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The Kidnapped Dead: Germany鈥檚 Stolen Skulls

Thousands of human remains are held in German museums. Why can鈥檛 they go back?

In 1900, German colonial officers executed 19 Tanzanian leaders, including Akida Kiwelu, and shipped their skulls to Berlin for scientific study. Thousands of such skulls and ancestral remains stolen from Germany鈥檚 past colonies are still kept in Berlin museums to this day.

In an administrative building in Berlin, Zablon Kiwelu encounters his grandfather鈥檚 skull for the first time. DNA testing confirmed a genetic match to this skull, held in an anthropological colonial-era collection of thousands of skulls known as the S-Collection. But despite proof of his heritage, Zablon cannot bring his grandfather home for a proper burial.

Through intimate accounts and revealing interviews with museum curators, activists, and affected families, this documentary uncovers the lasting impact of colonial-era crimes in Germany, Tanzania, and beyond. Why were these collections of human remains assembled? What were ethnologists like Felix von Luschan intending to prove? And why are thousands of human remains still held in museum collections to this day?

Release date:

27 minutes

On radio

Thu 17 Jul 2025 01:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 17 Jul 2025 01:32GMT
  • Thu 17 Jul 2025 08:32GMT
  • Thu 17 Jul 2025 19:06GMT
  • Sat 19 Jul 2025 16:32GMT
  • Sat 19 Jul 2025 23:32GMT
  • Sun 20 Jul 2025 04:32GMT
  • Sun 20 Jul 2025 13:06GMT
  • Sun 20 Jul 2025 22:32GMT