Only a few weeks ago, ADR deputy Fernand Kartheiser in a parliamentary question critiqued the museum, arguing that Luxembourg could not be said to have a colonial past. While it’s true that Luxembourg technically did not own colonies, a quick tour of the exhibition gives a good window into the inhumane practices and exploitation that took place at the hands of Luxembourg citizens in African and Asian countries, as well as their ongoing impact on the present.

The exhibition, called “Le passé colonial du Luxembourg” (“the colonial past of Luxembourg”), launched at the end of last week and runs until November. In the spotlight is Luxembourg’s involvement in different colonies around the globe. While Luxembourg never owned a colony per se, it did support explorers, state workers, missionaries and entrepreneurs in their adventure. Displayed on two of the museum’s floors, it mixes more traditional museum formats, such as texts, memorabilia, art, and maps, with oral testimonies of past and present witnesses of the grand duchy’s colonial past.

A post-colonial approach to exploring the past

Two aspects of the experience really stood out. The first was the extent of the research done by the organisers--among which MNHA historian Régis Moes--for the exhibition. Between personal photographs, memorabilia, diaries, schoolbooks, posters, projections, maps, written testimonies, art and street signs pulled from the streets of the country, not one stone is left unturned in the museum’s mission to uncover the scale of colonialism’s influence on a country that--for the most part--isn’t known as a former colonial power. Newspapers from around the world and across the decades were also combed through to find not just information on the colonial experience, but also the way in which media participated in promoting the ideology.

The other pleasantly surprising element was the decolonised approach of the exhibition in itself. The influence of activist organisations Richtung22, Letz Rise Up, Asti and Finkapé--who all work to educate on racism and who are featured in the exhibition--is clear in the museum’s approach. Instead of giving the audience graphic images featuring the victims of colonisers in a spectacle of morbid curiosity, the exhibition zeroes in on the perpetrators and their flaws. No space is left to mistakenly interpret the presentation of key Luxembourg colonisers as a glorification of the past either. Instead, the work and motives of all participants--missionaries, explorers, biologists or entrepreneurs--is viewed through a post-colonial lens.

Once upon a time, not too long ago

The exhibition also addresses how recent these acts of violence are. A display of a photo of former Grand Duke Jean visiting the human zoos of Luxembourg as a child may already be an indicator, but it is the second floor of the exhibition that makes it truly tangible.

While the first floor is packed with information about the exploitation and oppression colons practiced on Asian and African cultures--making it quite text-heavy--the second floor features a series of structures resembling phone booths. As one stands in front of a booth, one is faced with the photo of people still alive today whose lives have been impacted by colonialism in one way or another.

While the exhibition is mainly in French and German--with some English and Luxembourgish sections--the museum provides English speakers with a booklet containing translations for each panel of the exhibition. With an affordable entrance fee, the visit is definitely a must-see for those who want to educate themselves more on Luxembourg’s past and have a couple of hours of time to dedicate to it.