There is a new online catalog/database available of stolen and looted art works and other items of value confiscated from 1938 to 1945 by the Nazis in Austria. Survivors and families of the Holocaust may be interested in the thousands of items now owned by the Austrian government, such as art, books, sculpture, jewelry, and many other objects. At the present time, these items are unclaimed, and the owners are unknown. There is even some question as to whether some items were looted.
Database of Stolen and Looted Art May Reach 10,000.
The new database of stolen and looted art is currently available at www.kunstrestitution.at. This is the effort of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for the Victims of National Socialism. As required by law, the Fund is cooperating with special commissions and museums to trace the owners of stolen and looted art. Proceeds from the auction of stolen and looted art will be given to victims of the Nazis. The database of stolen and looted art continues to be updated, and Michael Seidinger expects it to increase to perhaps 10,000 as research continues. There are currently about 7,500 objects in the database.
The subject of returning stolen and looted art has been an topic for many years since the end of World War II. Austria has recently been instrumental in helping to return stolen and looted art taken in their country by Nazis when their country was subjugated by Germany.
Brenda Harness, Art Historian