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Now a memorial is due in my hometown

Did you ever think that some historical cultural assets discriminate against people of our time? I myself always assumed that the testimonies of past cultures exhibited in museums and other cultural sites naturally cannot have any direct influence on the social order of the present.

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Now a memorial is due in my hometown

Did you ever think that some historical cultural assets discriminate against people of our time? I myself always assumed that the testimonies of past cultures exhibited in museums and other cultural sites naturally cannot have any direct influence on the social order of the present. But the clouds want to know better.

For more than a year, the traffic light government has been doing everything it can to denounce the prevailing social attitude towards the preservation of culture and history. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) had the Bismarck room in the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin renamed and the portrait of the namesake hung there. Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) announced that the "Foundation of Prussian Cultural Heritage" would be renamed. The current name excludes many people in Germany and does not do justice to the "cosmopolitan nature" of many of the foundation's cultural assets.

Roth fails to recognize that some things only become cultural assets through their national connection, for example the Hermann Monument. Cheruscan prince Arminius and the devastating defeat of the Romans at the Varus Battle have no relevance to world history, but the monument undoubtedly has national significance.

At school, I like to follow history classes. From an early age I had an interest in historical events and the often frightening parallels to the present. When I was fifteen, I read a history book for the first time outside of school: It was about the political and economic chaos of the Weimar Republic.

Apart from my personal interest, I also recognized the social value of knowing about previous achievements as well as mistakes in a society and remembering them in the form of cultural sites, naming or schooling. I understood this as a prerequisite for deriving values ​​for the present. And aren't values ​​exactly what the self-proclaimed woken elites are demanding?

With the displacement of the uncomfortable past from public space, the well-meant intention of creating an inclusive atmosphere is being pursued. There are fears that the story could be misused and mystified by the political right. With this justification, the historical DNA of our society is to be demonized, erased and rewritten. The obvious historical catastrophes are used to justify this approach.

This creates an imbalance in the historical debate that ultimately distorts historical reality. This is hardly a contribution to the integration of fellow citizens who are actually or only felt marginalized or to the fight against right-wing extremism.

The philosophy of this woken cultural revolution is therefore not, as is so often claimed, of a moral but of a political nature. Above all, it intends to negate the cultural character of society. One does not recognize the culture-related identity of a society, considers it wrong and works on its dissolution. The actual goal is a spiritual restructuring of society.

An article recently appeared in the local newspaper of my home town, which dealt with the statue of Bremerhaven's founder Johann Smidt (1773-1857), which was inaugurated in 1888. There is increasing criticism, it said, that the depiction of a small black boy at the base of the monument is based on racist stereotypes. The boy stands for German colonialism, if not for slavery, so the accusation.

But we should look at historical people or events in the context of their time. It is wrong to apply the moral standard of the present to the events of the past. The boy next to the Smidt statue is a true reflection of the Hanseatic situation at the time. The accusation of racism in the present comes to nothing.

The common cultural character of the people in a region is an indicator of social cohesion. It connects people within a community, contributes to stable social conditions and prevents conflicts. The fact that the self-proclaimed good guys are so determined against this fact has a – certainly unintentionally – socially destabilizing effect. For those who do not recognize the past deprive the present of the foundation of values, which largely consists of the lessons of history.

Sebastian Nötzel is a student at the Lloyd Gymnasium in Bremerhaven and a member of the Junge Union.

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