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Permanent exhibition

Colonial continuities – postcolonial tour through the Botanical Garden Potsdam

Zwergpalme im Palmenhaus
Photo: Botanischer Garten
The Palm House was built starting around 1910 for the German imperial couple Wilhelm II and Auguste Victoria. It is listed as a national monument.

The Botanical Garden of the University of Potsdam was founded in 1950, that is after the end of German colonialism. The origin of its founding stock of tropical plants is not documented. Part of it originates from the horticultural facilities of Sanssouci, whose imperial greenhouses were the basis of its foundation. Numerous other plants were taken over from other botanical gardens or were bought in. Only in a few cases the origin is known. Own collecting trips to tropical countries were not carried out until a few years ago.

The tour provides insights into the colonial involvement of the botanical gardens and botany. Various stations in the greenhouses provide information about botanical collecting practices, economic exploitation of natural resources, and Eurocentric narratives, putting it in its colonial context.

Biodiversity, as a crucial basis of life, is threatened worldwide. Today, it is therefore a matter of conservation instead of appropriation, of cooperation instead of domination, and of ways to live together on this planet in a sustainable way. There is still much to be done for this coexistence. At the very beginning, there must be a transparent and responsible examination of colonial history.

    Zwergpalme im Palmenhaus
    Photo: Botanischer Garten
    The Palm House was built starting around 1910 for the German imperial couple Wilhelm II and Auguste Victoria. It is listed as a national monument.
    Blütenstand der Zwergpalme
    Photo: Carsten Niehaus
    The two multi-stemmed dwarf palm trees next to the benches in the Palm House are probably the oldest plants in the greenhouses. Estimated to be 150 years old, they are about as old as the last German emperor, Wilhelm II, who was born on Jan. 27, 1859, as Friedrich Wilhelm Albert Viktor of Prussia. He died in exile in the Netherlands on June 4, 1941.

    The tour is the result of the master‘s thesis of Alexandra Straka with the title „Botanical gardens postcolonial - Concept for reappraising the colonial past on the example of the Botanical Garden Potsdam“ and it is meant to contribute to a critical discussion. The exhibition was proofread with a focus on postcolonial critique by Runa Hoffmann, interdisciplinary researching biologist and diversity trainer, and Demba Sanoh, historian with a focus on racism and colonialism and diversity trainer.

    More information on the topic:

    Blütenstand der Zwergpalme
    Photo: Carsten Niehaus
    The two multi-stemmed dwarf palm trees next to the benches in the Palm House are probably the oldest plants in the greenhouses. Estimated to be 150 years old, they are about as old as the last German emperor, Wilhelm II, who was born on Jan. 27, 1859, as Friedrich Wilhelm Albert Viktor of Prussia. He died in exile in the Netherlands on June 4, 1941.