Jewish property in non-Jewish households – challenges facing German (non-state) museums

Funding area:
Nazi-looted cultural property
Funding recipient:
Landesstelle für die nichtstaatlichen Museen in Bayern
Federal state:
Bavaria
Contact person:
Dr. Carolin Lange

phone+49 (0) 89 210 140 49

emailcarolin.lange@blfd.bayern.de

Type of project:
long-term project
Project duration:
until
Description:

Most of the cultural property seized under persecution law between 1933 and 1945 did not end up in public institutions but in private non-Jewish households. Hundreds of thousands, not to say millions of everyday objects bed linen, dinner sets, towels, furniture and clothing were publicly auctioned off, especially after the mass deportations began. This research project investigated the extent of this phenomenon and what the new owners and their descendants did with the items they acquired. Objects of this nature are increasingly being taken to local museums often anonymously. The items are frequently of highly objectionable provenance, which poses problems and challenges for the institutions concerned. At the same time, private family stories and artefacts offer museums a genuine opportunity since they explicitly concern the history of the town or city with close links to the local population.

© Landesstelle für die nichtstaatlichen Museen in Bayern