Monopol magazine is giving away 5 × 2 tickets for the exhibition "Tirailleurs" at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin. The show, which runs under the full title "Tirailleurs: Von Kanonenfutter zu Avantgarde – Die vergessenen Soldat*innen, die Europa befreit haben," highlights the largely forgotten history of African soldiers (tirailleurs) who fought for France in both World Wars, many forcibly recruited and deployed on the front lines. Featuring over 30 international artists with new commissions, the exhibition includes installations, films, photographs, and archival materials addressing colonial violence, memory politics, and the enduring impact of imperial power structures. Artists such as Dior Thiam, Daniel Lind-Ramos, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, and Mario Pfeifer contribute works that recover names, reframe historical images, and connect past colonial dynamics to present-day conflicts like the war in Ukraine.
This exhibition matters because it confronts a persistent blind spot in European collective memory: the decisive role of African soldiers in liberating Europe, a contribution that remains largely absent from mainstream historical narratives. By bringing together contemporary artistic responses with archival research, the HKW not only corrects the historical record but also examines how colonial power structures continue to shape global politics and migration today. The giveaway of tickets by Monopol underscores the exhibition's relevance to a broad public, inviting audiences to engage with a critical, decolonial perspective on European history and its ongoing repercussions.