Mahnmal gegen Kolonialismus

The Karl-Peters memorial stone stands in Hannover’s Südstadt on Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz, a small green space that once bore the address Am Karl-Peters-Platz. Originally raised in the mid-1930s to honour Carl Peters, the monument was later transformed into a warning against colonialism. It forms part of a protected ensemble of public buildings and streets in the quarter. The site is worth reaching because it marks a turning point in how a city confronts its own history. In 1988 a bronze plaque was added to the front, reading that Peters was responsible for crimes against humanity. The change followed decades of debate begun by the peace movement and local councillors. A court ruling in 1989 confirmed the renaming of the square after Bertha von Suttner, the Nobel Peace laureate. Visitors find a rectangular block of shell limestone bearing Peters’s portrait and a carved relief of Africa. Above the relief an eagle once symbolised colonial conquest, now partly obscured by the plaque. The surrounding square is quiet, lined with lime trees and benches, and a new information board explains the monument’s contested past.