Search - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

Digitization Digitizing offers an opportunity to make the cultural and intellectual heritage of humanity accessible to everyone. The Foundation makes a great deal of information about its collections and their catalogs of holdings available online. In the Digitization Center of the Staatsbibliothek

Removal by Private Parties Numerous objects from the Prussian collections disappeared during the Second World War as a result of theft or plundering. The Foundation is researching the whereabouts of such works and is seeking their return to Berlin. In 2009, four paintings were returned to the Alte N

Holdings Evacuated to Poland Some of the holdings of the Prussian collections were evacuated during the Second World War to German areas that now belong to Poland. The Foundation still claims ownership of these cultural assets. From the beginning of the Second World War, the holdings of the Staatsbi

Cultural Assets Relocated to Russia as a Result of the War At the end of the Second World War, numerous cultural assets were transported to the USSR. A large number of them are still there. The Federal Republic of Germany and the cultural institutions affected are seeking their return. In 1958–59 th

Wartime Losses of the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz The Second World War resulted in great losses to the Prussian collections. Much was destroyed. Many of the holdings that had been displaced for their protection did not return to the collections, for various reasons. The Second World War left

Unknown Ownership The term “unknown ownership” is used for objects that do not belong to the Foundation but whose provenance is uncertain. The Foundation tries to identify the legal owners of such objects and to return them. “Equestrian Battle” was moved to the storeroom of the Gemäldegalerie for sa

Cultural Assets Illegally Removed in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) Cultural assets were also seized illegally from their owners in the GDR. Such cases are handled by government agencies set up specifically for that purpose. The Foundation assists these agencies by request. In 2007 returned pa

Dealing with Cultural Assets Looted by the National Socialists The National Socialists systematically took art and books from those they persecuted. The Foundation searches for just and fair solutions based on the Washington Principles for looted assets that ended up in its collections. Im August 19

Issues of Ownership Over the course of history, objects have found their way into the Foundation’s holdings whose origins have not been completely clarified. The Foundation aims to establish who owns these objects. The National Socialist policy of persecution and the Second World War are the primary

Researching and Documenting Provenance The goal of provenance research is to clarify the origins of objects. It is a cross-disciplinary task for all the Foundation’s institutions. In several research projects, determining provenance is the sole task. The Spectrum of Tasks in Provenance Research Prov