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A woman and two men at a warehouse with wooden crates in Paris following the confiscation of furniture and household goods (ca. 1942/1943)

Warehouse with wooden crates in Paris following the confiscation of furniture and household goods (ca. 1942/1943), Source: Bundesarchiv, B 323 Bild-0311-020 / o. Ang.
 

Sources on the Displacement of Cultural Property during the Nazi Era (1933-1945)

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Research strategies

Several archival holdings preserved in the Federal Archives come directly from the individuals and agencies who actively participated in the theft of cultural property during the Nazi era. These include: the Operational Staff of Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, ERR (Reich Leader Rosenberg), the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Main Office), Das Ahnenerbe (the Research and Teaching Community in Ancestral Heritage), and the Sonderkommando Künsberg (Special Commando Künsberg). Archival material also exists in many other related record groups that document the activities of these agencies. The collecting activities of the “Sonderauftrag Linz (Linz Special Commission”) and the establishment of the “Führer Museum”, as well as for Hermann Göring’s private art collection can also be traced. Important supreme government bodies, ministries, and central NSDAP agencies established the principles for dealing with cultural property and set the organisational course for its exploitation. Documents from the civil occupation administrations and military administration offices, produced during World War II when the theft of cultural property spread to the occupied territories in Europe, may also be relevant. Holdings provenant the general cultural administration of that time provide information about cultural property and the people involved. Personal records relating to artists and other producers of cultural property, as well as people involved in or impaired by the theft of cultural property, can be found in special personal record collections, in personnel files of certain institutions, and in personal paper collections held by the Federal Archives.

Selection of relevant archive holdings

The sources and references listed below provide an overview of original sources available in the Federal Archives from the Nazi era that are relevant for provenance research on confiscated and displaced cultural property. This overview is not exhaustive. When conducting research in invenio, please consult the sometimes very detailed information on the respective holdings, which addresses its history and main content. 


Additional information

  • The Online Memorial Book on “Jewish victims of persecution under Nazi tyranny in Germany 1933-1945” documents information on Jews who resided in Germany between 1933 and 1945 and died as a result of persecution during the Nazi era.

  • The Website “Cultural Plunder by the ERR” by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (JCC) and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) draws attention to the Online ERR Archival Guide by Patricia Kennedy Grimstead with information on ERR-relevant archive material in or relating to Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, Great Britain, and the USA. It offers detailed articles on the history of the holdings, as well as extensive bibliographies.

    In addition, there are links to digitised versions of the archival material from Kiev, Moscow, Vilnius, Amsterdam, Paris, New York, Washington, and the German Federal Archives. Furthermore, users can access a database of art objects that were located in the Jeu de Paume in Paris between 1940 and 1944. Finally, information is also available on libraries looted by the ERR, primarily in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

  • Information on personal paper collections beyond the holdings of the Federal Archives can be found in the online KALLIOPE Union Catalogue.

  • The collection “NS Archives of the Ministry for State Security of the GDR” in the Federal Archives contains original documents from the Nazi era, predominantly personal files. Please note that the collection stored at the Berlin-Lichterfelde site is subject to separate access regulations.

  • Bibliotheksbrief Nr. 1, 1-2020 NS-Raubgut (1): Enteignung und „Arisierung“ (Expropriation and “Aryanisation”) 1933-1945: Selection from the library’s holdings, Berlin 2020

  • Bibliotheksbrief Nr. 1, 2-2020 NS-Raubgut (2):  Provenienzforschung: Rückgabe und Entschädigung (Provenance research: Restitution and compensation): Selection from the library’s holdings, Berlin 2020