Foundation publishes special volume "Kunstraub für den Sozialismus" [Art theft in the name of socialism]

A legal opinion on the assessment of cultural property confiscations in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR will be published as part of the series Provenire on 23 October 2023.

20. October 2023

Contact

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Do feel free to get in touch with us directly – whether at the Foundation’s headquarters in Magdeburg or at our branch office in Berlin.
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German Lost Art Foundation

Humboldtstr. 12
39112 Magdeburg

Germany
Phone:  +49 (0) 391 727 763 0
E-mail:  kontakt@kulturgutverluste.de
Social:

German Lost Art Foundation Berlin Branch Office

Seydelstr. 18
10117 Berlin

Berlin
Phone: +49 (0) 391 727 763 0
E-mail: kontakt@kulturgutverluste.de

The Help Desk offers advice and assistance to victims of the Nazi regime and their descendants on questions relating to Nazi theft of cultural property. Serving as a central and initial low-threshold point of contact in Germany, it is aimed in particular at people whose place of residence is outside Germany and who are unfamiliar with German procedures, especially in connection with cultural federalism. The Help Desk seeks to provide support in taking initial steps as well as providing further contacts and information. We will also be happy to help initiate discussions with museums and other institutions.

German Lost Art Foundation, Branch Office
Dr. Susanne Meyer-Abich
Head of Help Desk

Seydelstr. 18
10117 Berlin

Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 391 727 763 0
E-mail: helpdesk@kulturgutverluste.de

On Monday, 23 October 2023, the German Lost Art Foundation publishes the special volume Kunstraub für den Sozialismus. Zur rechtlichen Beurteilung von Kulturgutentziehung in SBZ und DDR [Art theft in the name of socialism. The legal assessment of the confiscation of cultural property in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR], a legal opinion that was commissioned by the Foundation. This will enable public institutions and their sponsoring bodies to assess the legal situation regarding collection items that were seized in the Soviet Occupation Zone (SBZ) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR), while also indicating potential courses of action in terms of legal policy. Thomas Finkenauer and Jan Thiessen present a compendium that legally classifies 13 groups of cases according to the historical circumstances of the confiscation. Presenting an overview that has not previously been available in this form, the assessment also serves as a valuable tool for provenance research. As the first legal compendium on the confiscation of cultural property in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR, it is a fundamental work of reference in this field.

About the authors:
Thomas Finkenauer, Chair of Civil Law, Roman Law and European Private Law, University of Tübingen. In addition to general civil law, cultural property law is another of his primary research interests.

Jan Thiessen, Chair of Civil Law, Contemporary Legal History and History of Economic Law, Humboldt University of Berlin. His research in the area of legal history focuses on the history of justice, corporate law and injustice in dictatorships.

The special volume can be ordered from the publisher De Gruyter at https://www.degruyter.com/

To the press release