Nazi records of looted art posted online
A new online database has gone back to the original Nazi records of their plunder of Europe in an effort to return thousands of works of art to their rightful owners.
The database, a joint project between the U.S.-based Claims Conference and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, has records of more than 20,000 artworks taken from Jewish owners, museums and libraries across Europe.
The Third Reich assigned a special task force to keep a record of seized objects — the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg — as the Germans invaded neighbouring countries.
In addition to written records of objects and where they were taken, there are photographs of the looting and sorting of objects, all now available online.
The organizers hope the database will help heirs of families who lost works to the Nazis identify what was lost and reclaim it.
Many Jewish families believe relatives killed in the Holocaust owned artworks but they do not know the names of the pieces or the artists, the organizers said in a release on Monday.
Earlier lists of looted art have focused on museum collections or on claims from individuals who knew the names of works and artists.
About half the items listed in the database have been returned to their rightful owners, but others may be "at large," the Claims Conference said.
Called Cultural Plunder by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg: Database of Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume, the database has a complete list of records gathered by the Nazis in Paris at the Jeu de Paume gallery, a central gathering place for art.
The records had been dispersed among three archives — the U.S. National Archives, the German Federal Archives, and France's Archives of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.
Museums and archives are being urged to consult the new database about works in their collections.
The organization says it seeks to secure "a small measure of justice" for Jewish victims of Nazi persecution, including through the return of stolen art to its original owners.