Schlagwort: German Government
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Germany’s new guidelines on colonial belongings & ancestral remains
In October 2025, the federal government, the states and local authority associations adopted guidelines on the handling of colonially appropriated cultural belongings and ancestral remains in German institutions. As the analysis presented here shows, many questions remain unanswered regarding the details and implementation of these guidelines.
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Portal „Collections from Colonial Contexts“ of the German Digital Library
The portal ‘Collections from Colonial Contexts (CCC)’ of the German Digital Library (DDB) aims to create centralised and transparent access to information from German museums that is already available in digital form in the short term. Experience to date suggests that the portal has so far been little used by actors from the contexts of…
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Reappraisal of German colonialism: many individual measures, no overall concept
This text analyses the German government’s response in August 2025 to an enquiry by the Green Party. In it, the government emphasises its willingness to come to terms with Germany’s colonial history. How this will happen depends largely on ideas and political pressure from civil society. It is crucial that the institutional and financial weaknesses…
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Historic breakthrough for German restitution policy on colonial contexts
With its recent visit to Germany, Cameroon’s official Restitution Committee has achieved a historic breakthrough for the return of culturally appropriated cultural heritage. Belongings from museums in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart and Bremen are to be returned in a ‘first wave’ in September 2025. The Federal Foreign Office should set up a task force for the…
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Interim assessment of the debate on the looting and restitution of Cameroon’s cultural heritage in Germany
In his presentation at the Munich Museum Fünf Kontinente on May 8, 2025, which can be accessed in full in this blog post, Prof. Albert Gouaffo (Université de Dschang) took a critical look at the status of the Cameroonian-German restitution process. And he identifies conditions that need to be met on both the Cameroonian and…
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German restitution policy on colonial contexts
The change of government in Berlin is the right time to take a critical look at Germany’s restitution policy for colonial contexts. The so-called traffic light coalition has set some things in motion here, but it has also left serious work to be done. It is now largely up to civil society to push ahead…
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Germany’s new government wants to intensify decolonial reappraisal
The coalition agreement of Conservatives and Social Democrats in Germany contains remarkably positive statements on dealing with the colonial legacy. However, it is not declarations of intent that count, but rather concrete steps towards implementation. Civil society and governments in former German colonial territories are increasingly calling for credible measures to recognize historical guilt, repatriate…
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Workshop at University of Dschang on Cameroon’s cultural heritage in Germany
Report in English and French about workshop and exposition at the University of Dschang in January 2025 on the „Atlas of Absence: Cameroon’s cultural heritage in Germany“. The event highlighted the relevance of addressing colonial legacies for youth, including the return of looted belongings.
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Petition to Germany’s next government
With this petition, around 250 initial signatories from civil society, science, culture and churches are addressing the parties that will begin coalition talks after Germany’s national elections on 23 February 2025. They want the future government to proactively work on addressing German colonial history at home and in foreign relations. You can download pdf file…
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Decolonial Challenges for Germany’s New Government
After the exit of the „traffic-light” coalition, the question arises as to how the new government intends to address Germany’s colonial history. The programmes of the parties for the current election campaign show little ambition in this regard. It will therefore be up to civil society forces to help shape remembrance work and demand political…