Destination: Usakos. Return to the homeland. The future of a Namibian colonial heritage

Description

About 300 objects from the daily lives of Namibian railway workers, men and women, from the early 20th century are now preserved in the reserves of the Bern Historical Museum. The "Usakos Railway Workers’ Collection" was created around 1904, in the violent context of a colonial railway project carried out in present-day Namibia. This collection bears witness to the exploitation of land, resources, and people. It also constitutes a historical and cultural heritage of the workers of that time. Many of their descendants still live today in Usakos, a small town that developed at the time as a railway hub. What does a museum do with such a collection? The search for answers leads to Usakos – and to a shared vision: returning the objects to their homeland. Note: This text was translated by an automatic translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.

Highlights

• Exhibition of 300 everyday objects of Namibian railway workers
• Testimony of colonial heritage and exploitation
• Return of objects to Usakos in perspective

General Information

The exhibition presents objects from the daily life of Namibian railway workers from the early 20th century, preserved at the Bern Historical Museum. It highlights Namibia's colonial history and the cultural heritage of the workers of that era.

Location

Helvetiaplatz 5, 3005 Bern, Switzerland

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