Dealing with Collections from Colonial Contexts: Current Developments in Germany

Abstract

The debate on the return and restitution of cultural property is by no means a new one. In recent years, however, the debate – stimulated by French President Emmanuel Macron’s speech in 2017 – extended to include the question of how to deal with collections from colonial contexts. Whereas international law provides a legal framework for how to deal with war-time looting (the 1954 Hague Convention) and the present-day trafficking in cultural property (the 1970 UNESCO Convention), no such legal regime exists for cultural objects removed during colonial times. Nevertheless, as this article illustrates – with a focus on recent examples in Germany – current developments indicate a movement towards new political and ethical schemes on how to deal with collections from colonial contexts and, in a broader sense, how to come to terms with the colonial past. In Germany, this includes the return of cultural objects and human remains to Namibia as well as the transfer of ownership of all Benin Bronzes held by German institutions to Nigeria.