German bishop praises return of colonial-era remains to Namibia at church ceremony

At a church ceremony in Berlin, two skulls in glass boxes along with a coffin covered with a Namibian flag were placed in front of the altar ahead of the handover.

The repatriation of the remains is a reminder of Germany’s short-lived past as a colonial power in Africa – which included the bloody suppression of a Herero and Nama uprising between 1904 and 1908 that left tens of thousands dead.

“We intend to do something today we should have done many years ago, namely to give back mortal human remains of people who became the first victims of the first genocide of the 20th century,” German Lutheran Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber told the fully packed church.

Germany is returning 19 skulls, five full skeletons and bone and skin fragments that were stored in hospitals, museums and universities for decades.

In the early 20th century, German scientists tried to prove the “racial superiority” of white Europeans over black Africans by, for example, analysing the facial features of the skulls, well before Nazi-era scientists conducted similar experiments on Jews and others.

“These skulls tell the story of brutal, godless colonial past and its consecutive suppression of the Namibian people. They say, ‘Never again!'” Lutheran Bishop Ernst Gamxamub from Namibia said during his sermon.

It was the third time Germany has returned human remains to Namibia. In 2011, 20 skulls were handed…