Systematic investigation of Judaica collection for cultural property confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution

The aim of this 22-month research project was the systematic investigation of, and research into, the provenance of Jewish ceremonial items (Judaica) held in the collection of the Jewish Museum Berlin.

A key area of focus was the set of 297 Judaica objects with provenance gaps from the collection once owned by Zvi Sofer (1911–1980), a Jewish Studies scholar and cantor from Münster. This collection was acquired in 1981 for the Jewish Department of the Berlin Museum, and it subsequently formed the core component of the Judaica collection at the Jewish Museum in 2001.

The aim of the project was to identify Judaica that had been seized as a result of Nazi persecution, and to close as many provenance gaps as possible. In addition, the researchers wanted to work towards uniform provenance research statuses for the objects investigated, and reconstruct the biographies of former owners.

Thanks to these research activities, it is now possible to portray a highly diverse picture of Zvi Sofer’s eventful life, with this also giving general insights into the practice of collecting and dealing in Judaica after 1945. Lawful provenance could be determined for 35 of Sofer’s objects; provenance chains were consolidated for 11 further objects and two of these were classified as “questionable”. However, the majority of the series-produced objects in the Sofer collection have neither intrinsic provenance markings nor any other research clues (and are thus known as “dead end objects”).

The project was presented in a number of public talks and lectures during the project period. (1)

In June 2018, the Jewish Museum Berlin and the New Synagogue Berlin—Centrum Judaicum Foundation hosted an international symposium on the topic of “Stolen Judaica”. The symposium contributions are available online. (2) The Judaica provenance project has been discussed in this context nationwide in a number of press articles throughout Germany. (3)

In fall 2018, a report discussing the project and other issues was published in the German Lost Art Foundation’s “Provenance & Research” periodical; a further report followed in January 2019 in the German publication “MuseumsJournal”.

The aim is for project research findings and other useful resources for Judaica provenance research to be made available online on the existing museum website. The biography of collector Zvi Sofer and selected case studies will also be presented as an online feature. Lastly, all objects from Zvi Sofer’s collection have been prepared for entry into the Jewish Museum Berlin’s online object search, and will be displayed there in future.

1 October 2017: Jewish Museum Berlin (talk for trainees); May 2018: Volunteer training event at Ravensbrück Memorial (“Sammellust und Sammelfrust. Über Herkunft, Bewahrung und Präsentation musealer Sammlungen” (Passion and Frustration: About Origins, Preservation, and Presentation of Museum Collections)); December 2018: Humboldt University of Berlin (“Der Sammler und die Sammlung Zwi Sofer” (Zwi Sofer: The Collector and the Collection)). As part of the German–American Provenance Research Exchange Program (PREP), the project was also presented in Berlin in September 2017, in Los Angeles in February 2018, and in Munich in October 2018.

2 https://www.jmberlin.de/en/symposium-stolen-judaica

3 “Geraubte Judaica – ein Spezialfall der Provenienzforschung” (Stolen Judaica—A Special Case of Provenance Reserach), WDR 5 Scala – aktuelle Kultur 6/19/2018; “Die Spur des Sabbatleuchters” (The Trail of the Sabbath Candleholder), in: taz, 6/21/2018; “Ausgeplündert, entehrt, arisiert” (Robbed, violated, aryanized), in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 7/3/2018

(c) Stiftung Jüdisches Museums Berlin