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SPK and Bavarian State Painting Collections launch joint project to commemorate the fate of Jews
Press release from 01/27/2022
Multimedia archive planned to commemorate victims of Nazi persecution - life stories behind restitution cases - BKM provides 690,000 euros in funding
In a three-year project, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation with its National Museums in Berlin and the Bavarian State Painting Collections will establish a media library of art collectors, patrons and collecting citizens of Jewish origin. This archive of forgotten fates is based on the provenance research of both institutions. In addition to the media library, specific digital communication formats for teenagers and young adults are being developed. The media partners of the project, which is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, are Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg and Bayerischer Rundfunk.
The project will shed light on the diversity of Jewish biographies in German society before 1933. By telling the most diverse individual life stories, it aims to counteract stereotypes that still exist today. Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK, emphasises: "The Jewish collectors have shaped this country, promoted artists and shaped the reputation of the museums. Many of them were victims of the National Socialists and their collections were looted. In our research, we repeatedly come across names that no one recognises any more, but which once stood for important collections, for attitudes, for a life with art. What kind of people were they? By telling their life stories, we want to bring many names back into our consciousness. With this joint project, the SPK and the Bavarian State Painting Collections want to make a contribution to the culture of remembrance and to a tolerant, open society."
In addition, the project will convey to a broad public and above all to the younger generation the importance of provenance research beyond the immediate examination of the origin of artworks. Bernhard Maaz, Director General of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, explains: "Provenance research is always about the bigger picture: researching historical contexts, social networks and individual life stories, even fates."
For over twenty years, cultural institutions around the world have been working to come to terms with the Nazi looting of cultural property, most of which belonged to Jewish citizens. Based on the Washington Principles, the SPK institutions and the Bavarian State Painting Collections are also systematically researching the provenance of the objects in their collections and seeking fair and just solutions with the descendants of the victims. The Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, comprising three Pinakotheken and 20 branch galleries, have been able to restitute 25 works from 17 collections since 1998. Since 1999, the SPK has processed more than 50 restitution requests and returned more than 350 works of art and around 2000 books to the entitled parties. These included a drawing by Vincent van Gogh, works by Munch and "The Watzmann" by Caspar David Friedrich.
