The Humboldt Forum in Berlin does not come to rest.
After a dispute about the baroque palace facade and colonial looted goods, it is about dubious private donations.
Now consequences are to follow.
Berlin - The Humboldt Forum has made a false start. The currently most important cultural project in Germany with the hoped-for international impact would like to convince through groundbreaking exhibitions or trend-setting debates. But the 680 million euro center for art, culture and science behind the historicizing palace facade is not getting out of the negative headlines. New low point for the forum in the center of Berlin: anti-democratic statements by major donor Ehrhardt Bödecker became known. Now the medal honoring him is supposed to disappear from the expensive walls.
The family of Bödecker, who died in 2016, confirmed the allegations. He was known “as a controversial conservative and Prussian enthusiast with numerous merits”, write daughter-in-law Elvira Tasbach and son Andreas Bödecker in a statement to the Humboldt Forum Foundation. The statements made known by the Kassel professor for architectural theory, Philipp Oswalt, were previously unknown to them.
Writings and lectures "contain theses and formulations that are wrong and sometimes even right-wing extremists," writes the family.
Bödecker has occasionally published in “right-wing extremist circles”.
“This realization is painful and we are deeply saddened.
We both reject anti-Semitism and historical revisionism out of deep conviction and with determination, ”emphasize Elvira Tasbach and Andreas Bödecker.
At the same time, they refer to merits.
"We do not want the Humboldt Forum Foundation to weigh up the recognized lifetime achievement of a sponsor and the unacceptable theses he expressed at the end of his life." The portrait medallion in the foyer should therefore be removed.
The Humboldt Forum now also wants to review other donations.
"We currently have no evidence of comparable statements from other major donors who have been honored with portrait medallions," said a statement for the German Press Agency.
In the interest of all donors, “we will investigate this internally”.
The medallion for Bödecker is removed "immediately" - which also removes a spelling mistake in the first name, where Erhardt was written instead of Ehrhardt.
According to the will of the Bundestag, the center could only be built because a private initiative raised a good 100 million euros for the controversial reconstruction of the palace facade.
The no less criticized dome with - originally not planned - cross is financed by donations.
Wilhelm von Boddien, who is also the top fundraiser at the “Friends of the Berlin Palace”, who is also highly praised by politicians, does not see it as his job to check other donations.
"I'm not a snoop", the 79-year-old told the dpa.
The presumption of innocence also applies to donations.
However, he did not accept all of the offers.
"In very obvious cases, I also declined donations."
The donor debate prolongs the series of problems, mishaps and points of criticism.
After the opening has been postponed several times, the building used by two museums belonging to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the State of Berlin, the Humboldt University and the Humboldt Forum Foundation, has been opened in several stages since the end of 2020.
All around 40,000 square meters will not be developed until mid-2022.
Then the Benin bronzes can also be seen.
Most of the works of art come from the British looting in 1897. They are at the center of the return debate.
In the coming year, Germany intends to overwrite ownership rights as a first step.
A large outrigger boat from the South Sea island of Luf can already be seen on the floors used by the Ethnological Museum.
With his book “Das Prachtboot”, the historian Götz Aly has already fueled the debate about the colonial conditions under which the boat came into the museum's possession.
His verdict: “The exhibition is really scandalous.” Museum director Lars-Christian Koch admits the need for changes.
"There have been mistakes, we will improve them too."
The debates in the Humboldt Forum take place under criticized insignia.
Since the roof terrace was opened, a comprehensive view of a controversial banner around the dome has been possible.
The combination of several biblical passages requires the submission of all humanity to Christianity.
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Cross on the dome, baroque facade and Bible verse overshadow the colonialism debate.
During the Hohenzollern era, the German Empire became an important colonial power.
In what is now Namibia, uprisings by ethnic groups under German orders were brutally suppressed and around 75,000 Herero and Nama were killed.
Those responsible for the construction argue with the political decision to reconstruct the historical building.
However, the old castle not only had a dome, the cross was not part of the winning design, and when it comes to the Bible verse, nobody in the foundation really wants to know how he got back on the dome.
"All institutions in the Humboldt Forum expressly distance themselves from Christianity's claim to universal validity and rule," should now be written on a sign.
And what about the content?
Seven exhibition areas can currently be seen.
Many critics still lack the unifying elements in the politically mixed shop.
Monika Grütters (CDU), who has been responsible for many years and is still in office, sees a persistently challenging topic.
“So far, I have found it difficult to identify a coherent overall concept.
But it was clear from the start that it would be difficult. ”Dpa
