The exhibition German Colonialism – Fragments Past and Present at the Deutsches Historisches Museum is the first to look at the short but eventful era of German colonialism, which lasted from 1884 until the end of the First World War in 1918.<br /> Germany was one of the major colonial powers at that time, but only in recent years has its colonial past found its way into public consciousness to a significant degree – partly due to the debates about the recognition of the genocide of the Herero and Nama people in present-day Namibia. Colonial ideology, based on the belief of a European superiority, lead to the routine exercise of violence up to the colonial war in Namibia, which developed into genocide.<br /> Players in the colonial game, each with their own aims, included missionaries, officials, military personnel, settlers and merchants. Learn more about Germany's controversial memory of its colonial past, how the affected countries deal with their past and about the present situation.