Initial check in town and regional museums – The continuing search for Nazi-confiscated property in southern Lower Saxony

The launch of the project “Initial check in town and regional museums  The continuing search for Nazi-confiscated property in southern Lower Saxony” signifies the start of the second round of initial check provenance research in Lower Saxony, this time in museums in Northeim, Osterode, Seesen and Uslar. The current research began on March 13, 2017, at the Städtisches Museum Seesen. The project ends on September 11, 2016, with an official closing event at the Museum at the Ritterhaus in Osterode. The project, funded by the German Lost Art Foundation, is aimed at small and medium-sized museums that often do not have the staff or financial resources to carry out research into the provenance of their holdings on their own. The initial check aims to establish whether there is any suspicion that cultural assets were acquired unlawfully during the Nazi period. This type of initial check can determine whether or not there is a need for further research. Suspicious objects had already been found in four of five museums checked as part of a pilot project carried out in southern Lower Saxony in 2016. Landschaftsverband Südniedersachsen e. V. is once again responsible for carrying out the follow-on project, supported by the Netzwerk Provenienzforschung in Niedersachsen. Provenance researcher Dr. Christian Riemenschneider is again in charge of conducting the provenance research.