From:  "ECOTERRA Intl." <MailHub@...>
Subject:  STOP the exhibition of AFRICANS in the Augsburg ZOO
Date:  Mon, May 30, 2005 9:55 pm
To:  undisclosed-recipients:;
------------------------------------------------------------------------


*STOP the exhibition of AFRICANS in the Augsburg ZOO
* send your protest letters to** the adresses listed below!*

From: Norbert Finzsch

I am a German scholar of African American History and member
of H-Net
Afro-Am.

Today I would like to direct your attention to something that is
going
on in Germany which, in my opinion, requires the consideration
of the
international scholarly community.

It is with utmost indignation that the African German community
has
taken notice of the plans to open an "African Village" within the
zoo of
Augsburg, Germany. The opening of this exhibit is scheduled for
July 9 -
July 12. 2005.

*"Artisans, silversmiths, basket makers and traditional
hairdressers are
situated in an unique African steppe landscape" according to the
leaflets handed out by the organizers of the show. The
conveners
obviously are oblivious of the fact that exhibits like the one
planned
in Augsburg are organized within the German tradition of racist
"ethnographic shows" (Völkerschauen).
*
A letter of reply by Ms. Barbara Jantschke, PhD, from the
Augsburg Zoo,
directed to an African Swiss citizen underlines the intention, to
put
Africans on display in the zoo within "an atmosphere of exotism".

It is obvious that the conveners do not understand the historical
implications of their project. Even in Germany the impact of
colonialism
and racism on African societies are nowadays debated in public.
The way
Africans and African Americans in Germany are perceived and
discussed,
the way they are present on billboards and in TV ads prove that
the
colonialist and |racist gaze is still very much alive in Germany.
This
is the direct result of forty years of German colonialism and
twelve
years of National Socialism. People of color are still seen as
exotic
objects (of desire), as basically dehumanized entities within the
realm
of animals.

This also explains why a zoo has been selected as site for the
exhibit.
It is necessary to remind the organizers that in the
history of "ethnographic shows" African and German African
individuals
were used as object for anthropometric tests and ethnological
investigations of highly questionable scientific benefit. Many of
the
artists who performed in these shows in the 1920s and 1930s
died from
malnutrition and as a consequence of bad living conditions. The
Nazis
employed a policy of eugenic control,
resulting in forced operations to limit the biological reproduction
of
African Germans or in downright incarceration in concentration
camps.
Survivors of this policy had to gain a living as performers in exotic
shows. The Augsburg exhibit thus
fails to acknowledge the political and social history of
persecution in
Nazi Germany.

The African German community and concerned individuals like
myself call
to your attention the need to *protest against the opening of the
exhibit in the Augsburg Zoo.

Please direct your personalized letters of protest to Frau Dr.
Barbara
Jantschke (Director Zoo Augsburg) at
barbara.jantschke@....
**(pls BCC to augsburgprotest@...)*

and send copies to:
Bayerisches Staatsministerium des Innern
Odeonsplatz 3
80539 München
Postanschrift:
Postfach
80524 München
Telefon (zentral): (089) 2192-01
Telefax (zentral): (089) 2192-12225
E-Mail: poststelle@...
<mailto:poststelle@...>

Regierung von Schwaben
Government of Suevia



Fronhof 10, 86152 Augsburg
Telefon 0821/327-01
Telefax 0821/327-2288
E-Mail: poststelle@...
<mailto:poststelle@...>



Thank you

Norbert Finzsch
Professor of History and
Provost of the University of Cologne
Anglo-Amerikanische Abteilung
Historisches Seminar
Universität zu Köln
Albertus-Magnus-Platz
Philosophikum
D 50923 Köln
Tel. ++49-221-470-2307
Email: Norbert.Finzsch@...
URL http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/histsem/anglo/

----------

Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station
Austin, TX 78712-0220
USA
512 475 7224
512 475 7222 (fax)
www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa

----------

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