6

LAB 6: Trails from the storage: Searching Hisotries’ Futures / Focus: Cameroon, Bertram Collection

The LindenLAB 6 engages – for the first time in the ‘modern’ hostory of the Linden-Museum – with a slection from the 238 objects that were shipped to Karl Graf von Linden by Hermann Karl Bertram (1872 – 1914) in 1908. Bertram was a first lieutenant of the so-called ‘Schutztruppe’ and participated in the ‘Southern Expedition’ betwann 1905 and 1907. This military campaign was geared at subjugating the political institutions of southeastern Cameroon, gaining control over the region and favoring the interests of European trading companies active in the area at that time. All three partners of the LindenLAB 6 have in different ways loong been engaged in reflecting on the histories embedded in Cameroonian cultural heritage. Sharing a path from the museum storage back to southeastern Cameroon, they came into contact with a long-lost historical collection and with eyach other. Through this, they are sharing glimpses into a lively discussion concerning current politics of cultural memories and heritages, both in Germany and Cameroon.