Search for Nazi-confiscated masterpieces among objects purchased by Moritzburg Art Museum in the period 1933–1949. Continuation of the review of the museum’s acquisitions in 1933–1949 (founding of the GDR) which may have been confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution

Moritzburg Art Museum in Halle an der Saale, founded in 1885 as the city’s museum for arts and crafts, houses six collections: paintings, prints, sculptures, handicrafts, coins/medals and photographs. Between May 2011 and October 2013, provenance research was undertaken for the museum in a research project funded by the Bureau for Provenance Research in Berlin. The research focused on the paintings and prints collections and concerned acquisitions that had been made from 1933 until 1945/1949. A set of silver items from the handicraft collection was also examined. In the review of the inventories, it was established that there were gaps in the records of the individual collections—many works inventoried after 1946 and marked “origin unknown” proved to be pre-1933 acquisitions during the research and were not examined any further in the course of subsequent work. Fortunately, however, it was possible for details of previous ownership to be added to information on the works and, in future investigations, these will provide new approaches to research into the history of individual collections and of the museum and also into collection strategies. In-depth research in Halle city archive, where most of the museum’s files are kept, and in Saxony-Anhalt State Archive in Magdeburg brought together information on all the acquisition processes from the investigation period. This research and the thorough examination of the reverse side of the artworks were the basis for the subsequent investigations into individual works in libraries and archives. Regarding the numerous works that needed further examination in the collections mentioned above, it was possible to fully clarify the origin without gaps in only a few cases because the documentation was at times very sparse. Although a trend could also be demonstrated for many works, this must be understood in accordance with certain conditions. It is therefore sensible to repeatedly review/revise the ongoing findings at regular intervals because the high number of similar research projects and scientific issues at other institutions in recent years means that numerous documents, perhaps on smaller private collections, have been or are being found. These enable the investigations into individual works in Halle to continue. Negotiations are currently underway regarding the restitution of a set of silverware.

(c) Kunstmuseum Moritzburg