What do the Markt, the Duivelshuis, the Eusebius, and a building on Bakkerstraat have in common? They together tell the story of Anna van Vossenburg and Arnhems slavery past. Today, Alderman for Inclusion Maurits van de Geijn opened a special media tour along places connected to that history by unveiling a sidewalk tile with a QR code at the Duivelshuis.
Sidewalk Tile with QR Code
The tour takes place in 18th century Arnhem, but you walk it in the present. You follow the experiences of a fictional character, Raya, who finds a corkscrew on the Markt with the name Anna van Vossenburg on it. Raya then sets off through the city. She was born into slavery in 1711 on the Vossenburg plantation in Suriname and came to Arnhem in 1727 as the property of the De Vree family.
The route starts at the Markt and passes 9 locations. At each place there is a sidewalk tile with a QR code. Scan the first tile at the Markt (intersection of Turfstraat and Markt) and start the tour. Not dry, read-aloud information, but an animation voiced by various actors. The tour lasts a total of 30 to 45 minutes and makes visible what often remains invisible: stories we usually overlook.
Making Stories Visible
Van de Geijn: “The slavery past is part of our history. By making these stories visible, we acknowledge the past and pass it on to new generations. From today, you can literally see that in the city.”
Apologies
Earlier, Arnhem commissioned research by Erfgoed Gelderland into the slavery past and the role of the city government. Conclusion: Arnhem was partly responsible for the colonial trade system and slavery. The council apologized for this. The book Volg het Spoor is a follow-up to that research and explains this history in an understandable way. It also shows how wealth in Arnhem was built on the backs of enslaved people.
“Slavery is an essential part of our shared history. We must acknowledge that the ‘Golden Age’ also had a painful and reprehensible side,” says Van de Geijn. “Therefore, make July 1, Keti Koti, a national holiday. A day on which we together celebrate the abolition of slavery.”
