Der Umgang mit NS-Raubgut : Ein historisch-kritischer Kommentar

The aim of Nazi persecution policies was also the mass and violent redistribution of assets. The reversal of this plunder began at the end of World War II under Allied occupation and subsequently went through various phases in the Federal Republic of Germany. After the end of the Cold War, the handling of assets from the Holocaust era was renegotiated. Following the adoption of the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art in 1998, Germany decided against a legal solution, but nevertheless referred to the guidelines of postwar legislation.

This placed the restitution practice implemented since 1998 within the tradition of restitution legislation since 1945, without, however, acquiring legal status itself. The historical-critical commentary now presented systematically illuminates these connections and the tensions they create. It provides access to the review criteria and analyzes their interpretive history up to the present day. In this way, current structures can be historically traced and critically assessed. The commentary offers a historical-critical inventory that enables a well-founded approach to Nazi-looted art and further develops the solutions of the past for the future.