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

German Lost Art Foundation publishes expert opinion on the legal assessment of cultural property confiscations in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR.

20. October 2023

Contact

Do you have any questions?

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.
See here for answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ)

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

As part of its series Provenire, the German Lost Art Foundation will publish a legal opinion on Monday, 23 October 2023 which it commissioned on the subject of cultural property confiscations in the Soviet Occupation Zone (SBZ) and the GDR. The volume by the two renowned legal scholars Thomas Finkenauer and Jan Thiessen entitled Kunstraub für den Sozialismus [Art theft in the name of socialism] enables public institutions and their sponsors to assess the legal situation regarding collection items that were confiscated in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR, while also indicating potential courses of action in terms of legal policy. The two authors 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 fundamental work of reference for provenance research.

Gilbert Lupfer, Director of the German Lost Art Foundation: “This work offers an unprecedented analysis of the different loss contexts relevant to individuals and institutions. It will further stimulate and enrich discussion on the reappraisal of the confiscation of cultural property in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR – an issue that is still a long way from being resolved. Furthermore, it demonstrates the need for further basic research and for the systematic investigation of collections in order to trace cultural objects that were seized in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR.”

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.

To the publication:
Thomas Finkenauer / Jan Thiessen:
Kunstraub für den Sozialismus. Zur rechtlichen Beurteilung von Kulturgutentziehungen 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.]

Special volume in the series Provenire, issued by the German Lost Art Foundation and published by De Gruyter, Berlin 2023 (186 pages, EUR 39). The publication is also available as an eBook.

The special volume can be ordered from the publisher De Gruyter at:
https://www.degruyter.com/document/isbn/9783111279817/html

The German Lost Art Foundation in Magdeburg, founded on 1 January 2015 by the Federal Government, the German federal states and the leading municipal associations, is the central point of contact in Germany for questions concerning unlawfully seized cultural property. The Foundation’s main focus is on cultural property seized under National Socialism as a result of persecution, especially Jewish property. Its fields of activity also include Cultural Goods and Collections from Colonial Contexts, items relocated as a result of war, and cultural property confiscation that took place in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR. Since 2017, the Foundation has facilitated basic scholarly research on cultural property losses in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR through collaborative projects.