On 26th and 27th November, the Executive Director of the European Shoah Legacy Institute – Ms. Halyna Senyk – travelled to Berlin to attend the New Perspectives on Provenance Research in Germany conference, hosted by the German Lost Art Foundation (Deutsche Zentrum Kulturgutverluste) at the Jewish Museum. The conference was attended by German Minister of Culture, Ms. Monika Grütters; United States Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, Mr. Nicholas Dean; representatives of the German Federal Parliament; museum representatives; archivists; and researchers from more than ten countries.
The German Lost Art Foundation is the national and international point of contact in Germany for questions concerning the implementation of the Washington Conference Principles, the Terezin Declaration, and the Common Statement (Common Statement) of the German Federal and State Governments in respect to Nazi-confiscated art. The Foundation’s main task – under the guidance of its Director, Professor Uwe Schneede – is to advise and assist German public institutions in their search for Nazi-looted art.
The Foundation is also charged with developing new services for private collectors and private museums that voluntarily comply with the Washington Principles and the Terezin Declaration. The German Lost Art Foundation will introduce a professional education program, commencing in 2017, for provenance researchers lasting two semesters and allowing participants to receive a certificate upon successful completion.
The European Shoah Legacy Institute utilised its invitation to the conference in Berlin to discuss with both the German Lost Art Foundation and the German Ministry of Culture future collaboration on ESLI’s provenance research initiative, which involves working with the European Parliament to combat conflict looting and promote cultural heritage protection across the European Union. Feedback was extremely positive and the European Shoah Legacy Institute looks forward to working closely with our German contemporaries throughout 2016.
