Flemish Culture minister Caroline Gennez is setting up an expert group and a permanent restitution commission to tackle art looted by the Nazis.
During its rule in Germany, the Nazi party looted art on a massive scale across Europe, including Belgium. The Nazis bought cultural objects – often by force and at very low prices – or stole them from private owners and then sold them to collectors and museums. Many of these objects were never returned to their original owners.
Belgium has not yet done so, and Flanders is now taking the lead on the issue. “Unlike other occupied countries like the Netherlands or France, we have been passive for too long,” says Gennez. “We have to catch up. Art that was looted or sold by force must be returned to its rightful owners.”
A six-member committee made up of lawyers and historians will develop a framework for settling claims and organising provenance research. It will be chaired by Bruno De Wever, a professor of history specialising in the Second World War and brother of prime minister Bart De Wever. A permanent restitution commission will then be set up to advise on claims.
It remains to be seen whether Belgium as a whole will follow Flanders’ lead. Claims for looted art have also been made against federal institutions, and paintings from Nazi Germany have ended up in museums of the French Community, De Standaard writes.
