The project, carried out jointly with the Institute of Political Science and the Institute of History at RWTH Aachen University, examines the colonial past of Rhineland-Westphalia from the perspective of regional and state history, the colonial culture of remembrance in NRW and the public reception of discussions about the connection between the NS and colonial past, colonialism and decolonisation and the associated challenges. The results will be prepared as educational material for school and extracurricular learning events.

The research group is being funded by the DFG since 2022 and is a cooperation between the University of Münster, the University of Cologne and the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg. On the one hand, it focuses on the localisation of xenocratic rule, its modes of operation, modes of mediation and forms of symbolic representation on site. On the other hand, it sheds light on the administration, its representatives and administrative practices.