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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 27 November 2018

Germany marks 20th anniversary of Nazi looted art agreement

By DAVID RISING can be accessed any-
Associated Press where in the world for peo-
BERLIN (AP) — German of- ple seeking to find possibly
ficials, Jewish leaders re- looted property.
searchers and others have Despite frustrations with the
marked the 20th anniver- process, Stuart Eizenstat, an
sary of the international adviser to the U.S. State De-
agreement on returning partment on Holocaust-era
art looted by the Nazis with issues who helped negoti-
new pledges and propos- ate the Washington Prin-
als aimed at breathing new ciples, said a “very sizable”
life into the process. number of Nazi-looted art-
Culture Minister Monika works had been restored
Gruetters said Monday it is to their owners. Austria has
Germany’s responsibility to restituted 30,000 cultural
improve upon the so-called objects and Germany re-
Washington Principles to Monika Gruetters, Germany’s culture minister, right, and Stuart Eizenstat, special advisor to the U.S. turned more than 16,000,
restore cultural objects to state department, attend a conference on looted art on occasion of the 20th anniversary of the including 5,746 art objects
their original Jewish own- Washington principles in Berlin Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. and 11,700 books, he said.
ers or heirs, noting that their Associated Press But, Eizenstat said, many
meaning goes beyond the most original owners are tion house Christie’s can re- cism, Gruetters said Ger- more changes are need-
purely financial. deceased. view 100,000 pieces every many is establishing a “help ed.
“Behind every stolen object Ronald Lauder, head of year, but France cannot desk” that will aid anyone Those include all countries
is the fate of an individual,” the World Jewish Con- figure out 2,000 pieces in 20 interested in filing a claim. recognizing the forced sale
she said. gress, said many countries years.” In addition, in the past of art was a form or plun-
The Washington Principles are effectively ignoring In Germany, Lauder said where both a museum and dering Jewish valuables,
were drafted in 1998 to as- the Washington Principles, the country’s “commitment the heir to an artwork had like Germany does, and
sist in resolving issues relat- noting specific problems to Holocaust awareness is to decide to take a case to that private auction hous-
ed to returning Nazi-confis- in Hungary, Poland, Spain, exemplary” but that there arbitration, that is now be- es follow the lead of So-
cated art and were signed Switzerland the Nether- have been problems in the ing changed so that a reso- theby’s and Christie’s and
by more than three dozen lands and France. return of Nazi-looted art, lution can be sought by an institutionalize provenance
countries — acknowledg- For example, France had which he said are “more heir without the museum’s research of all art they sell.
ing that many items did not 60,000 artworks returned institutional than personal.” agreement. He also echoed Lauder’s
remain in Germany after to it after the war, of which Among other things, he The single-party consent comments that all coun-
the war. 15,000 were unclaimed. said that the commission applies only to museums tries that agreed to the
There are also the issues Some 2,000 of the best set up to mediate claims under federal jurisdiction Washington Principles need
of art sold by Jews flee- were given to French mu- has only looked at 15 cas- but officials hope the thou- to live up to their commit-
ing Nazi Germany at rock- seums, and the rest were es in 15 years, and that sands of state-run museums ments.
bottom prices to finance sold. navigating the country’s will follow suit. “There is simply no excuse
their escape or to support “For 20 years France has “byzantine bureaucracy” Germany also plans to in- in the 21st century for cov-
themselves in their new not been able to figure out is a challenge for anyone crease its research into eting Nazi looted art, and it
homelands, and also trying who owns those 2,000 works looking to research or file a finding heirs, and put more does not speak well for the
to determine who the right- in their museums,” Lauder claim. information about its col- countries that do so,” he
ful heirs are today now that said. “Somehow the auc- In response to such criti- lections online so that they said.q