Queen Nefertiti in Berlin: Anti-Semitism and the Spoils of War

Lecture with Thomas Gertzen, Research Associate, Moses Mendelssohn Center for European-Jewish Studies, Potsdam, Germany

The iconic bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti was discovered in the ancient city of Amarna in 1912 by German Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt and was subsequently donated to the Egyptian Museum in Berlin by James Simon, the German businessman who financed Borchardt’s excavations. Later, during the Third Reich, Borchardt and Simon’s accomplishments were denied in Germany, due at least in part to their Jewish heritage. Using the famous bust of Nefertiti as a central focal point, Gertzen will discuss the turbulent history of German Egyptology in the early twentieth century, highlighting the politics and ethnic prejudices that influenced the field and discredited some of its key players.

Free and open to the public.

Free event parking available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

From the Nile to the Euphrates: Creating the Harvard Semitic Museum, an exhibition at the Harvard Semitic Museum, will be open following the lecture until 9:00 pm.