Barbara Teßmann

Barbara Teßmann (born 1960 in Berlin) is an anthropologist and archaeologist. She is an employee of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History Berlin. She is entrusted with collections of human skulls in the care of the Berlin State Museums. She is one of the last scientists to still carry out the measurements on skulls that were widespread in the 19th century, which are highly controversial scientifically and often considered racist. She became internationally known for racist statements in connection with the collection entrusted to her. In 2020, a journalist identified several skulls of Canadian Indians in the collection, which were supposedly not found in earlier enquiries. Teßmann, as the responsible collection officer, justified this lapse in the international media with her insufficient payment by museums: "I don't stand there and open boxes!" She defended the creation and continued existence of the collection she administered and researched with racist arguments: "The skulls, they just all look different." Teßmann refuses to return the stolen skulls, which the descendants of the victims have asked for.

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