“Yes, I ask myself, if you store the deceased somewhere in warehouses, in the cellar or in a shelf, I ask myself: is that European? Or is it Christian?"
- Mnyaka Sururu Mboro
“Yes, I ask myself, if you store the deceased somewhere in warehouses, in the cellar or in a shelf, I ask myself: is that European? Or is it Christian?"
- Mnyaka Sururu Mboro
Human remains refers to the bodily remains of murdered Africans, which were brought to Germany during the colonial era for racist, pseudo-scientific purposes of anthropological research.
Human remains refers to the bodily remains of murdered Africans, which were brought to Germany during the colonial era for racist, pseudo-scientific purposes of anthropological research.
A major part of these human remains is still found in collections on German soil, such as those in ethnological museums and university clinics. Up until today, only little provenance research on them has been done to associate them to the society of origin and hand them back; however, it is known that in Germany there are human remains from Namibia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Cameroon, and Togo.
Despite the numerous initiatives demanding repatriation and continuously educating on the topic, serious negotiations with the affected groups and initiatives are still not taking place. The only exceptions have been two cases of repatriation, which were however highly criticised by the concerned groups, and in which the German government did not want to get involved. Generally, the German government is not taking any responsibility on the issue.
"That these body parts are exhibited in museums is for me just another act of violence. An act of violence beyond death. By still keeping the remains of the murdered Herero in Germany, they perpetuate the injustice."
- Marie Biloa Onana
"That these body parts are exhibited in museums is for me just another act of violence. An act of violence beyond death. By still keeping the remains of the murdered Herero in Germany, they perpetuate the injustice."
- Marie Biloa Onana
For further information and detailed explanations on the issue of human remains, please see the following webpages:
For further information and detailed explanations on the issue of human remains, please see the following webpages:
- Website of the campaign No-Humboldt 21 – Information, video material on the topic of human remains
- Project “Manufacturing Race” by students of the Freie Universität and Prof. Dr. Bilgin Ayata – Information on the former Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute and racist research involving human remains
- Research project by Charité on human remains in German collections
- Position of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz on how to deal with human remains
