A reflection on the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace and its contradictory use as an ethnological museum.
Having recently accepted German citizenship, writer and activist Priya Basil explores the Humboldt Forum from a deeply personal perspective. She delves into the question of what such a building, such a project, means for an understanding of the past and our sense of belonging in the present. This much disputed, contested, celebrated monument now exists—but what exactly does it monumentalize? “In German the word Schloss means a palace, and also a ‘lock.’ The central question: Can a lock also be a key?”
Priya Basil (born 1977 in London, England) is a British and German author and political activist. She is co-founder of the Organisation Authors for Peace, a member of the advisory council at the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, and initiator of the campaign for an official continent-wide Europe-day holiday. Her work has been translated into over half a dozen languages.
