Germany’s colonial history is something that is not widely taught to its pupils in schools, according to Justice Mvemba, founder of DeSta – Dekoloniale Stadtführung. She therefore founded a tourist tour company shedding more light on the city’s colonial past, and the traces it has left behind to this day.

According to Decolonising Berlin, ‘German colonialism and its enduring impacts have long been hidden from public discourse’. This organisation, along with others like Dekoloniale, aim to bring this subject to the forefront of Berlin’s daily life.

One of the ways to do so, is to advocate for the changing of street names linked to Germany’s colonial past, to modern ones. An example is the street nowadays known as the Anton Wilhelm Amo Strasse. On the 23rd of August 2025 the street gained this renaming after being called the “Mohrenstrasse” – a racist term used to refer to people with Black and African heritage – since the eighteenth century.

Other traces of Berlin’s colonial history are plainly visible in the city today. Listen to the interview with Mvemba on the subject in the audio below.