Ethiopia Takes Back Historic Items After a 100-Year Holding in German Hands
A total of 12 historical items were formally restored to the Ethiopian nation following remaining by a household from Germany for more than a century.
The items, originally gathered in the 1920's by the German diplomat to the Ethiopian empire a German envoy and his spouse Hedwig, were handed over on this past Wednesday to the research center at Addis Ababa University.
This assortment contained crowns, armor and paintings, all considered as culturally valuable in Ethiopia.
"These treasures still represent a emblem of the lasting and amicable ties between Germany and Ethiopia," remarked Germany's envoy, the representative to Ethiopia.
Dr. a professor, whose parent was delivered during the household's service in Ethiopia, presented the objects at a event joined by the Minister of Tourism Selamawit Kassa.
He explained that the family's intention to restore the artefacts was to "showcase their beauty with the public and safeguard the culture and past connected to my parent's beginning."
The items were either donations or acquisitions, according to the family.
"We would like to thank Professor Weiss's family for concretely expressing their profound appreciation for Ethiopia by meticulously safeguarding these artifacts and vitally securing their repatriation to their rightful homeland," stated the tourism minister.
She added that the pieces would in the near future be opened to the public for study and educational purposes, calling the move a landmark in preserving Ethiopia's cultural heritage.
"Initiatives are ongoing to return old artifacts that are held in the hands of private persons and entities all over the planet," she affirmed.
In the era of colonial rule in Africa, thousands of historical objects were plundered.
The call by African countries for the restoration of looted items has been responded to by certain positive outcomes in the past few years - although some artefacts are merely on temporary return.
In two years ago, the German government was the pioneering nation to repatriate some of the well-known Benin artifacts to Nigeria in a bid to address its "troubled past."
Related Themes
- Historical Repatriation Efforts in the Continent
- The Effect of Colonial History on Contemporary African Culture
- Global Campaigns for the Restitution of Looted Treasures
