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Raub und Restitution - Looting and Restitution: Jewish-Owned Cultural Artifacts from 1933 to the Present; Exhibition 19 September 2008 - 25 January 2009, Jewish Museum Berlin
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This exhibition, organised by the Jewish Museum Berlin, is about the fate of individual cultural artifacts confiscated by the Nazis and their Jewish owners.
The descriptive text from the Museum's website is set out below:
- Otto Mueller, boy with two standing girls and one sitting girl, 1918/19.
- © Kunsthalle Emden - Henri and Eske Nannen Foundation, donated by Otto van de Loo
Sixty years after the end of the war, looting and restitution of Jewish cultural artifacts is still a topic of burning interest. Numerous open questions and unsolved cases remain and opinions are controversial. The exhibition "Looting and Restitution. Jewish-Owned Cultural Artifacts from 1933 to the Present" narrates the historical events, context, and consequences of the looting carried out by the Nazis throughout Europe. The exhibition tracks what happened to individual cultural artifacts confiscated by the Nazis – from paintings and libraries through porcelain to silverware and private photos – and the fates of their rightful Jewish owners. Alongside well-known names such as the Rothschild family or the art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, long-forgotten collections such as Sigmund Nauheim's Judaica collection and the pianist Wanda Landowska's collection of historical musical instruments will also be shown.
- American GIs, supervised by MFA&A officer James Rorimer, carrying paintings from the depot for looted cultural artifacts at Neuschwanstein Castle, May 1945
- © National Archives, Washington
The exhibition also looks at those who profited from and played an active role in the looting. It highlights Nazi organizations such as "Sonderauftrag Linz« and »Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg" and the disreputable role played by museums, libraries, and art dealers. Not least, the exhibition looks at the endeavors but also the shortfalls and inadequacies of the politics of restitution following the war, and the claims that were not settled at the time which shape the current debate.
The Museum's website has a special section dedicated to the exhibition. It includes case studies of the Landowska and Schnitzler families, an interactive game about restitution of looted art and details of the supporting programme at the Museum of films on the subject. For further information, visit the Museum's website.
A book accompanying the exhibition includes essays and further case studies. Details of the book can be found here.
When: 19 September 2008 - 25 January 2009
Where: Old Building, 1st level Jewish Museum Berlin
Lindenstrasse 9-14, 10969 Berlin
www.jmberlin.de
Info: +49 (0)30 259 93 300
Fax: +49 (0)30 259 93 409
info@jmberlin.de
The museum is open daily from:
10 a.m. to 8 p.m.,
Mondays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
(closed: 24.12.2008)
The Museum's website has a special section dedicated to the exhibition. It includes case studies of the Landowska and Schnitzler families, an interactive game about restitution of looted art and details of the supporting programme at the Museum of films on the subject. For further information, visit the Museum's website.
A book accompanying the exhibition includes essays and further case studies. Details of the book can be found here.
When: 19 September 2008 - 25 January 2009
Where: Old Building, 1st level Jewish Museum Berlin
Lindenstrasse 9-14, 10969 Berlin
www.jmberlin.de
Info: +49 (0)30 259 93 300
Fax: +49 (0)30 259 93 409
info@jmberlin.de
The museum is open daily from:
10 a.m. to 8 p.m.,
Mondays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
(closed: 24.12.2008)
© website copyright Central Registry 2008