Bak launches internet portal on Nazi looted art

The Swiss Confederation is thus making a further contribution to the implementation of the 1998 guidelines of the Washington Conference with regard to works of art confiscated by the Nazis. In doing so, it is reaffirming the great importance it attaches to coming to terms with the problem of Nazi looted art.

The new looted art internet portal Bak.admin.ch/rk of the Federal Office of Culture is the result of cooperation between the Federal Office of Culture (Looted Art Focal Point), the General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA Historical Service) and the Federal Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education, the Association of Swiss Museums and the Association of Swiss Art Museums.

Help for self-help

The looted art internet portal offers a range of information on the topic of Nazi looted art, such as a guide and checklist for conducting provenance research, an overview of relevant archive holdings and factors for achieving just and fair solutions. The offer is complemented by literature suggestions, an annotated link list, an overview of databases relevant to Nazi looted art. In the future, the looted art internet portal will thus support museums and collections in the sense of "helping them to help themselves" in carrying out provenance research.

Implementation of the Washington Guidelines

The deepening of provenance research is an important step in the implementation of the guidelines of the Washington Conference regarding works of art confiscated by the Nazis. The Swiss Confederation adopted this non-binding declaration of intent in Washington in 1998 together with another 43 states, thereby declaring that it attaches great importance to coming to terms with the problem of Nazi looted art.

Program of the international conference

The morning of the information and exchange conference is dedicated to the international level of Nazi looted art and provenance research. State representatives from Germany and France, representatives from the university sector and representatives from the international art market will give an overview of the work regarding the topic of Nazi looted art and provenance research from their area.

The afternoon will focus on the presentation of the new Internet portal on looted art of the Federal Office of Culture. In addition to an overview of the federal government's handling of Nazi looted art and provenance research, an important provenance research project of the Museum Rietberg on the von der Heydt collection will be presented. Finally, in a concluding table ronde, actors from the museum sector, a lawyer representing museums, a historian and representatives of claimants will discuss the current state and future challenges of dealing with looted art.