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From the time it came into power in 1933 through the end of World War II in 1945, the Nazi regime orchestrated a system of confiscation, coercive transfer, looting, and destruction of objects of art and other cultural property in Europe on an unprecedented scale. Millions of such objects were unlawfully and often forcibly taken from their rightful owners. Some of these objects ultimately were transferred, in good faith and without knowledge of their prior unlawful appropriation, through the legitimate market and may have been acquired by museums. It is now recognized that extensive postwar efforts to return unlawfully seized objects to their rightful owners did not lead to a complete and comprehensive restoration. In light of this, museums in the U.S. and abroad have begun examining their collections to clarify the provenance of objects that were, or could have been, in Europe during the World War II / Nazi era.
The "Guidelines Concerning the Unlawful Appropriation of Objects During the Nazi Era" issued by the American Association of Museums (AAM) recommend that museums identify collection items that were created before 1946, were acquired after 1932, underwent a change of ownership during 1933-1945, and that were or might reasonably be thought to have been in continental Europe between those dates ("covered items").
The Smithsonian Institution adheres to these guidelines and is committed to conducting research and making available information on objects in its holdings. As a general rule, taking into account the diverse nature of Smithsonian collections, a collection item, created before 1946 and acquired after 1932, is treated as a "covered item" if the collecting museum is unable to determine whether the item:
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might have been in continental Europe during the Nazi Era (1933-1945) and/or |
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underwent a change of ownership during that period. |
In addition, precedence in provenance research is given to paintings and Judaica for practical and historic reasons. |
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