For a few decades the research on Nazi-looted art was neglected in Belgium. That’s the situation Geert Sels, journalist at the culture desk of the Belgian newspaper “De Standaard”, encountered when he started to do research after the Gurlitt affair. “To my embarrassment I found out that Belgium did not have databases, no restitution commission and neither conducted research – although the country had paintings in its museums that came back from Nazi-Germany.”
After eight years of research Sels wrote the book “Kunst voor das Reich” in which he thoroughly depicts the history of how the Nazis acquired art in Belgium. As a result, a lot of information came to the fore that is now available for further research. One of the conclusions is that the impact is not restricted to the Belgian borders. The book has been published in Dutch and French and now plays an important role in the public discourse.
For additional information and registration: kulturgutverluste.de/termine/kolloquium-provenienzforschung-zum-buch-kunst-voor-das-reich-le-tresor-de-guerre-des-nazis
You must be logged in to post a comment.