Research projects
Research
Provenance research
Between 1933 and 1945, the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum acquired more than 5,000 objects, and another 70,000 objects were added after 1945. The museum was one of the first in Germany to take on the task of researching problematic aspects of its history and making them public. In the 1960s, around 700 works from Nazi possessions were transferred to the museum. These items are the focus of the investigation into their origins. The additions from Nazi holdings can be viewed online. We regularly proactively seek contact with aggrieved parties in order to return works to their rightful owners.
contactAcquisition records 1933–1945 online
With the support of the Ministry of Science and Art, the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum has published its aquisition records from 1933 to 1950 online.
The inventory records have been published on the website of the Forschungsverbund Provenienzforschung Bayern (FPB) (the Bavarian network for provenance research) to facilitate the identification of Nazi looted art in the museum's holdings. It lists the circumstances of access to works of art that came to the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in the period between 1933 and 1950. Not every acquisition during this period (purchase, donation/endowment, bequest, exchange, etc.) has an unlawful, violence- or persecution-related context.
For data protection reasons, redactions had to be carried out in some places.
Research in the museum involves the scientific treatment of objects, groups of objects and object contexts.
Deutscher Museumsbund