led to the wars of annihilation in former German South West Africa and to the genocide inflicted on the Herero and Nama peoples, for which our country bears historical responsibility.

Although we cannot undo the past we can work together to bring about a better future. For that it is crucial to name and recognise injustice.

It was in this spirit that the Federal President asked for forgiveness in Tanzania in November 2023 for the atrocities committed during the suppression of the Maji Maji rebellion in the then German East Africa colony.

And it is on this basis that we are talking to Namibia, Tanzania and other successor states of the former colonies about how we can live up to our historical responsibility.

Recognising injustice and taking action.

That is also what the return of cultural property is all about. This German Government is finally tackling this issue and, for example, ensured the return of the Benin bronzes to Nigeria.

And that is what the dignified handling of well over 16,000 human remains in public collections, brought to Germany during the colonial period, is all about. Their repatriation is a very special responsibility for us.

But confronting our colonial past is about more than returning objects. It entails going through a process which is also uncomfortable. Listening. Facing up to the accusations and the colonial pain. Realising why these wounds for which we are responsible open up time and again and how they still shape international relations today. Because trust in a shared future can only grow if it is based on mutual understanding. It must be founded on the readiness to put oneself in the shoes of others.

Two and a half years ago, when we asked for support around the world to counter Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the response of some was:

“Where were you when we needed you? When we were fighting against colonialism, against apartheid in South Africa? And where are you now? Now that our islands are sinking and our fields are drying out due to the oil and coal which you have burned, which has made you rich?”

Addressing the past is not just about asking for forgiveness but also about doing better in future, about justice.

For that reason, too, we are working to ensure that we as industrialised countries shoulder responsibility for offsetting climate damage, which hits the poorest countries hardest.

We therefore support the demand of African states that they finally be adequately represented at international level – whether it be in the G20, the international financial institutions or on the United Nations Security Council.

For our joint institutions work best when they reflect today’s world. This is also especially important at a time when autocratic players are attempting to undermine them by instrumentalising the wounds left in the world by European colonialism.

Because the perception in many countries is: “The Europeans have never addressed their colonialism.” We have to face up to this criticism.

Therefore, a self-critical policy of confronting the past is not only part of a values-led foreign policy but also of our security policy. Because it makes us stronger, not weaker if we listen – to the wounds of the past, which have an impact to this very day, but equally to the needs of our partners today.

That is why we are further developing the Federal Government Policy Guidelines for Africa. We are aiming for a more nuanced policy founded on mutual respect and interests. And for cooperation to tackle global challenges.

The energy transition, for example, which can be an engine for economic growth in Africa. Or partnerships for social and environmentally sound raw material extraction – also in order to diversify Germany’s raw material imports.

Today, 140 years after the Berlin West Africa Conference, this is the way to build partnerships based on mutual trust. To understand our past. And to work for a shared future.

https://www.fr.de/meinung/gastbeitraege/annalena-baerbock-afrika-kolonialzeit-kulturschaetze-gruene-gastbeitrag-93407516.html