The Third World in World War II

The Second World War left behind devastation that shaped not only Europe but also vast parts of the so-called Third World. Soldiers and workers from the colonies were often recruited under coercion by both the fascist Axis powers and the Allies. The battlefields spread across Africa, Asia, and Oceania, leaving ravaged landscapes and deep marks on societies. This perspective, long neglected in European historiography, is now coming into focus.

On the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, the expanded version of an exhibition by the association recherche international e.V. will be presented at the NS Documentation Center in Cologne. In addition to historical facts, artistic reflections from the affected regions will be showcased for the first time. This intercultural approach sheds light on the complex consequences of the Second World War and opens up space for deeper engagement with the colonial dimension of the events. The exhibition facilitates encounters with the voices and narratives of people whose fates have so far been marginalized in historical discourse.