Despite return agreement: Federal Government still owns robbery art

Even 73 years after the end of the war, there are 2,500 works belonging to the Federal Government's art collection, which are suspected to have been largely stolen from Jewish owners during the National Socialist era. This number, which first reported the "Bild" newspaper, confirmed a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Finance to SPIEGEL ONLINE.

A large part of these works are in museums, some but also in federal agencies or in the art depot in Berlin-Weißensee. In total, the federal government's holdings comprise about 48,000 works of art, including not only paintings and sculptures but also instruments, furniture, porcelain, antique books, old coins and stamps.

At present, according to the Bild, negotiations are under way for the return of twelve works of art captured during the war. Last Monday, Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters had publicly returned a picture to his rightful heirs. The painting "Portrait de jeune femme assise" by the French artist Thomas Couture came from the art collection of Cornelius Gurlitt.

Return of looted art is slow

Only last August, at an international conference in Berlin, the Federal Government committed itself to the unreserved investigation of Nazi art robbery, thereby announcing the "Washington Agreement". In 1998, more than 40 states had committed for the first time to clarify the crimes of the Nazis against art collectors and dealers and to seek an agreement with the descendants of the victims.

However, this is not a legally enforceable set of rules, but merely a declaration of intent. According to the Civil Code, the publication of the works is no longer mandatory, because the deeds are more than 30 years ago, so are barred.

Historians estimate that during World War II over five million works of art were wrested from the owners. For decades, looted art was a taboo topic, museums and action houses were not interested in where art came from. In Germany, only with the sensational case Gurlitt new drive into provincial research. A restitution law like in Austria does not exist in this country.