Namibia to receive 15th century artifact from Germany

WINDHOEK, May 19 — Namibia will receive one of the most valuable art pieces in the 15th century, the cross-capsule column taken by German colonists and exhibited in a museum in Berlin, Germany, the Namibian Genocide Committee announced Friday.

The German Minister of State responsible for International Cultural Policy at the Federal Foreign Office, Michelle Müntefering (SPD), also released a statement welcoming corresponding decision by the museum.
“The return of cultural goods is an important building block for our common future with Namibia,” said Müntefering in a statement.

The cross-capsule column is a former Portuguese national emblem, which was adopted by Portugal around 1486 at the Modern day Namibian coast.

Also known as “Cape Cross” column is 3.5 meters high, more than a ton heavy and ends with a cross. Emperor Wilhelm II taken it in 1894, when the country had become a colony of Deutsch-Südwestafrika (German-Southwest Africa), after Berlin.

A copy of the column was erected by Germans in 1895 and was declared a national monument by Namibia in 1968. In 2017 Namibia demanded the return of the original column.
Already in August of last year, Müntefering had genocide human remains at his disposal returned to Namibia from Germany. – XINHUA