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Holocaust Era Assets Conference Prague 26-30 June 2009
The Holocaust Era Assets Conference was held in Prague and Terezin from 26-30 June 2009.
The outcome of the Conference was the Terezin Declaration which was endorsed by the 46 participating governments on 30 June 2009. The text of the Decaration is available here.
A Joint Declaration of the European Commission and the Czech EU Presidency was signed on 29 June 2009 and is available here.
Full details of the conference, including speeches given, statements made, videos of events and other materials are available on the Conference website, www.holocausteraassets.eu. The keynote speech by Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat is available here.
Many news articles about the conference can be found in the news section on this website by clicking here and reviewing articles in the sections for June and July 2009.
The list of participants at the Prague Conference is available here.
CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Conference were:
- To assess the progress made since the 1998 Washington Conference on Holocaust Era Assets in the areas of the recovery of looted art and objects of cultural, historical and religious value (according to the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art and the Vilnius Forum Declaration 2000), and in the areas of property restitution and financial compensation schemes.
- To review current practices regarding provenance research and restitution and, where needed, define new effective instruments to improve these efforts.
- To review the impact of the Stockholm Declaration of 2000 on education, remembrance and research about the Holocaust.
- To strengthen the work of the Task Force on International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research, a 26-nation body chaired by the Czech Republic in 2007-2008.
- To discuss new, innovative approaches in education, social programs and cultural initiatives related to the Holocaust and other National Socialist wrongs and to advance religious and ethnic tolerance in our societies and the world.
The overriding objective, as expressed by the chairman of the Czech Organising Committee, Ambassador Miloš Pojar, was to "mitigate the injustices caused by the Holocaust and other National Socialist wrongs and prevent them from recurring."
The conference programme is set out below:
For the detailed programme for Saturday 27 June, click here.
For the detailed programme for Sunday 28 June, click here.
For the detailed programme for Monday 29 June, click here.
For the detailed programme for Tuesday 30 June, click here.
Friday, June 26, 2009 (Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, Žofín Palace)
15:00 Opening of the Exhibition “Memories Returned” (Museum of Decorative Arts)
By special invitations only.
17:00 Press Conference (Žofín Palace, Small Hall)
18:00 Opening Ceremony (Žofín Palace, Large Hall)
Welcoming Remarks
Musical Perfomance
19:00 Reception
21:00 Adjourn
Saturday, June 27, 2009 (Prague Congress Centre, Embassies)
For the detailed programme for Saturday 27 June, click here.
10:00– 10:45 Working Group (WG) Looted Art
Opening Statements
11:00 - 12:30 Thematic Expert Roundtables
WG Looted Art
“Archives”
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“Genocide of the Czech Roma and New Educational Projects in the Czech Republic and Abroad”
12:30 – 13:30 Buffet Lunch
13:30 – 14:00 Exhibition Presentation
“Library of Rescued Memories”
14:00 – 15:30 Thematic Expert Roundtables (cont.)
WG Looted Art
“Restitutions”
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“Genocide of the Czech Roma and New Educational Projects in the Czech Republic and Abroad” (cont.)
16:00 – 17:30 WG Looted Art (PCC)
“Feedback: Cooperation of Respective Entities Towards Provenance Research”
19:00 – 21:00 Reception
Hosted by foreign embassies in Prague
Sunday, June 28, 2009 (Prague Congress Centre, Wallenstein Garden)
For the detailed programme for Sunday 28 June, click here.
9:00 – 9:30 Opening Plenary Session (PCC, South Hall)
10:00 – 11:30 Concurrent Expert Sessions I
Special Session: Caring for Victims of Nazism and Their Legacy
“History and Perspective of Care Support Provided to Victims of Nazism and Their Legacy”
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“Holocaust Education: Experiences Gained and Challenges Ahead”
WG Immovable Property (Private and Communal) “Overview and Political Context”
WG Looted Art
“Legal Issues”
WG Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property
“Methodological Questions Concerning the Provenance Research of Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property”
11:30 – 11:45 Coffee Break
11:45 – 13:15 Concurrent Expert Sessions II
Special Session: Caring for Victims of Nazism and Their Legacy
“Responsibility in Partnership: Improving the Social Situation of Victims of Nazism”
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“Remembrance, Memorials and Museums”
WG Immovable Property (Private and Communal)
“Works in Progress—Examples from Communities”
WG Looted Art
“The Search for Works of Art and Other Cultural Assets – a Business or Hobby?”
WG Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property
“The Distribution of collected Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property after 1945”
13:15 – 14:30 Buffet Lunch
14:30 – 16:00 Concurrent Expert Sessions III
Special Session: Caring for Victims of Nazism and Their Legacy
“Legal and Social Status of Victims of Nazism and Maintenance of their Legacy”
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“Researching the Holocaust and Access to Archives”
WG Immovable Property (Private and Communal)
“Works in Progress—Examples from Communities” (cont.)
WG Looted Art
“Provenance Research”
WG Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property
“The Losses from State, Public and Private Collections after 1945”
16:00 – 16:15 Coffee Break
16:15 – 17:45 Concurrent Expert Sessions IV
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“The Future of Holocaust Remembrance”
WG Immovable Property (Private and Communal)
“Where do we go from here?”
WG Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property
“Circulation of Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property of Disputed Ownership”
19:00 Reception (Wallenstein Garden)
Remarks:
Přemysl Sobotka, President of the Senate, Parliament of the Czech Republic
Monday, June 29, 2009 (Prague Congress Centre, National Theatre)
For the detailed programme for Monday 29 June, click here.
9:00 – 12:30 Plenary Session (PCC)
Reports by Special Session and 4 Working Groups
Statements by Heads of Delegations
12:30 - 13:30 Buffet Lunch
13:30 – 16:30 Plenary Session (cont.)
Statements by Representatives of NGOs
Statements by Heads of Delegations
16:30 Concluding Remarks:
Yehuda Bauer, Historian, Israel
17:00 Press Conference
19:00 Special Performance (National Theatre)
“Golem 13”
World Premiere of kabalistic drama by George Whyte set to music by Noam Sheriff
Reception
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 (Terezín Memorial)
For the detailed programme for Tuesday 30 June, click here.
7:45 - 8:00 Departure of conference buses from the conference hotels to Terezin.
9:30 Concluding Ceremony (Terezín Memorial, Former Riding Hall)
Terezín Declaration
10:30 Concert
“Defiant Requiem” by Murry Sidlin
12:00 Closing Lunch (Terezín Memorial, Magdeburg Barracks)
Hosted by the European Commission
13:00 Departure of conference buses to Prague (airport and hotels)
13:00 - 15:00 Guided tours of Terezín Memorial (optional)
The conference website provides full details of the panels and roundtables which took place on 27 and 28 June. For:
Looted Art sessions click here;
Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property sessions click here;
Immovable Property sessions click here;
Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research sessions click here;
Caring for Victims of Nazism and Their Legacy sessions click here.
For further details on all other aspects of the conference, click here.
