Glossary

Once ethnology had developed into an academic discipline, objects from other countries in cabinets of curiosities and cabinets of wonder that had formerly been known as →„exotic items“, curiosities or rarities were increasingly described as “ethnographic items”. In the 19th century, several trades specialized in such objects and profited from colonial infrastructures for their acquisition. The most renowned traders were →Umlauff, →Godeffroy, →Konietzko and →Speyer. The objects were not only bought by members of the public, but also museums and scientific collections – and they are often still kept in those institutions today. It is worth mentioning the conceptual distinction from “Asian items”, which similarly come from countries outside Europe, but were assigned a different and often higher value according to the colonial conception of the world. The term “ethnographic item” is still common in some museum contexts and the art trade, and it is also used to mark a distinction from “archaeological finds”. (SF)

Ethnology, which is now also known as “cultural and social anthropology”, emerged as a scientific discipline during the European colonial expansion in the second half of the 19th century. There had also been numerous predecessors in this field throughout the history of science. It dealt with the research of “foreign cultures” outside of Europe and therefore played an important role in colonialism and was closely connected to colonial structures. On the one hand, the European colonial possessions made it easier for ethnologists to gain access to the subject of their research. On the other hand, the colonial authorities hoped to obtain knowledge and information from ethnologists regarding the colonized peoples to make them easier to control. In the colonial period, ethnologists not only carried out a large amount of research, but also collected many of the objects that are now stored in ethnological museums.
This troubled past has led to fierce criticism in recent decades, both within the subject itself and from the advocates of post-colonial approaches. Since around the 1970s, various discussions on the topic have led to the expansion of the research fields explored by ethnologists and the inclusion of post-colonial approaches and theories in their work. (SF)

The term European expansion refers to the way in which European states used political and military maneuvers to gradually expand their rule to large parts of Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Oceania from the early modern period onwards. The European expansion began in the 15th century when the Portuguese traveled to Africa and the Spanish left for the Americas. This culminated in the colonialism and imperialism of the European powers (especially France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany) in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The mostly violent expansion led to the spread of European culture, Christianity, European languages and also European diseases on almost all continents. The emigration of European colonizers, the slave trade, the violent fighting with the local communities – and their assimilation, expulsion or decimation – completely changed the composition of the local population in many of the colonized areas. The colonial rulers imposed social, political and cultural oppression and marginalization against the local communities, which is still present in many formerly colonized nations today. From an economic perspective, the maritime trade monopolized by the Europeans and the exploitation of colonies for their resources formed the basis for the development of global economic relations (globalization), and this also laid the foundations for the structural, political and economic inequalities found in today’s world order. (SF)

An Ex libria is a bookplate inscribed in the form of a sticker or stamp to show the name of the book’s owner. This makes it an essential →provenance mark for books that is of interest during the →autopsy. In addition to simple, standardized forms, some bookplates are produced by graphic designers with a high degree of artistic quality, making them collector’s items in and of themselves. The online database of Looted Cultural Assets documents all provenance marks found in books, including ex libris, for the purpose of cooperative provenance research. This is a joint project run by several German libraries. (SL)

The →Kunst und Antiquitäten GmbH (Art and Antiques Ltd., KuA), a state-regulated company for the export of antiques and second-hand goods, would often acquire art and antiques from private owners by offering to exchange such items for coveted goods that were hard to come by in the GDR (e.g. cars, motorcycles, televisions, stereo systems and similar commodities). (MD)

The →Kunst und Antiquitäten GmbH (Art and Antiques Ltd., KuA), a state-regulated company for the export of antiques and second-hand goods, would often acquire art and antiques from private owners by offering to exchange such items for coveted goods that were hard to come by in the GDR (e.g. cars, motorcycles, televisions, stereo systems and similar commodities). (MD)

The term “exotic” emerged around the time of European Enlightenment and colonialism. It referred to “foreign” or “alien” things or people from "overseas", in order to put them in clear contrast to the Europeans themselves. In particular, Europeans used “exotic people” to project their own longings and desires, such as the idea that the mostly colonized inhabitants of other countries were more sexually promiscuous or as “primitive people” lived in greater harmony with nature. The Europeans also ascribed threatening, incomprehensible and untamed qualities to the colonized peoples, describing them as “noble savages” and “dangerous primitives”. Many of the ideas that emerged at the time continue to shape popular culture to this day (e.g. in the tourism sector).

Above all in the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century, the term “exotic items” was also used to refer to objects, plants or animals originating from “exotic countries”. The items were initially exhibited in aristocratic cabinets of curiosities before being moved to the newly founded museums. (SF)

If GDR citizens intended to move to a non-socialist country or West Berlin, they had to submit either a substantiated request to leave the country (e.g. for the purpose of "family reunification") or a voluntary request to renounce their citizenship (voluntary request for expatriation) to the responsible city or district council. If their request was granted, they had to list the property they wished to take with them and have it approved by designated experts, who took the items away and checked their compliance with various regulations such as the →Cultural Property Protection Decree. Any belongings that were not allowed to be exported either remained in the possession of a family member still living in the GDR or were placed in the care of a public collection. By virtue of a law passed in 1972 (Gesetzblatt I 1972 No. 18, p. 265), those released from citizenship included "all persons [who had moved] their place of residence to outside the GDR before 1 January 1972". Those who were expatriated renounced all rights and claims (e.g. to assets and property) in the GDR. (MD)

The term expedition is often used in the context of colonial historical events to refer to voyages of exploration and discovery. It should be noted that the usage was from a purely Western perspective. The journeys of explorers, colonial officials and military officers, described as "expeditions", often pursued not only scientific goals, but also served, among other things, the expansion of colonial rule and the demonstration of military strength. (JH)

The “Extraordinary State Commission for the Establishment and Investigation of the Atrocities of the German Fascist Invaders and Their Accomplices and the Damage They Caused to Citizens, Collective Farms, Public Organizations, State Enterprises and Institutions of the USSR”, established in November 1942, was to investigate the atrocities committed by the Nazis during the Second World War. As part of this commission, an expert unit was set up in September 1943, headed by Igor Grabar, which proposed cultural assets to be taken from German museums to compensate for damages to the Soviet Union (→list of equivalents). The Extraordinary State Commission was dissolved in 1946. (MO)