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21 2 The Attempted Theft of Dinosaur Skeletons during the German Occupation of Belgium (1914–1918) and Some Other Cases of Looting Cultural Possessions of Natural History Christoph Roolf This contribution focuses on the attempted theft of dinosaur skeletons during the German occupation of Belgium in 1914–1918 and addresses some other cases of looting cultural possessions of natural historic value in modern European history. It is not just a question of single incidents that have occurred in the history of science during times of war and occupation. As examples of forced Kulturtransfer, they rather turn out to be an integral part of a general history of international science relations, oscillating between cooperation and conflict. My contribution deals with the hitherto largely unknown attempts of German scientists to seize Belgian cultural possessions during World War I.1 Probably the most spectacular examples of these are the activities of German paleontologists and German natural history museums at the biggest dinosaur excavation site in Europe, which is located in the Belgian town of Bernissart. These took place during the German occupation of the country between 1914 and 1918. Following a plan of the German paleontologist Otto Jaekel, launched in spring 1915, more Iguanodon skeletons were to be excavated and transferred to German natural history museums. The work began in July 1916 and ended, without results, with the retreat of German troops from Belgium in late 1918.2 The establishment of German occupation authorities in large parts of Western and Eastern Europe in the late summer of 1914 opened up new and unexpected fields of activity for scientists and scientific institutions. This included direct participation in the governing bodies as well as counselling work, both of which were meant to support German occupation policies and war aims. Most of all, the occupied territories offered ample opportunities to conduct ambitious research projects with the cooperation of the occupation authorities. This would often lead to plans for looting cultural possessions (Roolf, 2009, 141ff., 148, 151). That the German occupation was actually a necessary precondition for some research projects is illustrated by the considerations I discuss below. To analyze scientific activities during wartime, it is necessary and helpful to combine different approaches. Analytical tools from the history of science can be used in connection with those from the history of particular fields of science and general history, with special emphasis on the analysis of modern societies in times of total war. This is of crucial importance Introduction 2.1. The German paleontologist Otto Jaekel (1863–1929) in 1890. Courtesy Humboldt–Universität zu Berlin. Roolf 22 because it is the more or less complete exploitation of the civilian and material resources of occupied countries that is the hallmark of total warfare in the twentieth century.3 The case of the excavation site in Bernissart during World War I shows that even a seemingly unpolitical scientific project can become a battleground for different—and often opposing—interest groups within the occupying body. With the Kulturtransfer research concept, cases such as that of Bernissart can be understood not only as individual examples of science history in times of war, but can also be integrated into a general concept of history of international science relations. “Perception” (Wahrnehmung), “exchange” (Austausch), or “transfer” (Übertragung), and finally “implementation through productive appropriation, reception and acculturation” (Implementierung durch produktive Aneignung, Rezeption und Akkulturation )—the three characteristic stages of investigation of a typical transfer process—allow for an overall perspective of the prevailing history before and after the transfer event.4 This will be illustrated in the second part of this contribution with some further cases of looting cultural possessions of natural history in modern European history. Belgium was occupied by the German Reich during World War I. Without doubt, Otto Jaekel (1863–1929) (Fig. 2.1), a professor of geology and paleontology at Greifswald University who had come to Brügge in Belgium in the spring of 1915 as part of a reserve regiment, was the driving force behind the plans for German-led excavations in Bernissart. The earliest evidence for this is the letter he wrote to Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach on April 27, 1915. In this letter, he asked the well-known German industrialist for financial support for his project. The idea of showcasing the skeletons in the central natural history museum of the German Reich, the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, was already put forth. Together with the Plateosaurus skeletons from Halberstadt (excavated by Jaekel himself) and the...

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