Presentation of Working Paper 6/2024

Invitation to the project presentation Locating Namibian Cultural Heritage in Museums and Universities in German-Speaking Countries. A Finding Aid for Provenance Research

13. February 2024

Contact

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Do feel free to get in touch with us directly – whether at the Foundation’s headquarters in Magdeburg or at our branch office in Berlin.
See here for answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ)

German Lost Art Foundation

Humboldtstr. 12
39112 Magdeburg

Germany
Phone:  +49 (0) 391 727 763 0
E-mail:  kontakt@kulturgutverluste.de
Social:

German Lost Art Foundation Berlin Branch Office

Seydelstr. 18
10117 Berlin

Berlin
Phone: +49 (0) 391 727 763 0
E-mail: kontakt@kulturgutverluste.de

The Help Desk offers advice and assistance to victims of the Nazi regime and their descendants on questions relating to Nazi theft of cultural property. Serving as a central and initial low-threshold point of contact in Germany, it is aimed in particular at people whose place of residence is outside Germany and who are unfamiliar with German procedures, especially in connection with cultural federalism. The Help Desk seeks to provide support in taking initial steps as well as providing further contacts and information. We will also be happy to help initiate discussions with museums and other institutions.

German Lost Art Foundation, Branch Office
Dr. Susanne Meyer-Abich
Head of Help Desk

Seydelstr. 18
10117 Berlin

Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 391 727 763 0
E-mail: helpdesk@kulturgutverluste.de

In collaboration with the Hermann von Helmholtz Center for Cultural Techniques at Humboldt University of Berlin (HZK) and the Coordination Centre for Scientific University Collections in Germany, the German Lost Art Foundation will be hosting a presentation of the working paper Locating Namibian Cultural Heritage in Museums and Universities in German-Speaking Countries. A Finding Aid for Provenance Research.

The event will take place on Wednesday, 28 February 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in the Kurssaal, Hermann von Helmholtz Center for Cultural Techniques, Humboldt University of Berlin, Campus Nord – Haus 3, Philippstr. 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany.

This publication is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of cultural property from Namibia, most of which was transferred to museums and universities in German-speaking countries as a result of colonisation by the German Reich. Information on almost 19,000 items has been collected from around 40 museums and universities in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The compilation was assembled in close collaboration with these institutions. It is intended to serve as a working aid and a reference work for European and Namibian provenance researchers, curators and cultural heritage experts, as well as seeking to facilitate networking between European institutions and Namibian experts and stakeholders. The aim of this groundwork is to advance provenance research into Namibian cultural property and support discussions on the restitution of Namibian cultural property.

The publication was compiled by the ethnologists Gesa Grimme (Coordination Centre for Scientific University Collections in Germany), Larissa Förster (Head of the Department of Cultural Goods and Collections from Colonial Contexts at the German Lost Art Foundation) and Christoph Rippe (freelance provenance researcher). Mareike Späth and Louisa Hartmann (both Landesmuseum Hannover) will report on work with the project outcomes from the perspective of one of the participating museums.

The Working Paper Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste is available free of charge on the publication platform of the Max Weber Foundation: https://perspectivia.net/publikationen/wpk. The working paper Locating Namibian Cultural Heritage in Museums and Universities in German-Speaking Countries. A Finding Aid for Provenance Research will be available online prior to the event.

Attendance at the event is free of charge.