One of the 20 skulls that Germany handed over to Namibian officials.
One of the 20 skulls that Germany handed over to Namibian officials.

Namibian skulls, more than a century old, repatriated



BERLIN // German scientists yesterday handed a delegation from Namibia the skulls of 20 people who died in a colonial concentration camp more than 100 years ago - and whose heads were seized for a research project that aimed to prove white supremacy.

The skulls were part of the anatomical collection of Berlin's university hospital, the Charité, and their return has cast a spotlight on a dark chapter of Germany's past. Namibia has been trying to get the remains repatriated since 2008 when a television documentary revealed their existence in the hospital's vaults.

The heads were from four women, 15 men and one boy, age 3 or 4. They fell victim to what historians have described as the first genocide of the 20th century - the suppression by the troops of Emperor Wilhem II of an uprising in which tens of thousands of people from the Herero and Nama tribes were killed between 1904 and 1908.

At a ceremony in Berlin, members of the Charité presented the skulls,

18 in grey boxes and two in glass cases, all surrounded by white flowers, to some 60 representatives from Namibian ethnic groups.

The 20 skulls belonged to Herero and Nama people who died in a prison camp on Shark Island, off the coast of what was then the colony of German Southwest Africa. Scurvy was the cause of death in several cases, tests showed. Some three quarters of prisoners on the island died of malnutrition, poor hygiene and exposure to the elements.

The severed heads, with skin and hair still attached, were sent to Berlin for anatomical research aimed at proving the supposed genetic superiority of white people. The tissue was subsequently removed and the skulls were put in storage in the university's medical archives, along with some 7,000 other skulls from all over the world and dating from various eras.

"The whole heads were separated from the bodies, preserved in formalin and shipped to an anthropologist in Berlin, Paul Bartels, who researched anatomy at Berlin University," said Andreas Winkelmann, who is in charge of the collection of anatomical specimens at the Charité. "He was primarily interested in examining the soft tissues, especially the muscles used in facial expressions. His doctoral students published their research from 1913 to 1915 and when you read it, you get the clear impression that they simply wanted to show that Europeans have finer, more differentiated facial muscles," said Mr Winkelmann. "They interpreted their findings accordingly."

"From today's point of view it wasn't good research, not just because of the context but because of the methodology. It was about 'race' and the idea behind it was that Africans were supposedly more primitive and perhaps closer to apes. That was the aim of this research."

Germany in 2004 apologised for the war in which some 65,000 Herero - most of the 85,000-strong population - and 10,000 Nama were killed, but it has refused demands from descendants to pay compensation, arguing that international laws on the protection of civilians did not exist at the time of the conflict.

It has, however, paid large sums of aid to Namibia.

Members of the Namibian delegation reiterated their demands this week that Germany should pay compensation for the crimes.

For Namibians, the handover of the 20 skulls was a symbolic step in coming to terms with their past and reminding the world of Germany's guilt.

"The repatriation of the skulls gives voice to the dead to tell their own story to the world about how absurd and inhumane German colonialism was towards black communities in Namibia," said the former Namibian ambassador to Germany, Professor Peter Katjavivi.

It was not only scientists who seized human remains in Africa. Adventurers, traders and soldiers also sent back body parts as trophies of their conquests that remain in museum vaults, university archives and private collections in Germany. The University of Freiburg is also examining skulls in its possession that could have come from Namibia.

The director of the Medical History Museum at the Charité, Thomas Schnalke, said: "We acknowledge that German science made itself guilty at the time. We want to apologise for that. We are not the owners of the skulls that were prepared, sent here and researched in questionable circumstances."

He said it had taken years to arrange the handover because the hospital first had to be sure about where the heads came from. The identities of the 20 skulls were not known because no records were kept of the names of the dead. Their origin was determined by examining catalogues in the university archives.

"We are examining further skulls that may have come from Namibia," said Mr Winkelmann. "We can say there will definitely be some more, probably a similar number." In addition, Australian scientists have been working with Charité to identify the geographic origin of possible Aboriginal skulls. They, too, could be returned home.

The skulls at Charité were due to be flown to Namibia on Tuesday and a state memorial service is to be held in the capital, Windhoek, the following day. They cannot be buried according to Namibian tradition because the bodies complete. The remains will then be exhibited at the National Museum of Namibia.

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At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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