Every Tuesday and Thursday between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., those who have misplaced something can stop by and try their luck. These are the opening hours of the Lost and Found Office. You can stop by the first floor of the administration building (VWG), room 1160, to ask Birgit Poppen, Sabine Pehka, or Dirk Dietzel if someone has turned in the green rain jacket you left behind in GW2 after your seminar last week. However, before a found object can be returned, a quick check needs to be done. “We have to be certain that the item actually belongs to the person. It’s very helpful if you can tell us special features or give a precise description of the thing you’re looking for,” explains Dirk Dietzel. He took over the management of the Lost and Found Office three years ago. If you cannot come by in person, you can give them a call or, even better, send the Lost and Found Office an email. You can write or call outside of office hours. They will keep your request in mind if the green rain jacket is dropped off at the Lost and Found two weeks later.

Found items are held at the Lost and Found for about four to six weeks while waiting for the owner to claim them. If no one comes by, the lost property is neatly placed in a plastic bag, sealed, documented, and sent to the lost and found service of the Ordnungsamt (office of public order) in Stresemannstraße and is kept there.

From Headphones to Rental Contracts

The Lost and Found has about 50 items in storage at any given time and usually receives the most inquiries shortly after the beginning of the semester. The amount and range of found items dropped off there is large, and includes wallets, expired gym cards, jewelry, headphones, car keys, and skateboards, as well as rental agreements and residency documents. “We once had a wallet handed in with all the owner’s personal documents and their residence permit,” Birgit Poppen recalls. “We were able to get in touch with the owner’s employer with the help of a business card – she was really happy.”

Employees at the Lost and Found Office are always eager to do a brief search to connect an item with its owner. However, there is much they cannot do, explains Dirk Dietzel. “We have limited capabilities. If we can quickly find out a name, phone number, or email address, we will definitely contact the person. That’s as far as we can go with our research.” Data protection rules don’t allow the Lost and Found Office to find out a student’s contact information using the enrollment number on a lost student ID card. “In such cases, we pass on the information to the enrollment office, and they contact the students.”

The Lost and Found Office does not accept any objects that are found off campus, says Sabine Pehka. “The other day, someone called to say they’d found a ring on their doorstep and wanted to drop it off at the university. Nobody would look for that here.” Dirk Dietzel also points out that there are several unofficial drop-off locations for found items at the university, which makes things tricky. “For example, items that are found in the State and University Library Bremen (SuUB) on campus are usually also handed in there at the information desk, which makes sense.”

Strange Finds

We asked Dirk Dietzel what the strangest thing was that had been left in the Lost and Found Office. He laughs. “I wasn’t at the University of Bremen yet, but I heard that a red bra was found shortly after the semester party.” However, the item wasn’t retrieved and had to be sent to the Ordnungsamt’s Lost and Found. We will probably never know what happened to that unusual find. However, Sabine Pehka has a tip on how to get your wallet back faster: “It’s always a good idea to leave your email address or phone number in your wallet. The name on the debit card usually isn’t helpful in these situations.”

How to Reach the Lost and Found Office

Email: fundbuero@uni-bremen.de

Phone: 0421 421 218-60538

You can also come in person to room 1160 in the VWG building on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.