Ethnographic objects from former colonies are often suspected of having entered European ethnological museums through unlawful means.
Museums can often reconstruct from which collectors they were acquired or donated.
However, the circumstances under which the objects were collected can rarely be determined.
Were the artefacts obtained through plundering or as war loot?
Were they extorted from the colonized people?
Or were they received as gifts, traded, or legitimately purchased?
Only in rare instances it is possible to determine the exact circumstances.
For example egarding the so-called Benin bronzes, which were plundered during the British attack on the royal palace of Benin and subsequently auctioned off.
The bronzes have since been restituted and are being loaned to the Linden-Museum by their rightful owners.
The Witbooi Bible and his whip also clearly originate from a similar act of violence.
Both were looted on April 12, 1893 during the German raid of the Hornkranz settlement.
Without a declaration of war, the German "Schutztruppe" (engl. 'Protection Force') led by Curt von François (1852-1931) attacked the settlement at dawn. Hendrick Witbooi quickly withdrew with his warriors and awaited the German attack. However, the Germans caused a bloodbath, killing 88 Witbooi, predominantly women and children, who were shot at point-blank range within their huts.
Scandalous term: "Gefecht von Hornkranz" (engl. "Battle of Hornkranz")
In German literature on colonialism and on Wikipedia, this massacre is wrongfully labeled as a "Gefecht" (engl. battle).
German sources tried to play down the casualties among civilians early on, while the British and South African press condemned the murders. The murder of women and children was not considered collateral damage. Commander Curt von François had reportedly issued the following command:
„Die Truppe hat den Auftrag, den Stamm der Witboois zu vernichten.“ (engl. "The troops are ordered to exterminate the Witbooi tribe.")
The Germans built a momument in Windhoek featuring the 'Reichsadler' (The German imperial eagle):
„Dem Andenken der in dem Kriege gegen den Stamm der Witbooi’s in den Jahren 1893 und 94 gefallenen Helden“
(engl. "In honor of the heroes who fell in the war against the Witbooi tribe in the years 1893 and 1894.")
(The monument still stands today in the Zoo Park, Windhoek)
The way into the museum
The whip and Bible of Hendrik Witbooi were looted during this massacre.
Founder of the Stuttgart ethnological museum, Karl Graf von Linden, convinced the former colonial official Paul Wassmannsdorf to give him some objects from his collection.
Wassmannsdorf himself had only arrived in German South West Africa in 1895 and was not involved in the massacre.
Was the museum aware of the illegitimate origin of the objects?
As the inscription on this tobacco pipe shows, the origin of the objects, including the Bible and whip, was known to the museum staff.
Upon the entry ot the objects, it was noted:
"No. 4 Peitsche von Kapitän Hendrik Witbooi... erbeutet beim Sturm auf Hornkranz"
(engl. "No. 4 whip belonging to Captain Hendrik Witbooi... captured during the attack on Hornkranz")
Even in the special exhibition with the unfortunate title "Von Kapstadt bis Windhuk: 'Hottentotten' oder Khoekhoen?“ (2007) (engl. "From Cape Town to Windhoek: 'Hottentots' or Khoekhoen?"), the whip and bible were presented with an explicit reference to the raid at Hornkranz.
But this context of the colonial theft wasn't recognized
publically yet.
In 2018, when the Namibian ambassador requested the return of the whip and Bible on behalf of the Witbooi family, the relevant Ministry of Science and the new museum leadership agreed immediately. Secretary of State Petra Olschowski and the new director Inés de Castro traveled to Namibia to organize the return with the government officials and family members.
Today the Linden-Museum pursues a different approach than it did in the past.
Learn more about prevented restitutions
in the past...
...or about the approach with restitution
claims in the present.
