The aim of provenance research is to investigate the ownership details of artworks since the time of their creation. The focus is on works which changed hands during the Nazi period and the persecution and murder of Jews as well as other minorities.
The term ‘Nazi confiscation’ refers to works the National Socialists stole in Germany between 1933 and 1945 and in the occupied territories—for example in France in the years 1940–1944. During Second World War, Emil Bührle purchased such works through Galerie Fischer in Lucerne. After 1945 they were identified as looted art. The dispossessed previous owners brought lawsuits before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court’s chamber for looted property and won, forcing Emil Bührle to restitute the stolen works.
In many cases, he then repurchased them from their rightful owners.
‘Sale by persecution victim’ is the term used to apply to works sold by the Jewish owners themselves outside the sphere of Nazi power—for instance in the U.S., in Switzerland, and the unoccupied part of France—to finance their escape and livelihoods. Discussions are currently in progress about whether or not these sales are to be classified as stolen art.
The aim of provenance research is to investigate the ownership details of artworks since the time of their creation. The focus is on works which changed hands during the Nazi period and the persecution and murder of Jews as well as other minorities.
The term ‘Nazi-looted art’ refers to cultural property which the Nazis confiscated from its mostly Jewish owners between 1933 and 1945. This took the form of seizures, forced sales, and other actions conducted under duress. It can also include sales of what have previously been referred to in Switzerland as ‘flight assets’, which took place outside the area of Nazi rule.
The Washington Principles form the basis for research into, and treatment of, Nazi-looted assets. They have been adopted as a legally non-binding declaration by 44 states, including Switzerland. Their primary aim is to identify Nazi-looted art. Where ownership is disputed, alternative solutions such as commissions should be set up and ‘just and fair solutions’ found between the heirs of the former owners on the one hand, and the current holders on the other.
The Terezín Declaration expanded the definition of looted art contained in the Washington Principles, setting out rules covering cultural property sold under duress owing to Nazi persecution.
‘Just and fair solutions’ comprise a spectrum of different measures. These can include publicly acknowledging the circumstances of confiscation in an exhibition or mentioning the provenance history when the work is displayed in a museum. Payment of compensation is another option, as is the sale of the work to third parties, with the proceeds being shared, or subsequent loan to the current holders. The best-known solution is returning the work to its rightful owner (restitution).