The Big Hole in Germany’s Nazi Reckoning? Its Colonial History

It is, at a glance, an unremarkable street — roughly a quarter-mile long, cutting through a grassy knoll the size of a couple of basketball courts.

Yet to Joshua Kwesi Aikins, this street, Petersallee, in Berlin’s African Quarter, strikes a deep emotional blow.

In 1939, National Socialists dedicated the street to Dr. Carl Peters, a leader of Germany’s violent colonial efforts in Africa.

“They said, ‘Hey, this guy was one of the founders of our empire and we have to honor him,’ ” said Mr. Aikins, 38, a German social scientist and activist with Ghanaian roots. “This is actually Nazi propaganda.”