Preliminary List of Educational Material on Looted Cultural Property and Provenance Research
Australia
| Topic | Institution | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property restitution | RMIT University, Melbourne | The RMIT University in Melbourne offers a PhD and Master’s program examining socio-legal and economic ramifications for lost property due to war, genocide or man-made/natural disasters. | Restitution for missing property – art, objects and land – consequent of genocide, war, natural disasters |
Germany
| Topic | Institution | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project Foundation / Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte / Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste / University of Cologne | This English-language introduction provides insight into the topic using sources that document the historical processes of exclusion, persecution, expropriation or confiscation, and “Verwertung” (exploitation) of Jewish cultural property. | How to Research Nazi-Looted Art |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project Foundation / Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte / Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste / University of Cologne | This German-language introduction provides insight into the topic using sources that document the historical processes of exclusion, persecution, expropriation or confiscation, and “Verwertung” (exploitation) of Jewish cultural property. | NS-Raubkunst: Wie kann ich recherchieren? |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Freie Universität Berlin / Landesstelle für nichtstaatliche Museen in Bayern | A course on provenance research is offered by the Freie Universität Berlin (Free University Berlin) in cooperation with the Landesstelle für nichtstaatliche Museen in Bayern (State Office for Non-State Museums in Bavaria). | Provenienzforschung über die Herkunft der Objekte. Weiterbildungsprogramm zur Provenienzforschung |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn | The Art History Institute at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wihelms-University Bonn is offering a new master’s program in provenance research and the history of collecting. | Provenienzforschung und Geschichte des Sammelns |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Leuphana University Lüneburg | The Provenance Lab at Leuphana University Lüneburg is an interdisciplinary research and teaching hub in the field of provenance studies. The Provenance Lab is headed by Prof. Dr. Lynn Rother. | Provenance Lab |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Jewish Museum Berlin | The Jewish Museum Berlin is offering an online game that encourages its user to make decisions on a fictious looted painting. The game was developed in connection with the museum’s exhibit “Looting and Restitution. Jewish-Owned Cultural Artifacts.” | “What would you decide?” |
| General | Zentralrat der Juden / Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs in Germany | The Zentralrat der Juden and the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs in Germany provide online access to educational material, including on Judaica collections. | Kommentierte Materialiensammlung zur Vermittlung des Judentums |
Israel
| Topic | Institution | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Tel Aviv University / University of Bonn | Tel Aviv University in cooperation with the University of Bonn, under Prof. Leora Bilsky, was offering a class on law and provenance research. | Nazi-Looted Art: Law and Provenance Research |
| General | Yad Vashem | Yad Vashem is offering an educational program with a focus on the world of the Jewish children of the Theresienstadt ghetto through artworks. | Between the Worlds: Social Circles in the Theresienstadt Ghetto – A Learning Environment |
| Looted cultural property | Leo Baeck Institute | The Leo Baeck Institutes in Jerusalem and London launched an online exhibition project titled Library of Lost Books. The project aims to educate about the Higher Institute for Jewish Studies, Berlin (Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, 1872–1942) that was dedicated to the study of Jewish history and culture and to rabbinical studies in Liberal Judaism. The Hochschule’s library was ultimately looted by the Nazis and dispersed across the world. | Library of Lost Books |
Italy
| Topic | Institution | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) | ARCA offers an annual postgraduate certificate program to study art crimes and cultural heritage protection in Amelia, Italy. One of the lectures offered exclusively deals with Nazi-era provenance research. | Postgraduate Certificate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection |
The Netherlands
| Topic | Institution | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | University of Amsterdam | The University of Amsterdam is offering a new Master Program in Heritage and Memory Studies focusing on provenance research and restitution. The Expert Centre Restitution of NIOD (the Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies) is one of the University’s partners. | Master Program in Heritage and Memory Studies |
Switzerland
| Topic | Institution | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| General (provenance research / looted cultural property) | Kunstmuseum Bern | In connection with the museum’s Gurlitt exhibit, the Art Museum Bern prepared educational material. The material mostly focuses on key terms such as “degenerate art,” but some of the definitions relating to provenance research, looted art, restitution, etc. might be of interest. | Gurlitt für die Schule. Texte zur Ausstellung im Kunstmuseum Bern. Bestandesaufnahme Gurlitt. “Entartete Kunst” – beschlagnahmt und verkauft |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | University of Neuchâtel | The University offers a Certificate in Advanced Studies (CAS) in the field of provenance research: “Module II – Looted Property in the Era of National Socialism.” Registration deadline is August 19, 2024. | Registrations and terms | CAS in Provenance Research (cas-recherche-provenance.ch) |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | ICOM Switzerland | ICOM Switzerland – International Museum Council is recommending educational material aimed at professionals and masters’ students from conservation-restoration, art, law and natural sciences, forensics and art trade. It introduces students to provenance research. | Werkzuschreibung und Provenienzrecherche interdisziplinär |
