Forgotten
Life Stories

  • Photo Dorville
    Artwork from the Dorville collection

    Armand Dorville

    Impressionist Art in a Paris Town House.

    Expulsion, compulsory administration, theft

    Expulsion, compulsory administration, theft

  • Photo Glanville
    Artwork from the Glanville collection

    Elisabeth Glanville

    A Family Icon

    Expelled, looted, rejected

    Expelled, looted, rejected

With their passion for art they shaped European cultural life. Then they were persecuted, dispossessed, expelled, and murdered by the National Socialists – simply because they were Jews. Here we tell some of their life stories.

  • Photo star
    Artwork from the Stern collection

    Max Stern

    Supporter of Canadian art

    Ostracised, disenfranchised, robbed

    Ostracised, disenfranchised, robbed

  • Photo Schmidl
    Artwork from the Schmidl collection

    Marianne Schmidl

    A Fascination for Africa

    Rejected, extorted, murdered

    Rejected, extorted, murdered

  • Photo Goldschmidt
    Work of art from the Goldschmidt collection

    Jakob Goldschmidt

    The art-loving head of the bank

    Hounded, slandered, plundered

    Hounded, slandered, plundered

News

  • New partners, new cases, new direction: the journey continues

    The remembrance project „Art, Looting and Restitution“ is entering a new phase and continues to set an example against anti-Semitism and historical forgetfulness: The cooperation partners Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste are working on further life stories until 2027 and are placing a strong focus on education and democracy work.

    The focus is on the biographies of Jewish victims of the National Socialist[...]

    More →

More to come

These biographies are just a few examples of countless stories of persecution. Additional biographies will be added at regular intervals. Do visit the website again to take a look.

A commemorative project

When museums research the provenance of their artworks, it is not only ownership that comes to light, but also fates. With „Art, Looting and Restitution - Forgotten Life Stories“, the partners involved are remembering the victims of persecution and expropriation. Who were these people, what happened to their artworks? And what does it mean to their descendants when a looted work of art is returned?