1945 – The struggle over art. Cultural property between loss, relocation and restitution

Marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the conference is dedicated to the millions of works of art and items of cultural property that were lost as a result of Nazi rule and the war in Europe.

Some 25 speakers at this international event will shed light on efforts to return the looted property of persecuted Jews in Germany, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic immediately after the war. The researchers also look at German and French museum collections that were relocated to protect them from destruction. The conference will not only focus on the restitution of Nazi-looted property and compensation but also on those items of cultural property that were never returned – because they were destroyed or went missing, for example, or else were retained by the Soviet Union as  compensation for its own losses.

After a phase of intense dialogue following the fall of the Berlin Wall, negotiations on the repatriation of artworks with Russia are currently on hold. Debate on the issue is ongoing, however, and new questions are being raised: what role can AI play in reconstruction, how do we focus on the theme of wartime losses in museum practice?

To conclude, a panel of high-calibre experts will discuss the problems involved in the restitution of wartime losses and Nazi-looted property that continue to apply today, decades after 1945.

More information here.