Historical Background
From 1933 through the end of World War II in 1945, the Nazi regime orchestrated a program of theft, confiscation, coercive transfer, looting, pillage, and destruction of objects of art and other cultural property in Europe on a massive and unprecedented scale. Some confiscated objects were sold to fund Nazi activities, while others were retained for the private collections of high-ranking party officials.
Following the war, tens of thousands of confiscated objects were recovered by the Allies and returned to their countries of origin. Nevertheless, some recovered objects never made it back to their original owners, and other objects were not recovered at all.
Over the past decade, US museums have recognized that objects appropriated during the Nazi era without subsequent restitution—that is, with neither return of the object nor payment of compensation to the object’s original owner or legal successor—may have made their way into US museum collections in the decades since the war.
As part of the Guidelines and Recommended Procedures adopted by the museum field, the American Association of Museums accepted responsibility to develop an Internet-accessible search tool covering objects in US museum collections that had changed hands in Continental Europe during the Nazi era. The result is the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal.
About the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal
Designed and managed by AAM on behalf of the U.S. museum community, the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal (www.nepip.org) provides a searchable registry of objects in US museum collections that were created before 1946 and changed hands in Continental Europe during the Nazi era (1933-1945). People seeking objects can use the Portal to refine their search. For each registered object, the Portal provides basic descriptive information along with links to additional information provided by the participating museum.
Museums with objects in their collections that changed hands in Continental Europe during the Nazi era can participate in the Portal. Registering objects is quick and easy. By participating in the Portal museums fulfill their responsibility under the Guidelines and Recommended Procedures adopted by the museum field to make Nazi-era provenance information accessible.
Additional Resources
AAM Guidelines Concerning the Unlawful Appropriation of Objects During the Nazi Era
AAM Recommended Procedures for Providing Information to the Public about Objects Transferred in Europe During the Nazi Era
Report of the Association of Art Museum Directors Task Force on the Looting of Art During the Nazi/World War II Era
