Between Colonial Appropriation and 'Scientific (Anti-)Racism'
As the long-time director of the Department of Africa and Oceania at the “Museum für Völkerkunde” in Berlin and holder of the chair in physical anthropology at the University of Berlin, Felix von Luschan was responsible for the acquisition of numerous objects and human remains from colonial contexts.
Image gallery
Besucher vor den Benin-Bronzen im Ausstellungsbereich "Geschichte des Königreichs Benin" im Ethnologischen Museum
Without his actions, objects such as the Benin Bronzes and the Luf boat would not have found their way into the Berlin collection. For good reason, he is therefore at the center of today’s debates on restitution and the critical examination of colonial and racist scientific traditions. Felix von Luschan was, however, a contradictory figure: He was at the same time a staunch opponent of ethno-nationalist, anti-Semitic racial theories and challenged central paradigms of contemporary “racial sciences.”
Using selected objects and photographs, historians Felix Wiedemann and Patrick Helber shed light in this guided tour not only on the complex figure of Felix von Luschan but also on the ambivalences of “scientific anti-racism” in the early 20th century.
Participants: Felix Wiedemann and Patrick Helber
- 10 EUR / 5 EUR plus exhibition ticket
- Duration: 90 min
- 14 years and older
- Language: German
- Ethnologisches Museum, 2. OG
- max. 25 persons
- Belongs to: Ethnological Collections and Asian Art
Additional information
Dates
November 2026
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