Between research and teaching

In recent years, much greater attention has been paid to addressing the colonial legacy in both school and non-school education. Revised textbooks, exhibitions, workshops and projects are increasingly creating space for critical engagement with this legacy. The subject of human remains, however, has so far received little attention in schools, even though some school collections contain such remains and there is at least a suspicion that some of them may originate from colonial contexts. 

The publication Human Remains in Schulsammlungen. Forschung und ethische Auseinandersetzung mit menschlichen Überresten im Schulkontext [Human remains in school collections. Research and ethical engagement with human remains in the school context] is the first attempt to integrate this sensitive subject into classroom teaching and support teachers in exploring ways of addressing it together with their pupils. Also addressing human remains that entered school collections during the Nazi period or through medical institutions, the guidelines were produced by a working group comprising Lara Hemken, Lars Janning, Dr. Antje Nagel, Daniel Bein, Ralph Höger and Dr. Eilin Jopp-van Well as part of the HUMANS project at schools in Hamburg. In three pilot projects, pupils worked with teachers and researchers to investigate human remains held in their schools’ collections. The resulting volume provides insights into academic debates, highlights the potential and challenges of participation, and encourages teachers to explore this complex subject together with their classes. Although the guidelines are based on the experience and particular circumstances of schools in Hamburg, they can serve as a guide and can in principle be used by schools throughout Germany. 

The issue is highly relevant: around 40 per cent of the city’s secondary schools have human remains in their biology collections, and in most cases, it is unclear how they came to be there. Whether they came from doctors’ estates, were acquired through the teaching-material suppliers commonly used in the past or came from sources that can no longer be traced, they often went unnoticed for decades, stored away in boxes, cupboards and cellars. So what should happen to them now? 

This question can be approached from scientific, legal and ethical perspectives, as well as from the perspectives of education and teaching practice. The new guidelines reflect this complexity and adopt an interdisciplinary approach by bringing together views from biology education, forensic anthropology, provenance research, educational science, history and the history of medicine.

The authors of the guidelines considered the following questions: How can we talk about the treatment of human remains? Who should decide how they are treated in future? How can pupils participate in the research and take responsibility themselves? And how can such a sensitive subject be integrated into classroom teaching? 

In three projects, teachers and pupils approached the subject of human remains from as many different perspectives as possible, recognising that these are not simply teaching materials, but occupy a complex space between science, history and ethics. The following project provides one example.  

At Stadtteilschule Stellingen, 44 pupils in year 12 worked in two learning groups over the course of one academic year, at times spending up to four lessons a week on it. The open-ended teaching format, organised as a biology seminar, was geared towards producing tangible outcomes and resulted in films, podcasts and a public exhibition at the school. The project was supported by visits from a forensic anthropologist and a museum director, who contributed additional expert perspectives. Visits to learning environments outside school such as Hamburg Medical History Museum and the Humboldt Forum in Berlin enabled the pupils to deepen their knowledge. The youngsters reflected on the treatment of the remains as an ethically challenging task involving considerable responsibility: they wanted clarity as to the identity of the deceased, but they also tended to oppose the use of the remains in the classroom. Given the lack of sufficient information, neither learning group felt able at the end of the project to make clear recommendations on how the human remains should be handled in future, though both were in favour of continuing to discuss the subject with subsequent classes. The project was considered a success: the open learning format was particularly successful in strengthening and developing the pupils’ social skills, while the project also gave teachers an opportunity to reflect on the use of human specimens in the classroom.  

Four basic requirements for addressing human remains in schools emerged from the experience gained: time, freedom, trust and support from colleagues. 
The authors recommend designing projects to run over an extended period, such as half or all of an academic year. Both pupils and teachers need time to process the insights, impressions and emotions that arise from coming into contact with human remains. The periods between sessions are also important: conversations with family or friends can provide new perspectives that deepen the process of reflection. Time also plays a crucial role in provenance research – particularly when external perspectives are included, such as those of former teachers, historians or scientists. Visits to learning environments outside school can also help broaden perspectives on the human remains and raise new questions.  

