Museum Wiesbaden will return 10 human skulls to Indonesia in a formal ceremony on November 10. It will be the first German museum to repatriate human remains from the Dutch colonial era to Indonesia.
The skulls were taken from Indonesia by military physician Ernst Albert Fritze, who worked for the Dutch East India Company from 1817. They arrived in Germany in the 19th century and were later donated to the Nassau Society for Natural History, a predecessor of the museum.
Research into the collection's history
Museum curator Andy Reymann has spent several years investigating the collection's origins. In 2023, the museum received support from the German Lost Art Foundation, the Institute of Forensic Medicine at University Hospital Frankfurt, and researchers at the University of Cologne to continue the work.
The Hessian Ministry of Culture says the return is part of a wider effort to review state collections for colonial-era acquisitions and take responsibility for their history. During the ceremony, the remains will be covered out of respect for the deceased.
The repatriation may help strengthen cooperation between museums and communities of origin, shaping more responsible approaches to collections and cultural heritage in the future.
