The Ambassador of Namibia and Mitte Mayor Stefanie Remlinger unveil the road sign Photo: Christian Lohse
By Sabine Klier
For Mitte’s Mayor Stefanie Remlinger, a “fairy tale” came true: On the occasion of the renaming of two streets in the African Quarter on Friday, Cameroon’s King Jean-Yves Eboumbou Douala Bell, along with his dignitaries and his sister, made the journey.
► Nightingale Square is now called Manga Bell Square. He commemorates his great-grandparents, King Rudolf Douala Manga Bell (1843-1914) and his wife Emily. Manga Bell, who went to school in Germany, was executed by the German colonial rulers.
King Rudolf Duala Manga Bell was hanged by the German colonial administration in 1914 Photo: private
King’s descendant King Bell IX on the BZ: “When my great-ancestor was hanged, this had consequences for my people. To this day we carry the stigma within us. An event like this heals those wounds.”
In addition to the ambassadors of Cameroon and Kenya, numerous representatives of African groups and local residents attended the unveiling of the street signs. “I am very proud that a street sign in Berlin was named after one of our folk heroes. It’s a great victory for the law,” said Francoise Ndoume (55) from Lankwitz. She descends from the Douala people, around 300 of whom live in Berlin.
The Ambassador of Namibia and Mitte Mayor Stefanie Remlinger unveil the road sign Photo: Christian Lohse
► Lüderitzstrasse has also been given a new name. It is now called Cornelius-Fredericks-Straße. Named after the resistance fighter who fought against the German colonial regime and died in an African prison camp in 1907.
“The street signs are an important sign of reconciliation. The king offered me a town twinning,” said Remlinger (52, Greens). “If such a small street renaming has such consequences, that’s great.”
Cornelius Fredericks (1864-1907) was a resistance fighter in German South West Africa (now Namibia) Photo: private