Altona im transatlantischen Menschenhandel

In the organizer's words:

Venue: Meeting point: In front of the cigar maker's store, Alte Königstr. 5, near the Königstraße S-Bahn stop

With: Hannimari Jokinen

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As a trading metropolis that calls itself the "Gateway to the World", Hamburg was heavily involved in colonial trade and still benefits today from unequal trade relations and exploitation dating back to the colonial era. Even today, countless street names, buildings and monuments bear witness to this involvement: prestigious office buildings, profitable manufactories, magnificent Elbe parks, stately villas and lucrative shipyards were all part of the living environment of the globally active merchants in Altona.

On this tour, we follow in the footsteps of the upper-class colonial merchants and human traffickers. We take a scrutinizing look at the flow of goods and trade balances, as well as at the biographies between high-sounding revolutionary ideas here and unscrupulous business practices overseas. We trace the fates of those who were enslaved and colonized in the process and who stood up against colonial injustice. The route leads via Königsstraße to Palmaille, one of the oldest streets in the city. We hear stories of the working worlds on the banks of the Elbe and of the park landscapes on the Elbhang, we look at the ciphers of Altona Town Hall and study the weathered gravestones in the historic cemeteries of Schleepark and Christianskirche.

On the post-colonial city tour, we will read Hamburg anew, perceive the numerous colonial traces and - with a change of perspective - get to know the history of anti-colonial resistance.

Hannimari Jokinen is an author, artist, curator, lecturer and member of the HAMBURG POSTKOLONIAL working group. In her artistic work, she questions the myths that constantly surround colonial monuments and explores cultures and places of remembrance.