Conference proceedings "Taking responsibility" have been published
Press release from 06/11/2009
The newly published conference proceedings bring together the contributions to the international symposium organised by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Coordination Office for the Loss of Cultural Property to mark the tenth anniversary of the Washington Principles in December 2008. More than three hundred participants from all over the world came together in Berlin - representatives of experts, politicians, heirs' lawyers and victims' representatives.
In three large thematic blocks, renowned national and international experts addressed fundamental questions of the restitution of cultural property, provenance research and the possibilities of "fair and just solutions". Their contributions as well as the opening speech by Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, and the welcoming addresses by Bernd Neumann, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, and Gerold Letko, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Coordination Centre for Lost Cultural Property, can now be read. This volume thus offers both a review of what has been achieved so far and an outlook on future prospects. The symposium and publication were funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM).
At the conference, it became particularly clear that targeted provenance research and research is still necessary because, as Hermann Parzinger emphasised: "Provenance research forms the basis for implementing the Washington Principles and for negotiating fair and just solutions when dealing with specific individual cases." In his closing statement, Parzinger therefore praised the establishment of the Provenance Research Centre as an important step, but also demanded: "Above all, however, the cultural institutions need long-term support from their sponsors."
Taking responsibility. NS-Raubkunst - Eine Herausforderung an Museen, Bibliotheken und Archive / Taking Responsibility. Nazi-looted Art - a Challenge for Museums, Libraries and Archives. Edited by Andrea Baresel-Brand, Magdeburg 2009 (Veröffentlichungen der Koordinierungsstelle für Kulturgutverluste, 7). ISBN 978-3-9811367-4-6. 518 pages with 26 illustrations, some in colour, €24.90
Review copies are available from the Koordinierungsstelle für Kulturgutverluste, Magdeburg, Fax: +49 (0) 391-567 3899, E-Mail