Human remains from colonial contexts –
Provenance Research in the Anthropological Collections of the University of Göttingen and MARKK Hamburg
A project funded by the German Lost Art Foundation
The University of Göttingen and the MARKK are jointly investigating the provenance of human remains from formerly colonized areas. An initial two-year research project is dedicated to human remains that were kept between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century as the so-called “Anthropological Collection” in the former Museum of Ethnology in Hamburg (now MARKK) and were handed over to the University of Göttingen in several stages after the department was dissolved in the early 1950s. As far as we know at present, 57 human remains are still in the MARKK, which are now being examined together with holdings in Göttingen so that discussions can then begin about their repatriation. The project is funded by the German Lost Art Foundation (Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste).
The aim of the project is to reconstruct the acquisition contexts and transfer routes of the collections as well as the circumstances of their transfer from the former Hamburg Ethnological Museum (Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg) to the University of Göttingen. The knowledge gained in this way will enable MARKK and the university to proactively inform the countries of origin in detail and reach an agreement on the further handling of the human remains and their repatriation. A workshop with experts from the countries of origin is intended to facilitate knowledge transfer in both directions.
As the University of Göttingen has received requests for the return of remains from Australia, Palau and Namibia, the investigation of these collections will be given priority.
The project is headed by historian Dr. Holger Stoecker from the University of Göttingen.
As part of the predecessor project “Sensitive Provenances”, a return to Palau has already taken place.
The press release can be found here.
Press review on the restitution to Palau (in German):
- taz vom 25.03.2024
Historiker über Gebeine in Uni-Archiven: “In den Kolonien gestohlen” - ZEIT ONLINE vom 25.03.2024
Geschichte: Digitale Ausstellung zu Schädelsammlungen wird eröffnet - Göttinger Tageblatt vom 21.03.2024
Forum Wissen in Göttingen: Wie die Uni Göttingen mit kolonialem Raub umgeht
Contact:
Annika Dörner
Zentrale Kustodie
Weender Landstraße 2
D-37073 Göttingen
Germany
E-mail:
annika.doerner@kustodie.uni-goettingen.de