Research into art looted by the nazis – an important international task

Abstract

In the period 1933–1945 the Nazis orchestrated the most massive art theft in world history. The exact number of looted art objects is not known, although estimates vary from hundreds of thousands to millions. A huge number of art objects looted by the Nazis are still missing. They have been spread around the world through a variety of different channels and can still be found in the art market. Such looted art objects have also ended up in museum collections. All countries have a moral duty to participate in the efforts to identify and restitute objects looted from their owners by the Nazis.