“The repatriation of human remains is a very time-consuming and complex process. It took almost two years from the initial contact to the repatriation,” reports Professor Martin Gericke, Deputy Director of the Institute of Anatomy. The institute houses the collection of Professor Emil Schmidt, which includes around 1,200 skulls. This skull collection is to be dismantled and the objects returned to their respective countries of origin. “It is very important to us to involve the communities of origin in the decision-making process about how and where these individuals should be laid to rest,” says Gericke. In 2023, his institute therefore contacted archaeologists in the city of New Orleans, where the 19 individuals had lived before their deaths. At the same time, the institute conducted numerous discussions – including with the Saxon state government, the German federal government, and the German Lost Art Foundation – to address the ethical and legal framework for the repatriation.
A forensic anthropologist from the Louisiana Department of Justice travelled to Leipzig the following summer for a week to examine the human remains more closely and verify the records found in historical sources. A city archaeologist from New Orleans, in turn, established contact with Dillard University – a private university in New Orleans and a historically Black college. “We placed great importance on involving the African American community in New Orleans and its perspective on how to handle the human remains,” says Gericke, describing the early stages of the repatriation process, which required cultural sensitivity and diplomacy. Dillard University went on to form a dedicated Cultural Repatriation Committee to prepare appropriately for the reception of the skulls and to learn more about the individuals and the circumstances under which their remains were traded.
Limits of provenance research and the names of the deceased
“Often, the possibilities of provenance research are limited – but in this case, the names were recorded in the collection catalogue in Leipzig,” says Gericke. The names of 17 identified individuals, believed to have been enslaved, were: Adam Grant, Isaak Bell, Hiram Smith, William Pierson, Henry Williams, John Brown, Hiram Malone, William Roberts, Alice Brown, Prescilla Hatchet, Marie Louise, Mahala, Samuel Prince, John Tolman, Henry Allen, Moses Willis and Henry Anderson. They were between 17 and 70 years old at the time of their death.
“Further information about these individuals was then recovered from the historical records of one of the oldest hospitals in the US, located in New Orleans. Collaboration with colleagues in New Orleans was therefore crucial,” says Professor Martin Gericke, describing the research effort as akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
The journey from Leipzig to New Orleans
On 15 May 2025, the time had come: staff at the Institute of Anatomy carefully placed the delicately wrapped skulls into boxes lined with shredded paper. Transported in a wooden crate by an international funeral services provider, they made their way back to the United States, where they were received by the Mayor of New Orleans and the Cultural Repatriation Committee. A police escort accompanied the sensitive cargo. The reception at the Lawless Memorial Chapel was followed on 31 May by a memorial service featuring artistic and musical contributions, as well as blessings from clergy of various faiths.
The Institute of Anatomy team followed the ceremonial laying to rest live on screens in Leipzig. “It was a deeply moving moment for each and every one of us,” says Professor Gericke. “Through our provenance research, we were able to contribute to uncovering – and, in some small way, healing – the injustice that was done.”
Anthropological collection to be fully dismantled
The transfer to New Orleans was not the first repatriation from Leipzig University’s anatomical collection. A skull was already returned to an Indigenous group last year, although it declined any public reporting on the matter. “Respecting the needs of the communities of origin is our highest priority – we are determined not to cause further harm,” says Gericke. The effort to confront the history of the skull collection was initiated in 2021 by two students who had come across the remains – now repatriated to New Orleans – more or less by chance during their time at the institute.
The long-term goal of the provenance research at the Institute of Anatomy at Leipzig University is to fully dismantle the anthropological collection. Since 2024, two postdoctoral researchers, Ulrike Lötzsch and Isabelle Reimann, have also been working towards this aim. They launched an extensive investigation into the South American and African skulls in the collection, with the goal of enabling repatriation by identifying relevant contacts in the respective countries of origin. The project is being funded for two years by the German Lost Art Foundation.
