News
Press Release
18 February 2026
Online Event on the Handling of Human Remains in German Collections
The German Contact Point for Cultural Property and Human Remains from Colonial Contexts invites to the digital panel discussion Between Research, Responsibility and Remembrance: Dealing with Human Remains from Colonial Contexts of Unknown Provenance on 18 February 2026 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (CET).
The handling of human remains from colonial contexts presents museums, collections and research institutions with complex professional as well as ethical challenges. A key finding of the Survey on Human Remains from Colonial Contexts Held in Museum and University Collections in Germany conducted in 2023 by the German Contact Point for Cultural Property and Human Remains from Colonial Contexts shows that approximately 46 % of the recorded human remains that have not been culturally modified cannot be clearly attributed to a specific geographical origin. Knowledge about origin and provenance is, however, of crucial importance both for a potential return to the communities and countries of origin and for ensuring appropriate care and handling within museums and collections in Germany.
Against this background, a number of fundamental questions arise: How should museums and collections deal with human remains, whose origin stays permanently unclear? What types of spaces or facilities are suitable for the medium- or long-term care and safekeeping of human remains with unresolved provenance? And what constitutes an ethically responsible approach to human remains whose origin cannot be determined or which cannot be repatriated to a country or society of origin?
We would like to explore these questions during a digital panel discussion with experts from cultural and academic institutions in Germany and abroad. Four short presentations by Prof. Wazi Apoh (Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Ghana), Sarah Fründt (German Lost Art Foundation / Expert Network on the Handling of Human Remains), Dr. Birgit Scheps-Bretschneider (affiliated with the Dresden State Art Collections | GRASSI Museum) and Dr. Rudo Sithole (AFRIMUHERE) will open the event and provide the basis for a subsequent panel discussion. Aisha Camara will be the moderator for the event.
Participation in the online event is free of charge, but only possible after registration by 16 February 2026 via our online form. You will receive the access details by email prior to the event. The event will be held in English.
The event forms part of the projects on the handling of human remains from colonial contexts, funded by the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
21 May 2025
The German Contact Point for Collections from Colonial Contexts seeks your support in responding to three inquiries regarding the location of cultural objects and human remains from the Kingdom of Eswatini, (formerly Swaziland), the Akpini communities (Kpando/Volta Region, Ghana) and the
Aneho communities (Aneho/formerly Klein Popo, Togo).
The survey is directed exclusively at institutions within Germany. We kindly ask you to forward the attached questionnaires to your members or affiliated institutions.
The questionnaires are available here in English and German:
English
- https://www.cp3c.de/dokumente/KOSKK_Survey_Akpini_State_2025_en.pdf
- https://www.cp3c.de/dokumente/KOSKK_Survey_Kingdom_Eswatini_2025_en.pdf
- https://www.cp3c.de/dokumente/KOSKK_Survey_three_thrones_Aneho_2025_en.pdf
German
- https://www.cp3c.de/dokumente/KOSKK_Survey_Akpini_State_2025_dt.pdf
- https://www.cp3c.de/dokumente/KOSKK_Survey_Kingdom_Eswatini_2025_dt.pdf
- https://www.cp3c.de/dokumente/KOSKK_Survey_three_thrones_Aneho_2025_dt.pdf
Please send the completed questionnaires by 2nd July, 2025 to l.bitahwa[at]kulturstiftung.de and e.kuehns[at]kulturstiftung.de.
31 October 2024
The German Contact Point for Collections from Colonial Contexts seeks your support in responding to two inquiries regarding the location of cultural objects and Ancestors from various Native Nations in the United States, including Hawaii, and cultural objects from Mbum communities in Northwest Cameroon.
The survey is directed exclusively at institutions within Germany. We kindly ask you to forward the attached questionnaires to your members or affiliated institutions.
The questionnaires are available here in English and German:
English
- https://www.cp3c.de/dokumente/KOSKK_Survey_Mbum_Cameroon_EN.pdf
- https://www.cp3c.de/dokumente/KOSKK_Survey_NorthAmerica_EN.pdf
German
- https://www.cp3c.de/dokumente/KOSKK_Survey_Mbum_Cameroon_DE.pdf
- https://www.cp3c.de/dokumente/KOSKK_Survey_NorthAmerica_DE.pdf
Please send the completed questionnaires by 15th January, 2025 to l.bitahwa[at]kulturstiftung.de and e.kuehns[at]kulturstiftung.de.
11 January 2022
Conference on the handling of the Benin Bronzes / Roth: “Returns are the starting point for future cooperation
In a video conference today, Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth addressed the handling of the Benin Bronzes that are currently in Germany. The conference participants – around 40 representatives of museums and institutions, the Federal Foreign Office, the federal states and national associations of local authorities – discussed the current state of implementation of the “Statement on the handling of the Benin Bronzes in German museums and institutions” of 29 April 2021.
The press release can be accessed here.
30 November 2021
“Collections from Colonial Contexts” online portal launched
The portal Collections from Colonial Contexts (“Sammlungsgut aus kolonialen Kontexten”) makes already digitised and indexed collections from colonial contexts available online within the existing portal of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (DDB – German Digital Library). The portal is the first, prototypical step on the way to a comprehensive and central digital publication of information on collections from colonial contexts in German cultural and knowledge institutions.
The “Collections from Colonial Contexts” online portal can be accessed here.
The press release of the DDB can be accessed here.
15 June 2021
The German Contact Point for Collections from Colonial Contexts Publishes an Inventory of Benin Bronzes in Museums in Germany
Information on Benin Bronzes held by museums in Germany is now available at one central web address. In addition, the museums will be extensively documenting the provenance of these objects and making these details publicly accessible on the website of the German Contact Point for Collections from Colonial Contexts.
The database of the Benin-Bronzes can be accessed here.
The press release can be accessed here.
Publications
5 May 2022
The German Contact Point for Collections from Colonial Contexts has published a flyer to make its tasks and the background for its establishment known to a wider audience.
The flyer can be accessed here.