Luther Memorials Foundation collection to be examined for Nazi-looted art

A provenance research project in Saxony-Anhalt is currently in progress to investigate acquisitions in the period 1933 – 1945.

24. February 2025

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
Germany
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) 30 2338493 85
E-mail: helpdesk@kulturgutverluste.de

The Luther Memorials Foundation in Saxony-Anhalt has launched a provenance research project focusing on objects that entered the collection during the Nazi era. Up until the end of the year, historian and provenance researcher Patrick Bormann will analyse the Foundation’s acquisitions from 1933 to 1945. These include artefacts from the Reformation and objects relating to the reception of Martin Luther. Priority will be attached to examining manuscripts and historical prints. The research is possible due to project funding provided by the German Lost Art Foundation.

According to current knowledge, the Lutherhalle acquired seven manuscripts during the Nazi era (four of which are unobjectionable), 177 historical prints dating back to the 16th to 18th centuries, 27 paintings (10 unobjectionable), two sculptures, two decorative art objects, ten numismatics (coins) and 1,393 books.

The project and its findings will be publicly documented and entered in the databases Lost Art and Looted Cultural Assets. It also forms part of a series of initiatives by the Luther Memorials Foundation in Saxony-Anhalt to examine the role played by the Lutherhalle during the Nazi era.

To the project Untersuchung der Sammlung der Stiftung Luthergedenkstätten in Sachsen-Anhalt auf NS-verfolgungsbedingt entzogene Kulturgüter [Examination of the collection of the Luther Memorials Foundation in Saxony-Anhalt for cultural assets seized as a result of Nazi persecution]