United Kingdom
| Topic | Institution | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| General (provenance research / looted cultural property) | Holocaust Educational Trust | UK’s Holocaust Educational Trust is offering educational material titled “Art and the Holocaust: A Teachers’ Guide,” with a focus on Jewish artists depicting the Holocaust. The material includes references to “plunder,” and “degenerate art,” etc. | Art and the Holocaust: A Teachers’ Guide |
United States
| Topic | Institution | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | University of Denver | The Center for Art Collection Ethics at the University of Denver periodically offers weeklong summer training programs designed for “graduate students and emerging museum and art market professionals.” A postgraduate certificate of completion is offered. | Trainings – Center for Art Collection Ethics |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | N/A | The high school curriculum entitled “Art & Plunder: Through the lens of the Holocaust” by Amalia Abecassis, explores the history of artworks looted during the Nazi-era and provides an understanding of how the looting happened, what methods are used to document the history of ownership, and whether art, collections, collectors, and museums can help us teach the Holocaust. | Art & Plunder: Through the lens of the Holocaust |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | IFAR – International Foundation for Art Research | IFAR is offering an introductory, practical training course in provenance research aimed at both advanced students and professionals. | Introduction to Provenance Research |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Smithsonian / Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) | The Smithsonian and the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) research exchange program for museum professionals (PREP) brought together museum professionals from both sides of the Atlantic who specialized in World War II-era provenance research for a three-year, systematic exchange (2017-2019). | German/American Provenance Research Exchange Program for Museum Professionals (PREP) |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Stanford University Continuing Studies | This course at the Stanford campus examines legal, ethical, political, historical, cultural, and financial questions about contested art across history and the globe. | Stolen Art: Historical, Cultural, and Legal Perspectives on Contested Ownership |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | The educational material from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, titled “A teacher’s guide on how to study the Holocaust within art or an art history class,” establishes what role art plays in society by analyzing the Degenerate Art Exhibition and the power of art propaganda. | A teacher’s guide on how to study the Holocaust within art or an art history class |
Other
| Topic | Institution | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | European Shoah Legacy Institute (ESLI) | In accordance with the Terezin Declaration, the European Shoah Legacy Institute (ESLI) sponsored a series of provenance research training program workshops organized and administered by the Claims Conference. Information is now available only through the Wayback Machine. | Provenance Research Training Program Magdeburg, Germany, 2012 Report Provenance Research Training Program Zagreb, Croatia, 2013 PRTP Zagreb Report Photo Gallery Provenance Research Training Program, Vilnius, Lithuania, 2013 PRTP Vilnius Report Provenance Research Training Program, Athens, Greece, 2014 PRTP Athens Report Photo Gallery Provenance Research Training Program, Rome, Italy, 2014 PRTP Rome Report Photo Gallery |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | TransCultAA – Transfer of Cultural Objects in the Alpe Adria Region in the 20th Century | The TransCultAA early career researcher summer school in Zadar, Croatia, provided training and instruction on provenance research for international curators, students, art historians, historians, archeologists, and researchers. | Transfer of Cultural Objects in the Alpe Adria Region in the 20th Century [program of summer school] |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte / Department of Humanities and Cultural Heritage University of Udine | A workshop, entitled “The Fascist art market before, during and after the Rome-Berlin Axis,” for doctoral students and senior scholars was organized at the Villa Vigoni in 2019. The workshop’s goal was to explore both the internal dynamics of the art market (role of dealers, collectors, experts and art historians) and the relevance of political and economic instances. | The Fascist Art Market before, during and after the Rome-Berlin Axis |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Christie’s | The auction house Christie’s is offering virtual courses on provenance research. | Provenance and Restitution: The Stories Behind the Art |
| Provenance research / looted cultural property | Christie’s | The auction house Christie’s is offering a grant for Nazi-era provenance research. The grant will be offered to four recipients. | The Christie’s Grant for Nazi-era Provenance Research |
For an overview of additional resources on Nazi-looted cultural and religious property, see the Claims Conference/WJRO “Looted Cultural Property Initiative” website, particularly the “resources” section.
For suggestions and additions, please send an email to: info@jdcrp.org.
last updated: January 29, 2026