Researching origins – assuming responsibility
[Where do the objects now held in the collections of the Military History Museum come from? Many works of art and cultural artefacts have complex histories. Provenance research investigates the origins of objects and examines whether they entered museum collections lawfully. Over the past 25 years, provenance research has increasingly developed into a distinct field within cultural and historical studies.
The Washington Declaration (1998) and the subsequent Joint Declaration (1999) by German federal, regional and local government laid the foundation for the growing importance of provenance research. Forty-four states committed themselves, on moral and ethical grounds, to identifying and returning cultural property that had been confiscated during the Nazi era from 1933 to 1945.
“Washington Principles” and “Joint Declaration” (Common Statement)
However, cultural property confiscated during Nazi persecution is not the only focus of provenance research. In museums in modern-day eastern Germany in particular, expropriations from the period of the Soviet occupation zone between 1945 and 1949 are also frequently encountered. Moreover, the GDR later confiscated cultural assets from refugees and officially permitted emigrants, and in some cases expropriated private collectors under the pretext of fabricated tax investigations.
In order to generate foreign currency, the GDR Army Museum had to cooperate with the state-run Kunst- und Antiquitätenhandel GmbH (Art and Antiques Trading Company). Earlier historical periods are also relevant, for example when dealing with colonial contexts.
In order to clarify the provenance of collection objects, research into the museum’s own history is also required. This also includes research into collection holdings that may once have been lost during the turmoil of war. At the Military History Museum, provenance research currently focuses on two areas: art and the library.
An external researcher currently supports the museum in connection with its art collection. From 2020 to 2024, the library’s holdings were examined by the Bundeswehr’s team responsible for the identification and restitution of Nazi-looted art and Nazi spoils based in Bonn. The evaluation of this data is expected to be completed by 2028.
In a special exhibition on the history of the museum planned for 2027, a separate section will be devoted to the topic of provenance research, documenting and critically examining the different ways in which objects entered the collection.
