Returning to Samoa – The Appropriation and Restitution of a Samoan Prow

Germany, Colonialism and the Current Restitution Debate

Abstract

In 1932, the Übersee-Museum Bremen received a collection of cultural artefacts as a gift from Admiral Wilhelm Souchon (1864-1946). Among these artefacts was a prow dating back to the time of the Samoan Civil War of 1888 and the conflict between the imperial powers of the USA, Great Britain and the German Empire for supremacy over Samoa. Souchon acquired the prow as a naval officer on the SMS Adler in 1888. The article follows the traces of this prow. It outlines its journey from Samoa to Germany and its restitution in 2024, drawing on historical sources that shed light on both the German and Samoan perspectives on the events.