a demand particularly voiced by African communities.
They are often surprised, sometimes shocked, at how many artefacts and Human Remains are still in the possession of German institutions and collections.
Since the 1970s, the so-called restitution debate has been centred on whether and how objects that were often stolen, illegally expropriated, or extorted from their previous owners can be returned to the communities of origin.
Why not return everything?
It's not quite that simple!
How restitutions work, why they sometimes fail and what the future of colonial museum collections looks like, will be examined in more detail in the following articles.
This web is a result of the Summer School, of its intensive collaboration and the fruitful and inspiring
debates we had on the subject of restitution.
Find out more about the Summer School and the project here.