Embracing the Past: Transatlantic Slave Trade in Ghana and the holocaust in Germany

The history of the transatlantic slave trade and the holocaust is a history of different cultures, which explains the diverse and growing efforts to remember these phenomena. This paper compared how the transatlantic slave trade and holocaust are embraced through memory culture, specifically looking at monuments available in Germany and Ghana to represent them, how they are taught in schools and whether they are being discussed. To do this various holocaust and slave trade sites were visited within Ghana and Germany to illicit how these monuments help people to learn about, and embrace these events. Interview guide and focus group discussion guide were the main instruments used for the study. It was discovered that these monuments give room for people to give their own interpretation of the past, which consequently further a discussion of the past. However, agents like tour guides, teachers and even family, can be a barrier to analyzing and discussing these phenomena in an objective manner, whiles various stake holders can influence the information going out to the public. Interviews with students revealed that, though the holocaust and transatlantic slave trade are taught at lower stages in schools in Germany and Ghana respectively, little room is given for discussion, which is a necessary prerequisite to learn effectively from the past