Controversial Kinship
Filmic Reflections on Colonial and National Socialist Violence
How does the approximately 500-year history of European colonialism—with its tradition of domination rooted in racist worldviews, conquest, the use of violence, and exploitation—relate to the National Socialist tyranny over Europe, which lasted barely five years? To what extent can they be compared? In what respects are they fundamentally different?
The new exhibition *Controversial Kinship. Colonial and Nazi Violence, on view at the German Historical Museum from October 16, 2026, through April 11, 2027, is dedicated to the history of such comparisons. It sheds light on central themes of the debate, juxtaposes historical sources with contemporary interpretations, and examines the political use of drawing parallels between colonial and Nazi violence.
The Zeughauskino is accompanying the exhibition with an international retrospective that brings together films of diverse origins and styles. The oldest films in the series date from the Nazi era, when the regime itself conjured up fantasies of colonialism and violence in movie theaters. Most of the films, however, adopt a critical, reflective perspective. They were made since the mid-1980s in various contexts and countries. What they have in common is a reexamination of previous viewpoints and interpretations. The feature films and documentaries uncover new, previously neglected aspects of colonial and Nazi violence and predominantly follow ideas critical of representation: an invitation to explore, through film history, a controversial connection that the Zeughauskino will continue to explore in the first quarter of 2027.
