{"id":4287,"date":"2018-04-20T14:24:32","date_gmt":"2018-04-20T12:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dresden-magazin.com\/?p=4287"},"modified":"2020-05-07T15:40:49","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T13:40:49","slug":"exhibition-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dresden-magazin.com\/en\/culture\/exhibition-racism\/","title":{"rendered":"How human races were invented"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is there such a thing as race? Science clearly tells us that the answer is \u2018No\u2019. And yet many commentators are still convinced that it is possible to meaningfully sort humanity into different races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susanne Wernsing is the curator of the exhibition \u201cRassismus. Die Erfindung der Menschenrassen\u201d (Racism. The Invention of Human Races) in the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden (May 19th 2018 \u2013 January 6th 2019). She asks: \u201cWhy do we actually believe that there is such a category as race, or at least consider it plausible even though there is no evidence for it? Why is it difficult for us to accept that race has no basis in biology?\u201d The exhibition illustrates the efforts made over the centuries to compartmentalise mankind into races and the generally ideological motivations underpinning these attempts as well as the social consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its aim is to make people aware of the racist models that have been devised. \u201cWe want to discuss the arbitrary nature of such classifications,\u201d says Wernsing. \u201cAlthough racism may not always be blatant, it is often a hidden factor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Otto Dix “War cripples” were labeled “degenerate art” by the Nazis \u00a9 DHMD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Race scientist or ghost hunter?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition makes use of propaganda material as well as art that was designated \u2018degenerate\u2019 by the Nazis. It shows excerpts from films such as King Kong<\/em>, displays exhibits from German colonial history, a period that has not yet been adequately explored, and anthropological depictions. At that time, scientists were trying to identify features that could prove the existence of distinct races. Some of the measuring equipment used in this process is on display. A box of tools belonging to an anthropologist of the 1930s reveals remarkable similarities to the kit used by a Belgian ghost hunter from the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile chasing ghosts seems completely absurd to most of us, different sciences have been seeking evidence for racial categories for more than 200 years \u2013 frequently employing a similar methodology,\u201d says Wernsing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A suitcase with tools for ghost hunters \u00a9 DHMD <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The renowned architect Di\u00e9b\u00e9do Francis K\u00e9r\u00e9 was brought in as exhibition designer (see interview on page 22) and the historian Christian Geulen was recruited as scientific consultant. In putting the exhibition together, curator Wernsing has borrowed items from various other institutions such as the Mus\u00e9e de l\u2019Homme in Paris and the Karl May Museum in Radebeul, but she has had a wealth of resources to draw on from the archives of the DHMD itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The museum as a key propaganda tool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the 1st International Hygiene Exhibition 1911 in Dresden, which was the catalyst for the founding of the museum one year later, a section was already dedicated to \u2018Racial Hygiene\u2019. When it was founded in 1912, the German Hygiene Museum not only concerned itself with matters relating to health education but also with the dissemination of racist ideas. Eventually, during the Third Reich, the museum became one of the Nazis\u2019 key propaganda tools to underpin and propagate its racist ideology. Klaus Vogel, Director of the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum (DHMD), says: \u201cThis institution comes with historic baggage that we not only must but will address.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Dresden Hygiene-Museum seen from outside \u00a9 Oliver Killig<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Director Vogel doesn\u2019t deny that differences between people exist. \u201cBut the term \u2018race\u2019 is the social interpretation of biological characteristics \u2013 and thus always a device for making value judgements,\u201d he explains. Value judgements that are still rife in everyday life today. Every Monday, concerned citizens march through the streets of Dresden, and although they do not articulate the concept of race as such, they express fears about the downfall of the West for essentially similar reasons. PEGIDA, Vogel admits, is another reason why it is right to revisit the subject now, because the demonstrators seem to be dipping into the racist toolbox: \u201cIt\u2019s always about defining who belongs \u2013 and who does not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This exhibition will make a contribution to showing up these attitudes and ultimately defusing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition \u201cRacism. The Invention of Human Races<\/strong>\u201c<\/a> will be on display in the Deutsche Hygiene-Museum Dresden<\/strong><\/a> from May 19th 2018 to January 9th 2019. The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday and on holidays from 10 am to 6 pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is there such a thing as race? Science clearly tells us that the answer is \u2018No\u2019. And yet many commentators are still convinced…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":4299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow human races were invented - Dresden Magazin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There is no such thing as human race. 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