processes
Database for Nazi loot – art collector fails at the Federal Court of Justice
The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe. photo
© Uli Deck/dpa
An art dealer failed before the BGH in an attempt to have an entry on a suspected case of Nazi loot deleted from a database. According to the judgement, the interests of previous owners prevail.
An art dealer is on Federal Court of Justice (BGH) failed in an attempt to have an entry in a database for potential Nazi loot deleted.
According to the judgement, the interest of previous owners or their legal successors and the general public interest in the provenance of cultural assets confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution outweigh the economic interest of the current owner in keeping the true facts secret.
The presiding judge in Karlsruhe suggested that the plaintiff could possibly be successful if he takes action in administrative courts against the operator of the lost art database – the German Lost Art Foundation based in Magdeburg. The man had previously sued the trustees of a Canadian trust who had commissioned a search report for the “Calabrian Coast” by the painter Andreas Achenbach (1815-1910).
The painting had previously belonged to the Jewish art dealer Max Stern, who was banned from working by the National Socialists and sold the picture. The plaintiff bought the painting at auction – there is no doubt that it was rightfully owned. At an exhibition in Baden-Baden, he found out that the picture had appeared in the database and was being searched for via Interpol. The man wanted his property not to be further criticized. He also failed in the lower courts.