In December 2018, Prof. Dr. Gerd-Christian Weniger, director of the Neanderthal Museum, founder and lead partner of the network Ice Age Europe, retired. The network is grateful for the many years of successful cooperation under his leadership! In January 2019, his long-term Deputy Director Dr. Bärbel Auffermann took over his position and thus becomes the new lead partner of the network. We are very much looking forward to continue our work with her!

Bärbel Auffermann studied prehistory, geology and anthropology at the universities of Münster and Tübingen (Germany). She has been working at the Neanderthal Museum since 1995 and was actively involved in designing and realizing the new museum, which became one of the most important and successful archaeological museums in Germany. As the deputy director she was responsible for the exhibition management. Despite the limited exhibition space, she managed to create a nationally and internationally recognized profile of successful, visitor-oriented exhibitions. 
In this role, she also actively participated in the founding and the development of the network Ice Age Europe since the very beginning.

Bärbel is spokeswoman of the Archaeological Museums Group at the German Museum Association and is member of numerous advisory boards and board of trustees of renowned German museums (e.g. the Futurium Berlin, Museum and Park Kalkriese, smac - State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz). 

One of her many aims is to further advance the project of the serial transnational nomination of the Neanderthals sites as UNESCO World Heritage and the revaluation of the famous Neanderthal discovery site in the coming years. For the museum itself she plans to intensify the exchange of research projects with the exhibition and education departments. In addition, she is working to make the Neanderthal Museum more inclusive.