Since investigating a school’s history often produces unexpected findings, teaching needs to allow room for flexibility. Many questions only emerge as the process unfolds, which means that lessons cannot be planned in every detail. Flexibility is also needed to give pupils the option of stepping away if the subject becomes emotionally challenging. 

Trust is equally important: to be able to talk openly about the treatment of human remains, pupils need to feel confident that their thoughts and feelings will be treated with respect within the group. An established class group is better suited to this than a project group brought together for a short period. 

Since the subject touches on dying, death and grief, it may evoke personal or even traumatic experiences among anyone involved. Teachers should prepare both themselves and their pupils for such situations and respond to them sensitively. Support from colleagues is helpful here: this makes it possible to give individual pupils the attention they need while also remaining aware of one’s own emotional limits.

The subject of human remains offers a particular opportunity to make connections between different subjects and thereby draw on a broad range of knowledge. In biology lessons, human remains can be used for direct observation but also to explore scientific questions and practise relevant scientific methods. From a legal perspective, however, the use of human remains in biology lessons is permissible only if the deceased are treated with respect. In general, it is recommended that any such use be considered critically and objectively, with due regard for ethical principles. There are also numerous points of connection with history teaching. When examining historical discourses such as the prehistory of the Enlightenment or the development of medical and scientific practices, ethical and moral questions surrounding the treatment of the human body can be explored and discussed, particularly with regard to how attitudes towards the body have changed over time. 

Reflections on “colonial contexts” in relation to the use of human remains in the classroom 

What particular issues arise when projects also address contexts of colonial injustice? After all, German colonial history is a subject that has only been incorporated in school curricula in recent years. Engaging with colonial legacies in school collections opens up new perspectives, demonstrating how colonial structures and knowledge practices continue to shape everyday life in schools. This enables pupils to critically examine colonial patterns of thought and behaviour. Whether in religious education, politics, philosophy or the visual arts, numerous subjects provide opportunities for exploring these issues. The study leaves open the question of whether schools are the right place for young people to participate in this process of engagement. The authors don’t believe there is a simple answer. On the one hand, limited resources and the constraints of the school environment can make it difficult to create a space in which human remains can be approached sensitively. On the other hand, it is also clear that if such a space is created with appropriate sensitivity, it can initiate processes of learning and reflection that extend far beyond the classroom. 

At the same time, the debate to date has primarily tended to represent perspectives from Germany and Europe, yet pupils engaging with the subject may themselves come from formerly colonised regions and may therefore have their own individual perspective on the issues involved. This diversity presents both an opportunity and a challenge and should receive greater consideration in any future development of the guidelines. Dialogue should be encouraged both within the school community and with stakeholders from countries of origin, with a view to developing a transnational, multi-perspective approach to education. 

Incorporating provenance research and subjects such as restitution into education both in and outside school is an important step towards conveying a sense of historical responsibility and embedding engagement with the colonial legacy. The pupils’ findings, reflections and ideas show that the guidelines offer a promising approach to combining educational processes with issues of broader social relevance. Teachers should see them as an encouragement to engage with the subject.

Tim Schweigert is studying for a dual master’s degree in Atlantic Studies and History with teacher training at Leibniz University Hannover. He was an intern in the Department of Cultural Goods and Collections from Colonial Contexts at the German Lost Art Foundation.

About the individuals mentioned above: 

Lara Hemken – project lead
Ralph Höger and Eilin Jopp-van Well – University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)
Lars Janning – Head of the Natural Sciences Unit at the Hamburg Institute for Teacher Training and School Development (LI)
Antje Nagel – Director of the Museum of the University of Hamburg
Daniel Bein – Head of Education and Outreach at the Museum of Nature Hamburg, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB)

Source:

Hemken, Laura/ Janning, Lars, et. al (2025): Human Remains in Schulsammlungen. Forschung und ethische Auseinandersetzung mit menschlichen Überresten im Schulkontext, Hamburg. https://www.uni-hamburg.de/museen-sammlungen/universitaetsmuseum/archiv-partizipative-projekte/human-remains-handreichung.pdf