A reflection on the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace and its contradictory use as an ethnological museum.

Having recently accepted German citizenship, writer and activist Priya Basil explores the Humboldt Forum from a deeply personal perspective. She delves into the question of what such a building, such a project, means for an understanding of the past and for belonging in the present. This much disputed, contested, celebrated monument now exists—but what exactly does it monumentalize? Basil writes, “In German, the word Schloss means a palace, and also a lock. The central question: Can a lock also be a key?”

Priya Basil is an author and activist. She is co-founder of the Organisation Authors for Peace, a member of the advisory council at the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, and initiator of the campaign for an official continent-wide Europe-day holiday. Her book, Im Wir und Jetzt. Feministin werden, was published in German in 2021.