The Anatomic Institute of the University of Cologne contains human remains in its collection that were appropriated in a colonial context. Restitution of these remains has already been addressed by several requests of activist groups and most recently in an open letter of the student political group campus:grün and the BIPoC department of the general student association, but the university's rectorate dismissed the claims.Concerning the colonial background and involvedness of the university in German colonialism, colonial continuities still exist at the university and influence the academic socialization and the knowledge production in this institution. A critical examination of these continuities, represented partly by the human remains at the Anatomic Institute, is key to decolonize the university as institution.The project is a process. Questions as well as data and information about the remains have to be developed and collected during the project. It is therefore not possible to tell more about it right now, but the search of traces will surely raise interesting and relevant questions about restitution processes, provenance, the position and status of the university, German colonial entanglements, education, as well as the decolonization of universities, especially in the Global North.(Please feel free to add or improve arguments and questions above! This should not be the final description)
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