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Witness History: Bremen’s Elephant Statue

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Bremen’s Elephant Statue

11/08/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, Bremen’s Elephant Statue

How the German city addressed its colonial past by rededicating a famous monument

Amid the ongoing debate about how to handle historical monuments which commemorate colonialism and slavery, Witness History hears the story of a giant statue of an elephant in the German city of Bremen.

The port city had played a significant role in Germany's colonial past, and after Germany lost its territories in Africa following the First World War the statue was built there in memory of the period.

But in the 1980s, a group of anti-apartheid activists campaigned to raise awareness of Germany's colonial history - and to rededicate the elephant statue.

Lucy Burns speaks to Professor Manfred Hinz, who was part of the campaign.

Photo: Shutterstock - the anti-colonial elephant monument in Bremen, 08/07/2020

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