Jewish inhabitants of Fürstenwalde and museum acquisitions 1933–45: overview/research and a comparison; provenance research on the book collection

From December 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014 the Museum Fürstenwalde investigated its holdings for potential Nazi-confiscated cultural goods with a focus on three aspects in particular. In doing so, it was following the fall 2012 recommendation from the Brandenburg Association of Museums pilot project concerning provenance research at small and medium-sized museums in the state of Brandenburg.

Since there were no inventories or catalogs that could be used as sourcesthey were burned at the end of the warthe aim was to answer the question of possible Nazi provenance through indexing and, at the end, by comparing data.

The project was therefore divided into two areas of activity: It tried to reconstruct as a list the names of consignors of museum objects between 1933 and 1945, using museum sources and newly researched sources. It also aimed to expand the existing collection of data on 153 Jewish inhabitants of Fürstenwalde. An additional third element of the project involved a systematic investigation of the museums book stock which appeared prior to 1945 and the recording of origin information.

As a result of the analysis of museum sources (including the handwritten notes of a former museum employee) and of publications of the time, research was conducted on 200 private individuals, three offices and administrations, three companies, five guilds, one other museum and the Reich Labor Service as the sources of origin of museum acquisitions from 1933 to 1945.

At the same time, it was possible to significantly enhance and expand the above-mentioned data collection through archival research (particularly in the Federal Archives). It presently contains information on more than 280 women, men and children from Fürstenwalde and the surrounding area who, as Jews, were discriminated against, persecuted and some murdered during the Nazi era. In addition to these are two Jewish prisoners of Sachsenhausen concentration camp subcamp in Fürstenwalde and a conscripted man in Fürstenwalde.

The comparison of names undertaken at the end revealed two matches. In January 1936 and February 1939, three decorative objects came into the museum from a Ms. Sch., and in May 1936 two photographs owned by an Ernst G. entered the museum. Taking into account the previously known context, these objects were not likely to be cultural goods confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution, however. The museum should try to conduct further investigations here.

The thorough investigation of the slightly more than 1,000 books in Museum Fürstenwaldes book stock which appeared prior to 1945 provided no obvious information on provenance linked to confiscation as a result of Nazi persecution. As a side benefit, it provided some initial important information on the unknown manor house library, the remnants of which are kept in the museum.

(c) Museums Fürstenwalde