Flanders is to establish a commission that will focus exclusively on the restitution of Nazi-looted art Flemish culture minister Caroline Gennez (Flemish socialist Vooruit) has announced. A legal framework will be put in place to investigate claims and return stolen works of art to their original owners or their heirs. Some works from Antwerp’s Fine Arts Museum, the KMSKA are also expected to be considered for investigation by the commission.
During the Nazi occupation of Belgium during the Second World War, thousands of works of art, including paintings, sculptures and books, were stolen. The victims were often Jews, who were persecuted by the Nazi occupier.
In Belgium, many works of art ended up in the hands of exploiters and Nazis, who sold them on or hung on to them in their own homes. To this day, descendants of the original owners are trying to regain possession of the artworks.
Neighbouring countries have already made work of it!
The Flemish government now wants to establish a clear procedure for the restitution of Nazi-looted art. To this end, Flemish Culture Minister Caroline Gennez is setting up a commission to investigate claims and facilitate restitution.
"Other countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and France have long had restitution policies with regard to Nazi-looted art," Gennez explains. Now Flanders is taking that step too. "This is a matter of justice, but also of remembrance and collective healing."
In-depth investigation
The committee will have two tasks. Firstly, it will advise the Flemish Government on claims received relating to items from the Flemish Community Collection. Secondly, local authorities, private owners and heirs may also refer matters to the committee.
For each claim, an investigation will be carried out into the provenance of the work in question, and all parties involved will be consulted in order to make an accurate assessment. It seems that this was often not the case in the past.
In addition to the commission, efforts will also be made to achieve proactive restitution investigations. Flanders will support organisations wishing to carry out screening and research to trace Nazi-looted art. “Where there are indications of looted art, in-depth provenance research is necessary to arrive at just solutions,” emphasises Gennez.
The Flemish government is currently investigating two claims. These involve three works of art from the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the KMSKA. The museum also has a list on its website showing that the provenance of 21 works is unclear.
One of the few occasions on which looted art was removed from a museum wall was in 2022. On that occasion, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels, the KMSKB, returned a painting by Lovis Corinth to a Jewish family, following years of research.