Berlin's Peacock Island and Berlin Zoo have a shared history. Peacock Island, once used as a royal retreat, already served as a menagerie for monkeys, kangaroos and even lions in the early 19th century. Many animals came from there to Berlin Zoo, which opened in 1844 as Germany's first zoo.
Together with historian Clemens Maier-Wolthausen, we will explore the history of these two places at various stations and ask questions about animal husbandry and colonial references. How did the animals come to Berlin? How were they kept here? What does collecting animals reveal about the relationship between humans and animals and their places of origin?

Clemens Maier-Wolthausen has studied the history of Berlin's zoos in depth in his book "Hauptstadt der Tiere. The history of Germany's oldest zoo" (2019), he traces the development of the Berlin Zoological Garden from its opening in 1844 to the present day. He not only sheds light on the structural and animal changes, but also places the history of the zoo in the context of Berlin's political and social developments, including the colonial era, National Socialism, the Cold War and reunification.
Constantijn Johannes Leliveld is an art historian with a focus on East Asia and colonialism. As co-curator, he worked on the exhibition "Castles. Prussia. Colonial" at Charlottenburg Palace. Here he researched the collecting of non-European objects in Prussia in the 17th and 18th centuries. He is currently working on the colonial references on Peacock Island and the collecting of animals in the former menagerie.