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An agreement on the transfer of ownership and loans for the so-called Benin bronzes in the collection of the Ethnological Museum of the National Museums in Berlin is to be concluded with the responsible authorities in Nigeria in the second half of the year. This was decided this Monday by the SPK Board of Trustees, chaired by Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth. The repatriations had been negotiated under the leadership of the BKM since March 2021. On the German side, Hermann Parzinger and Barbara Plankensteiner, spokesperson for the Benin Dialogue Group and Director of Hamburg's MARKK, Museum am Rothenbaum Kulturen und Künste der Welt, were also involved in the talks.

Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth explains: "The restitution of cultural assets cannot heal the wounds of brutal colonial rule, but it is a first step towards a new way of dealing with the past that has been largely ignored up to now. People all over the world have a right to have access to their own cultural heritage. They should be able to decide for themselves how this is preserved and passed on to future generations. The return of the Benin bronzes underpins our commitment to coming to terms with our colonial history. It should be the beginning of a new, different cultural cooperation."

"The negotiations with the Nigerian side are nearing a good conclusion. We have agreed that ownership of all objects located in Berlin that were looted in Benin as part of the so-called British Punitive Expedition of 1897 should be transferred to Nigeria. There is agreement with the Nigerian partners that some of these objects should remain in Germany on long-term loan. A concrete selection has not yet been made. The objects that are not on loan are to be transferred to Nigeria as quickly as possible in consultation with the Nigerian side," says Hermann Parzinger.

The SPK President spoke of a "completely new dimension of co-operation with our partners in Nigeria". There was agreement that the repatriation was not the end point, but the beginning of a new form and new quality of cooperation: "The fact that Nigeria is prepared to hand over high-quality loans to Germany shows that we have built up trust. We are proud to be able to show these treasures of world culture in the Humboldt Forum."