On War in Israel

The German Lost Art Foundation condemns brutal attacks on defenceless human beings.
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German Lost Art Foundation | photo: Stefan Deutsch
Blog
Do you have an interesting project, or would you like to present a publication or discuss an exhibition? We welcome contributions to our new blog!
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Museum Fünf Kontinente Munich, photo: Nicolai Kästner
Jewish Collectors
Our research database Proveana offers a focus on “Jewish collectors” with the aim of raising the visibility of important collections that were lost as a result of Nazi looting.
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Zwillenberg-Stiftung, Bern
Kunstfund Gurlitt
Ergebnisse des Projekts „Provenienzrecherche Gurlitt“ in unserer Forschungsdatenbank Proveana
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Foto: Bernd Lammel © Kunstmuseum Bern / Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik, Bonn

Historical Contexts

The German Lost Art Foundation deals with cultural property that was once looted from its owners – during the Nazi era, the colonial period or in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR – as well as with items of cultural property that went missing in the course of the Second World War. The Foundation funds provenance research in order to clarify whether or not objects were seized unlawfully. Here we provide information on historical background and funding opportunities, as well as material for research purposes.
Schlosskirche Ellingen, Ellingen, April 1945
public domain, NARA #111-SC-204899
Nazi-looted Cultural Property
The National Socialist state enriched itself extensively and ruthlessly by expropriating the property of Jewish citizens in particular. Here you will find background information on Nazi art looting along with details of project funding and how to report restitutions.
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Help Desk for Enquiries about Nazi-looted Cultural Property
Login for those submitting notifications of restitutions
Pustaha, a "Spell Book" from the island of Sumatra, which is now in the Greiz Collection of Books and Engravings.
Staatliche Bücher- und Kupferstichsammlung Greiz
Colonial Contexts
Not only cultural goods were looted during the colonial period but in many thousands of instances also human remains. We offer information about seizure in colonial contexts, explain funding opportunities and provide materials.
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Empty picture frames as a call for the return of paintings from the West Berlin Gemäldegalerie in Berlin-Dahlem which were previously stored at the Central Collecting Point Wiesbaden, 1953-1955
SMB-ZA, V/Fotoslg. 2.4./3499
Wartime Losses
During the Second World War and shortly afterwards, millions of items of cultural property were transferred to or from Germany. See here for more on the history of wartime losses along with the relevant materials.
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Saal Schloss Rötha
Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Sachsen
Soviet Occupation Zone / GDR
In the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR, cultural assets were looted, seized and also sold by the state. Here we introduce research into the expropriation of cultural property between 1945 and 1990.
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Project Statistics

Project statistics and a project finder provide an overview of all projects that the German Lost Art Foundation and its predecessor institution have funded in the past or are still funding. Using a map format and filters, it is possible to search for and display projects according to specific historical contexts or federal states, for example.
Thuringia Schleswig-Holstein Saxony-Anhalt Saxony Saarland Rhineland-Palatinate North Rhine-Westphalia Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Lower Saxony Hesse Hamburg Bremen Brandenburg Berlin Bavaria Baden-Württemberg All 533 Projects
Germany
533 Projects

100% of all German projects

All projects

short-term projects

long-term projects

of which Nazi-looted cultural property

short-term projects

long-term projects

Colonial contexts

short-term projects

long-term projects

Soviet Occupation Zone and GDR

short-term projects

long-term projects

of which Wartime Losses

short-term projects

long-term projects

Active Projects Completed Not yet begun
Total Number 112 400 15
Archive 0 8 0
Library 6 16 0
Institute 7 17 0
Cooperations between public and private institutions 3 1 0
Cooperations between individuals and public institutions 6 12 2
Museum 52 228 3
Privately owned institutions 4 12 0
Private person 4 4 0
University 18 38 3
Public administration 12 64 7
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Registration is required to view the final reports on Proveana.

Proveana Logo english optimized
Proveana is the German Lost Art Foundation’s database for provenance research. It is mainly dedicated to presenting the outcomes of research projects funded by the Foundation to the public at large.
to the research database Proveana
Lost Art English Logotype optimized
The Lost Art Database lists cultural property that was seized from Jewish citizens between 1933 and 1945 (“Nazi-looted cultural property”). It also contains reports on cultural goods displaced as a result of the Second World War.
to the Lost Art Database

News & Events

Library of German Lost Art Foundation
German Lost Art Foundation | photo: Stefan Deutsch

“Colloquium Provenance Research” on missionary collecting in colonial contexts

The German Lost Art Foundation invites you to the lecture "Missionary ‘Collecting’ in Colonial Contexts – Aspects of the Relationship between Mission and Colonialism" on November 20, 2023.
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two paintings that the city of Passau is returning, as well as the mayor and the cultural officer of Passau and the museum director
Stadt Passau

City of Passau returns Nazi-looted art to Jewish owners

Two paintings to be transferred to their rightful owners in France.
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Historical inventory maps of the Landesmuseum Oldenburg
Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Oldenburg, photo: Marcus Kenzler

Call for papers: transfer – Journal for Provenance Research and the History of Collection

Interested scholars are invited to contribute articles to the next issue of the journal transfer by 1 May 2024.
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Blog Posts

Volunteer at Landesmuseum Hannover
Nadja Kehe

Learning to search for clues

As a volunteer in provenance research at Landesmuseum Hannover
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Rasheed Hassan interviewing Chief Nosa Omorodion of Benin during his fieldwork
Rasheed Hassan

Benin is not Benin

Why provenance research can often lead to unexpected results.
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book, inventory, records
Kunsthalle Mannheim (Cem Yücetas)

From niche to institution

Provenance research in the context of
German cultural and remembrance policy
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Publications

Cover "Provenire": special volume
German Lost Art Foundation
Provenire series (special volume): Kunstraub für den Sozialismus
How should public institutions deal with cultural property that was confiscated in the SBZ and the GDR? As part of its series Provenire, the German Lost Art Foundation has published a legal opinion on the assessment of cultural property confiscation in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR.
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Cover Provenienz & Forschung 2022
German Lost Art Foundation
The Periodical “Provenance & Research” (2022)
In rural areas, throughout the country, on the margins and on a small scale: this issue of our periodical dedicated to the theme “Peripheries” highlights provenance research with a focus that is removed from the big cities, prominent names and institutions.
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Cover Working Paper 4/2022
German Lost Art Foundation
Working Paper 4/2022
In issue 4/2022 of Working Paper, Eva Künkler looks at colonial violence in German New Guinea and the looting of cultural objects and human remains („Koloniale Gewalt in Deutsch-Neuguinea und der Raub kultureller Objekte und menschlicher Überreste: Eine systematische Übersicht zu Militärgewalt und sogenannten Strafexpeditionen in deutschen Kolonialgebieten in Ozeanien (1884–1914)“).
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