Prussian Palaces. Colonial Histories. The Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg looks after buildings, parks, and collections that form an internationally significant heritage, a heritage that is rich in cultural value and ambivalent in its meaning. Time and again, Prussia’s historical and political legacy triggers debates over its role in history and that of its once-ruling family. It is our task to preserve this heritage for our and future generations and to discuss it from today’s perspective. Current debates necessarily challenge our understanding of history. New issues and topics force us to look back in time. Where have we come from, where are we now? How do we assess history from today’s perspective? Which historical knowledge is lacking in order to understand our own time better? At present we witness an intense debate about Germany’s role in Europe and the world that also involves the country’s future role on the international stage. For a long time, the important question of Germany’s colonial past and today’s racism has hardly been discussed. We can be grateful that new debates and political discourses in society have finally put this issue on today’s agenda. German colonialism was based on brutal practices and led to enslavement and genocide—and colonialism lives on today in the form of racism, claiming victims even now. Preface
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