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Three looted art bronzes from Benin in West Africa can be seen in a museum in Hamburg
Photo: Daniel Bockwoldt / dpa
German museums are to return the first art treasures from the Benin bronzes, which are considered looted goods, to Nigeria next year.
A group of museum experts and political leaders agreed on this on Thursday in an online connection with Berlin.
By this summer, concrete action steps and a roadmap for the question of the return of Benin bronzes are to be developed.
"This is a historic step"
"We are facing the historical and moral responsibility to bring Germany's colonial past to light and to come to terms with it," said Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters (CDU) after the informal round she had called.
"Dealing with the Benin bronzes is a touchstone for this."
In addition to the greatest possible transparency, according to Grütters, "above all, substantial returns are sought".
A list of all Benin bronzes in the possession of the museums should be published by June 15.
"This is a historic step," said the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, of the German Press Agency.
"We hope that we can start making returns as early as 2022." According to Parzinger, "talks about substantial returns and future collaborations" are planned with the Nigerian partners.
Bronzes from the royal palace of the then Kingdom of Benin can be found in numerous German museums.
Most of the objects came from the British looting in 1897.
mjm / dpa