Response from the Federal government to enquiry from the Green Party
In its August 2025 response to the Green Party’s inquiry, the German government emphasises its willingness to confront Germany’s colonial history and its consequences. This is entirely in line with the coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and the SPD, which refers to „intensifying the process of coming to terms with the past“, returning human remains and cultural assets, and creating a „dignified place of remembrance“. It remains to be seen whether and how such declarations of intent at the beginning of the legislative period will actually be implemented in the coming years.
Government response in English (automatic translation)
German version of this text:
https://dekolonial-erinnern.de/aufarbeitung-der-deutschen-kolonialgeschichte-viele-einzelmassnahmen-kein-gesamtkonzept/
No comprehensive action programme
The response contains detailed information on a variety of (commendable) individual measures, but does not offer a comprehensive action plan that would do justice to the significance of German colonialism. This weakness applies both to the recognition of the extremely violent history and to the enormous challenges in the upcoming negotiations with former African colonies (especially Tanzania and Cameroon), where state restitution committees have begun their work.
With its (unsurprising) formal legal rejection of reparations, the Federal government is following the line of its predecessors. However, the narrow focus on financial payments fails to recognise that reparations are understood in a much more nuanced way in the former colonial territories. The response also makes it clear that the institutional structures and funding instruments (known as restitution governance) at the federal level inherited from the former government have major shortcomings.
German culture of remembrance
In view of the recent statements by Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer on historical remembrance, the clear position taken by the Federal government, for which the Federal Foreign Office is responsible, is convincing:
„Coming to terms with Germany’s colonial history is an undisputed part of Germany’s culture of remembrance. The Federal
government attaches great importance to this.“
This integrative view of the state-sponsored mass crimes of the 19th and 20th centuries is shared by numerous representatives of existing memorial sites for the Holocaust and the SED dictatorship.
„Dignified place of remembrance“
During the last legislative period, former Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth was unable to present the concept for a place of learning and remembrance on colonialism set out in the agreement of the traffic light coalition government. The response states that the current Federal government intends to continue discussions with academia and civil society „in order to create a dignified place of remembrance for coming to terms with Germany’s colonial legacy“.
Reparations
In its response, the Federal government fails to recognise that demands for reparations in Africa, for example by the African Union, go far beyond financial compensation. The repatriation of ancestors (human remains) and cultural belongings is of central importance. In addition, voices from former colonial territories expect the German government to issue an official apology for colonial violence, as has been done, for example, in the Netherlands by the king and the prime minister, with an emphasis on the enslavement economy. A further step towards a credible reappraisal of the intertwined history would be the establishment of joint expert commissions, such as the French-Cameroonian committee of historians. Support is also desired for places of remembrance and regional cultural institutions in the societies of origin for the rehumanisation of returned ancestors and the preservation of belongings.
Support for societies of origin
The response reveals fundamental shortcomings at the federal level in terms of support for governments, communities, civil society, culture and academia in the societies of origin. One problem is the division of responsibilities on the German side with regard to human remains and cultural belongings. The Contact Point for Collections from Colonial Contexts, which is supported by the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States, receives funding from the Federal Foreign Office and the State Ministry of Culture to set up a „Liaison Office“ on ancestral remains by the end of 2026. There is no mention of a possible law on the handling of human remains, such as the one passed in France. The „Agency for International Museum Cooperation“ is supposed to support the restitution of cultural belongings, but it does not yet have the personnel or financial resources to carry out this task.
Where is the restitution fund?
The response reveals a structural flaw in the German system. The State Ministry of Culture (BKM) has received funds from the Bundestag to support the societies of origin in the restitution of cultural belongings, but is not responsible for this issue. Responsibility lies with the Federal Foreign Office, which, however, has no financial resources for this task. Furthermore, the funds available to support the countries of origin are completely inadequate given the enormous quantity of colonial cultural heritage in Germany (600,000 euros for 2024 in the BKM budget). In the case of Cameroon, for example, there are more than 40,000 „items“ in German public institutions.
Academia & civil society
As the response shows, unlike other European countries, the German government has no plans to institutionalise the involvement of academia in the process of coming to terms with colonial history. The Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland, for example, have set up independent academic committees to support the state’s restitution policy. The round table on „Coming to terms with colonialism – in dialogue with civil society“, convened for the first time by the Federal Foreign Office in November 2024, is to be continued.
International cooperation
The response is largely lacking in terms of international cooperation. At the European level, the only reference is to Franco-German cooperation in provenance research. There are no plans for joint initiatives to come to terms with colonialism, for example within the European Union. With regard to former colonies, the focus is solely on intergovernmental relations with individual countries. Cooperation with the African Union or African regional organisations – for example in East Africa – is not planned.
Non-African colonies
It is particularly striking that the German government completely ignores the former German colonial territories in China and the Pacific in its response. The recent publication by Australian historian Matthew Fitzpatrick on German rule in Samoa, for example, highlights the central role that the Pacific region played in German colonial ambitions.
Civil society agenda
The response gives hope that the German government is serious about continuing to come to terms with its colonial history. How exactly this will happen depends largely on ideas and political pressure from civil society. In the current legislative period, civil society engagement is particularly important on the following points:
– Implementation of the revised guidelines on dealing with collections from colonial contexts by the Federal government, the states and local authorities (presentation planned for autumn 2025),
– Passing a law on dealing with human remains,
– Creation of the „Liaison Office“ on ancestral remains,
– Identification of a suitable institution to support the restitution of cultural belongings,
– Monitoring of intergovernmental talks with restitution committees in former German colonial territories,
– Increase in federal budget funds to support societies of origin,
– Simplification of visa issuance, especially in the context of cooperation projects with German participants,
– Commitment of other federal ministries to addressing colonial history, in particular the Ministry of Development, the Ministry of Defence, the BMFTR (including research) and the BMBFSFJ (including education).