Module II – Property looted during the National Socialist era
Dates: January 29, 30 – February 5, 6, 26, 27 – March 5, 6 2027
Teaching languages: Mainly English (ENG), with external presentations in French (FR)
Presentation
Between 1933 and 1945, when the National Socialist regime was in power in Germany and other countries in Europe were occupied by the Nazis, numerous objects were looted, stolen, acquired at a low price and/or confiscated from its rightful owner. Many items are still circulating on the art market today and/or are kept in public museums, without their current owners being aware of it. In such a context, the identification of these items has become an imperative for public museum institutions, which are subject to a duty of care under the ICOM Code of ethics.
Provenance research has become one of the main disciplines of museum work. It refers to investigations designed to retrace the history of an object, whatever its nature, from its creation or discovery. More particularly, it aims to establish the changes of ownership between 1933 and 1945 and to ensure, in accordance with the "Washington Principles", that the object was not taken under duress from its rightful owner. The fundamental issue lies in the search for just and equitable solutions. To do this, it is necessary to take into account all the sources, surveys and research carried out to then document the results in an understandable way.
Objectives of Module II
At the end of the training, participants will have acquired knowledge about:
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the role of the Swiss Confederation and the current state of provenance research of looted property during the time of National Socialism in Switzerland;
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the historical and political context;
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the actors and actresses of provenance research;
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the approaches to provenance research and the terminology specific to the discipline;
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the formal analysis of assets and sources as well as their critical treatment;
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the digital research tools for provenance research;
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the moral, political and ethical issues related to provenance research;
Course programme of the 2027 edition (subject to modification)
January 29 & 30 2027
Introduction to provenance research | Case study « Gurlitt // Ballmer »
Dr. Carolin Lange, affiliated scholar at the Institut für die Geschichte der deutschen Juden, University of Hamburg (DE) and co-founder Lange & Schmutz Provenienzrecherchen GmbH (Biel/Bienne, CH)
Dr. Thomas Schmutz, co-founder of Lange & Schmutz Provenienzrecherchen GmbH (Biel/Bienne) and full professor at the Institute of Art History and Museology at the University of Neuchâtel (CH)
February 5 & 6 2027
Archival sources in Switzerland, Germany and France
Hendrik Althoff, Institute for the History of German Jews, University of Hamburg (DE)
Prof. Dr. Stefanie Mahrer, professor specializing in modern European, Swiss, and Jewish
history, Universities of Bern and Basel (CH).
Dominic Strieder, archivist, Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv (BLHA), Berlin (DE)
Dr. Agnes Thum, head or provenance research, Ketterer Kunst, Munich (DE)
Speaker to be confirmed (FR)
February 26 & 27 2027
The Case of Martha Nathan’s Ferdinand Hodler painting from A to Z: from research to the conclusion of an agreement
Julius Niesert, lawyer, Berlin (DE)
Rahel Urech, research associate at Lange & Schmutz Provenienzrecherchen GmbH (Biel/Bienne, CH) and assistant to Head of SKKG Provenance Research, Winterthur (CH)
Christian Vedani, Editor « SKKG Provenance Research», Stiftung für Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte, Winterthur (CH).
Dr. Carolin Lange
Speaker to be confirmed (CH)
March 5 & 6 2027
Research workshops – Q&A about provenance research – Outreach and Inclusion of the Survivors’ Families – Module II Conclusion & Exam
Dr. Regina Prinz, provenance researcher at the Munich City Museum (DE)
Dr. Carolin Lange & Dr. Thomas Schmutz
Speaker to be confirmed (FR)