The controversial debates about the Humboldt Forum / Berlin Palace building complex continue. Right-wing infiltration and colonial traditions - a recurring déjà-vu of socio-economic-historical and political conflicts emerges with these topics. Amnesia on. It is a phenomenon of "innocent" oblivion.
The forgotten history of Christian symbolism at the Berlin Palace/Humboldt Forum
We live in the legacy of colonialism and carry on the cultural tradition of a "superiority culture". This self-created dominant world view arose from profound existential needs and fears. The dome on the Berlin Palace is a clear example from the context of an early Christian period in antiquity or the Middle Ages. It was built in the May 2020 with Christian-Prussian building decoration, including lantern with cross, rebuilt. The dome is a reminder of King Frederick William IV's (1795-1861) concept of a "Jerusalem in Prussia".
Jürgen Zimmerer and Philipp Oswalt emphasize a Christian infiltration. The interpretations point to "a conservative turn of the identity-political core of the Berlin Republic" there. When on March 19 and 20, 2024 the eight biblical prophet figures Daniel, Ezekiel, Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jonah, Zechariah and Zephaniah were installed on the castle dome, not only was God glorified, but the biblical message was also conveyed. Jerusalem is in danger of being destroyed by the godlessness of the Gentile nations1. Israel is nevertheless saved by the resurrection of the Messiah. In this way, the spirit of the Prussian kings and their idea of a new "Christian-evangelical world church" revived. The intertwining of Christianity and colonialism is often ignored today. When we look at the visions of King Frederick William IV, the extent of Christian symbolism becomes clear. He was an enthusiastic Protestant and strove for a new Protestant church based on the teachings of Martin Luther. Frederick William IV wanted to revive this through early Christian architecture in the cityscape.
Inscriptions like the Romans and justice through weapons
The Romans were the role models for the symbolic ceremonial inscriptions. In them, they celebrated themselves as "rulers of the world, protectors of the faith, patrons of art and science".2 The inscriptions on the Berlin buildings initiated by the Prussian ruling dynasty. One example of this is the Latin inscription above the portal of the Zeughaus Unter den Linden, which praises Frederick I (1657-1713), King of Prussia, as the "Father of the Fatherland". It proclaims:
Another example is the inscription on the palace dome. It was written by Prussian King Frederick William IV and reads:
"There is salvation in no other, nor is there any other name given to men, but in the name of Jesus, to the glory of God the Father. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth."
Acts chapter 4, verse 12 and Letter to the Philippians chapter 2, verse 20
Who has the power of interpretation?
Prof. Dr. Eve-Marie Becker is from the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" at the University of Münster. She comments on the fact that the two Bible verses are Confessional statements by marginalized Jewish followers of Jesus, Peter and Paul. They were imprisoned in the middle of the 1st century AD and later executed. Becker criticizes the fact that the origin of the inscription and its meaning are often ignored. She emphasizes the actual expression of Humility and the the Prussian king's striving for harmony in church politics.
Humility towards God and the use of his name were often misused to legitimize colonialism and slavery. The inscription is therefore often interpreted as an expression of the Prussian claim to power or as a symbolism of Christian-colonial rule. It is important to distinguish between Frederick William IV's intention and the actual effects. According to the Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roths the inscription stands for a kingdom. It criticizes the fact that his claim to power was based solely on God and not on the power and self-determination of the people. These interpretations of Christian symbolism are at odds with the cosmopolitanism of the Humboldt Forum. The contribution of the churches and its effects on colonialism, which are still prevalent today, lack enlightenment.
There is a gap in our knowledge Decolonial city tour in the Humboldt Forum namely every Friday from 11 am to 1 pm (in German) and from 2 pm to 4 pm (in English).
Right-wing donations for the Humboldt Forum/Berlin City Palace
The Bundestag planned 2007 only a simplified cladding of the dome, without historical design. The construction of the dome cost 80 million euros. In 2013, the Friends of the Berlin Palace announced that initially only 25 million euros in donations were available. An anonymous donation from 5 to 9 million euros enabled the faithful reconstruction of the dome. The question remains as to who is donating and for what reason. Inga Maren Otto is the widow of mail order company founder Werner Otto, who is also known as Mail order king is well known. She donated 1 million euros for the Lantern and the golden cross. It is not surprising that positions of economic power also want to be perpetuated in the German ruling dynasty.
Phillipp Oswalt uncovered further cases of right-wing donations. He spent years researching right-wing donations to the Humboldt Forum/Berlin Palace. One of the Ehrhardt Bödecker was a major donorwho held extreme right-wing views and repeatedly made anti-Semitic statements. Other major donors were people, organizations and associations that had and still have links to ADF politics. For data protection reasons, the names of the donors are not disclosed and many donate anonymously. According to the website of the Förderverein Berliner Schloss, one of the figures, the prophet Daniel, was donated by the The project was financed by Vera Lengsfeld, a politician and publicist considered to be right-wing extremist. The names of the other donors are not being disclosed, even when asked by the Humboldt Forum Foundation and the Federal Building Ministry. It remains uncertain how much and who donated.
Social participation in traditional oppression
As the art historian Alfred Hagemann emphasizes, the Prophets and the Inscription "the universal claim to power of Christianity". This glorification and Financial support from right-wing circles infiltrate the Humboldt Forum/Berlin Palace. The gold used is also a product of colonialism. Before our very eyes, we, the German civilian population, legitimize exploitation and oppression. The Humboldt Forum project repeats this pattern and reflects the tradition of German colonialism. This was also recognized by the Herero activist and Namibian Deputy Minister Esther Muinjangue commented, which for Compensation for the genocide of the Herero and Nama fights.
The trivialization and normalization of crimes against non-white people are racist and colonial and continue a long tradition. The reconstruction of a castle not only symbolizes the economic rise of the German Reich, but also the conscious, deliberate and even legalized oppression of non-white people.
We don't recognize the violence because we don't see the victims. Even in the biblical Acts of the Apostles, we overlook the people who believed in Jesus and fled Jerusalem. We glorify the apostles who stayed. Faith survives not only through glorification, but when people survive. That is why debates should be about human lives rather than faith politics.
Walk the past, change the future.
I want to live like a king,
in a castle full of power and possibilities,
to travel the countries of the world,
and to experience the so-called superiority.
Feeling safe, like a global person with prospects,
as we know it from Hegel and Kant, full of reason,
we tell publicly
over those with inferior drives.
We talk about culture and goods in order to provide orientation as a prophet,
intellectually to perfect harmony,
full of socialism and democracy,
everything for the new hierarchization of the civil movement.
It is a true position in mass tourism,
presenting with his head held high,
"ignorant" of the cultural theft,
by ignoring certain facts,
that a person needs to know.
Human kindness through violent injustice
is not an issue of world peace,
but only an agenda of winning
with the help of brutal legitimization,
marketed by God-given.
True humanity and our true origins
can only be found without emotional deprivation
through decolonial enlightenment
about colonialism in the past, present and future.
T. N.