In a significant event held on Thursday in Berlin, five sets of ancestral remains from Australia, stored in German museums since the 19th century, were returned. A representative of the Ugar Island community described this moment as both sad and yet “very joyful,” emphasizing its emotional weight.
This act of restitution is a part of broader initiatives by German museums and government agencies to return human remains and cultural items that were acquired during the colonial era. Among those returned were three sets of remains that had been kept in Berlin since 1880 and two additional sets housed in Oldenburg, a city in northwestern Germany. The handover ceremony was attended by four representatives from the Ugar Island community, which is located in the Torres Strait Islands off Australia’s northeastern coast.
Hermann Parzinger, the president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation that manages Berlin’s state museums, remarked that these ancestral remains did not belong in Germany. He explained how, throughout the colonial period and afterward, Europeans often regarded other cultures as mere subjects or, more frequently, as objects for their research. This led to the appropriation of numerous artifacts from diverse cultures outside Europe and the desecration of the burial sites of those communities, which is an unimaginable violation today.
Parzinger elaborated that around the early 20th century, museums in Berlin established a network that involved scientists, explorers, traders, and others who contributed to a global collection of cultural items. In their quest to compete with other prominent European institutions, these museums frequently overlooked the dignity and humanity of the cultures they encountered.
With the latest restitution, the total number of ancestral remains returned to Australia from Germany has reached 162, with approximately 1,700 returned worldwide, according to Natasha Smith, Australia’s ambassador to Germany. She emphasized that these returns are a “extremely high priority” for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as well as for the Australian government.
Ugar Island representative Rocky Stephen expressed mixed emotions at the ceremony, stating, “This is a process of healing that’s going to happen when they return back to us,” adding that despite the nearly 40-hour journey for the remains, they had been missed for 144 years and were now finally on their way home.
Berlin’s museums are now committed to doing everything possible to facilitate the repatriation of remains that can be identified and whose communities wish to reclaim them, according to Parzinger. This effort reflects a growing trend among museums and governments in Europe and North America to resolve ownership issues regarding items looted during colonial times.
A notable example of this movement occurred in 2022, when Germany and Nigeria formalized an agreement that set the stage for the return of countless artifacts known as the Benin Bronzes, which were taken from Africa by a British colonial expedition more than a century ago.
