NAMIBIA RECEIVES LOOTED ARTEFACTS FROM GERMANY, BUT ON LOAN

Tue 31 May 2022:

On Monday, Namibia received 23 historic items of jewelry, tools, and other objects looted under colonial rule and returned to Germany on an indefinite loan.

The relics’ repatriation is part of a mission to promote rapprochement between the two countries.

“All the artefacts were collected during the Germany colonial era from different Namibian communities,” said the Museum Association of Namibia chairwoman, Hilma Kautondokwa.

According to her, the returned items were generally taken between the 1860s and the early 1890s. Hundreds of other artifacts can still be found throughout Germany.

In May of last year, Germany admitted to genocide in colonial-era Namibia and promised a billion euros in financial aid to victims’ relatives.

Namibian activists have questioned why Germany chose to loan the looted items rather than simply returning them.

Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, “guarantee that these objects will stay in Namibia.”

The items’ return is the latest step in a growing trend in Africa for Western countries to repatriate colonial relics from their museums.

Namibia received a Bible and a whip from Kaptein Hendrik Witbooi, a revered national hero who was vital in the early fight against German colonial dominance.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent