Germany returns looted works of art to Nigeria

The German government speaks of a historic agreement, after years of negotiations. According to Berlin, the works are among Africa’s greatest treasures. But their history is also a story of colonialism and violence, emphasizes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock. Among the first bronze statues now going back is the head of a king who used to stand on an altar in honor of a monarch.

When British soldiers invaded Benin in 1897, they looted the royal palace and stole more than 5,000 precious objects. More than a thousand of these objects are still in Germany. Baerbock therefore calls the handing over of the first works to Nigeria a start. “It was wrong to steal the bronzes and it was wrong to keep and preserve them.”

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