An impressive, yet painful reminder of the ups and downs of German-Tanzanian relations can be found in the Museum of Natural History in Berlin, where a 150-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton dominates the museum’s central atrium.
In the early 1900s, German paleontologists and their African helpers excavated it near Tendaguru Hill in the Lindi region in present-day Tanzania. Tanzanian historian Philemon Mtoi believes the skeleton came to Berlin illegally.
“This animal is not originated from Germany. So I think it should be displayed in its country of origin. It will attract a lot of people. A lot of people are coming to see the display of this animal in the Berlin museum. It does not benefit the country where it was taken first.”
Since his childhood, Mtoi has heard discussions in his home country about the possible repatriation of fossils and other natural and cultural artifacts that Germany collected. But so far nothing happened with the dinosaur.
Germany did return Benin bronzes and will repatriate 200 skulls to Tanzania and over Rwanda (with Burundi and northern Mozambique part of German East Africa).
But, argues Mtoi’s colleague Jürgen Zimmerer, returns aree not enough: “Germany wants to avoid recognizing the structural, racist nature of colonialism as such, because that raises very fundamental questions about reparations, about apologies.”
