Research into objects of presumed Jewish origin in Saxony-Anhalt – in-depth investigation following the initial check

As part of the project "Research into objects of presumed Jewish origin in Saxony-Anhalt in-depth investigation following the initial check," two researchers will spend an initial period of one year investigating the histories of 176 objects suspected of having been sold, extorted or abandoned as a result of persecution during the Nazi era. In this unprecedented project, objects from 22 museum collections in Saxony-Anhalt are being examined; these museums would otherwise be unable to investigate any suspicions due to a lack of staff and financial resources, and often a lack of expertise in provenance research.

Given its specialisation in this field and the expertise it has built up over many years in the area of Jewish collections and Jewish history in Saxony-Anhalt, the Berend Lehmann Museum is leading the project, which is supported by its sponsoring foundation, the Moses Mendelssohn Academy.

The Saxony-Anhalt Museum Association (Museumsverband Sachsen-Anhalt e.V.) and the following 22 partner museums are acting as cooperation partners: 1. Berend Lehmann Museum, 2. Museum Aschersleben, 3. Stadtmuseum "Wilhelm von Kügelgen" Ballenstedt, 4. Museum Schloss Bernburg, 5. Kreismuseum Bitterfeld, 6. Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie Dessau, 7. Museum für Stadtgeschichte Dessau, 8. Museum Schloß Neuenburg (Bestände ehemalig. Kreismuseum) Freyburg, 9. Museum Heineanum Halberstadt, 10. Städtisches Museum Halberstadt, 11. Stadtmuseum Halle (Saale), 12. Historisches Museum für Mittelanhalt & Bach-Gedenkstätte Köthen, 13. Museum im Schloss Lützen, 14. Börde-Museum Ummendorf/Bestand Oschersleben, 15. Kreismuseum Osterburg, 16. Spengler-Museum Sangerhausen, 17. Salzlandmuseum Schönebeck/ Elbe, 18. Winckelmann-Museum Stendal, 19. Börde-Museum Burg Ummendorf, 20. Museum Schloß Neu-Augustusburg Weißenfels, 21. Harzmuseum Wernigerode und 22. Museum Schloss Zeitz.

Background: Between 2016 and 2021, the Saxony-Anhalt Museum Association (Museumsverband Sachsen-Anhalt e.V.) conducted an initial review of 30 museums in Saxony-Anhalt in four stages to investigate suspicious circumstances surrounding cultural assets. The review found that 172 objects from 21 museums were suspected of having been seized from Jewish owners as a result of Nazi persecution.

In the initial review of Nazi-looted artefacts, it is often the case that individual finds are involved for which a museum cannot set up a dedicated project or is barely able to undertake the complex, specialist research required on its own. As part of this process, the Berend Lehmann Museum is also examining objects from its own collection with an unclear provenance dating from the Nazi era.

The 21 museums hold items that may have been Jewish property, which may have been sold, extorted or abandoned as a result of persecution during the Nazi era:

•bullet everyday objects bearing references to Jewish traders or previous Jewish ownership (18 items),

•bullet Judaica (44 items),

•bullet objects with a thematic connection to Judaism (46 objects),

•bullet where Jewish names may appear in the documentation (64 items)

The research will initially focus on ritual objects and Judaica. The project is funded by the German Centre for Lost Cultural Property and the PostCode Lottery.

© Berend Lehmann Museum - Moses Mendelssohn Akademie