Fair and just solutions_vDEF:Opmaak 1 25-11-14 12:19 Pagina 1 The title of this book, Fair and Just Solutions?, refers to the norm for the assessment of Evelien Campfens (Ed.) Sixteen years after the adoption of the L’Olivette ownership claims to Nazi-looted art as codified in the so-called Washington Principles in 1998: so-called Washington Principles on The drawing that serves as the Nazi-confiscated art, questions remain background of this cover is If the pre-War owners of art that is found to have been confiscated by the Nazis and about their scope for ownership Fair and just solutions? and just Fair L'Olivette by Vincent van Gogh. not subsequently restituted, or their heirs, can be identified, steps should be taken Evelien Campfens (Ed.) issues. expeditiously to achieve a just and fair solution, recognizing this may vary according to It was restituted in August 1999 the facts and circumstances surrounding a specific case. by the Stiftung Preußischer Kultur- In what sense do Nazi-looted art besitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage The question mark in the title is a reference to the lack of clarity surrounding this Fair and just claims differ from other claims Foundation) to the sole heir of norm. What is 'fair and just'? regarding spoliated art, and what is Max Silberberg, who died at the the position of someone who acquired hands of the National Socialists. This publication aims to evaluate the status quo in the field of non-governmental the work in its more recent history? restitution claims to Nazi-looted art. In addition, through contributions by leading This can be seen as one of the Moreover, what neutral procedures are experts and a discussion amongst stakeholders, it explores a way to move forward. solutions? available to parties seeking answers to early examples of a ‘just and fair’ solution under the Washington these questions, taking into account Principles of December 1998. that the Washington Principles This book was created under the auspices of the Dutch Restitutions Committee and describe alternative dispute resolution based on papers, discussions and insights gathered during an international conference Alternatives to litigation in Nazi-looted art (ADR) mechanisms as an instrument at the Peace Palace in The Hague in November 2012. Both the book and the conference for resolving ownership issues? were initiated and developed by the Bureau of the Restitutions Committee. This book Although a formal legalistic approach was edited by Evelien Campfens, director of the Bureau of the Restitutions Committee. disputes: status quo and new developments is generally not accepted as an adequate response, this does not mean legal guidelines are unnecessary. This book aims to give an overview of the status quo in the field, both in countries where special committees have been installed and beyond. Through contributions by leading experts and a discussion amongst stakeholders it explores a way to move forward, and makes a case for inter- national cooperation and neutral and transparent procedures for solving ownership issues. 14.135 - 25.11.2014 - Rug 19,0 mm Fair and Just Solutions? Fair and Just Solutions? Alternatives to litigation in Nazi-looted art disputes: status quo and new developments Evelien Campfens (Ed.) Published, sold and distributed by Eleven International Publishing P.O. Box 85576 2508 CG The Hague The Netherlands Tel.: +31 70 33 070 33 Fax: +31 70 33 070 30 e-mail: [email protected] www.elevenpub.com Sold and distributed in USA and Canada International Specialized Book Services 920 NE 58th Avenue, Suite 300 Portland, OR 97213-3786, USA Tel.: 1-800-944-6190 (toll-free) Fax: +1 503 280-8832 [email protected] www.isbs.com Eleven International Publishing is an imprint of Boom uitgevers Den Haag. ISBN 978-94-6236-471-4 ISBN 978-94-6274-210-9 (E-book) © 2015 The authors | Eleven International Publishing This publication is protected by international copyright law. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed in The Netherlands Table of Contents Foreword ix Preface xiii Abbreviations xv 1 Introduction 1 by the editor Part I Status Quo 2 Sources of Inspiration: Old and New Rules for Looted Art 13 Evelien Campfens 3 National Panels Advising on Nazi-looted Art in Austria, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany – A Brief Overview 41 Annemarie Marck and Eelke Muller 4 Just and Fair Solutions – A View from the United States 91 Douglas Davidson “Ultimately, the Applicant Needs to Feel that Justice Has Been Done”– An Interview with Alfred Jacobsen 103 Annemarie Marck and Marleen Schoonderwoerd Part II Discussion Stakeholders on Fair and Just 5 Panel Discussion 111 Edited by Floris Kunert and Evelien Campfens 6 A Fruitful Discussion 135 Rob Polak “We Want to Honour the Memory of Our Great-grandparents”– An Interview with Ella Andriesse and Robert Sturm 141 Annemarie Marck and Marleen Schoonderwoerd v Table of Contents Part III How Can We Do Better? 7 The Best We Can Do? – Exploring a Collegiate Approach to Holo- caust-related Claims 153 Norman Palmer 8 Just and Fair Solutions: An Analysis of International Practice and Trends 187 Marc-André Renold and Alessandro Chechi 9 Key Elements of Just and Fair Solutions – The Case for a Restatement of Restitution Principles 201 Matthias Weller 10 Between Justice and Legal Closure – Looted Art Claims and the Passage of Time 211 Wouter Veraart “A Joyful Windfall”– An Interview with Bas van Lier 223 Annemarie Marck and Marleen Schoonderwoerd 11 Final Remarks 231 by the editor Appendices 241 1 Inter-Allied Declaration against Acts of Dispossession committed in Territories under Enemy Occupation or Control 243 2 Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-confiscated Art 245 3 Resolution 1205 (1999) on Looted Jewish Cultural Property of the Council of Europe 247 4 Vilnius Forum Declaration (2000) 251 5 European Parliament Resolution (2003) 253 6 Terezín Declaration (2009) 261 vi Table of Contents 7 Draft UNESCO Declaration of Principles Relating to Cultural Objects Displaced in Connection with the Second World War (2009) 267 8 Bundesgesetz über die Rückgabe von Kunstgegenständen aus den Österreichischen Bundesmuseen und Sammlungen – [Federal Act Regarding the Restitution of Artworks from Austrian Federal Museums and Collections] 271 9 Décret n°99-778 du 10 septembre 1999 instituant la CIVS – [Decree No. 99-778 of 10 September 1999 establishing a commission for the compensation of victims of spoliations resulting from the anti- Semitic legislation in force during the Occupation] 279 10 Spoliation Advisory Panel, constitution and terms of reference 285 11 Decree Advisory Committee on the Assessment of Restitution Applications for Items of Cultural Value and the Second World War 289 12 Absprache zwischen Bund, Ländern und kommunalen Spitzenver- bänden zur Einsetzung einer Beratenden Kommission im Zusam- menhang mit der Rückgabe NS-verfolgungsbedingt entzogenen Kulturguts, insbesondere aus jüdischem Besitz 293 13 The Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009 295 14 Parallel or Analogous Claims 299 Index 303 About the Authors 307 vii Foreword To mark its tenth anniversary on Tuesday 27 November 2012, the Dutch Restitutions Committee staged an international symposium at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the building which is “as mighty and magnificent as the idea of world peace itself”, to quote the words spoken at its opening in 1913. As the seat of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the International Court of Justice of the United Nations, for over the past one hundred years the Peace Palace has become an icon of peace and justice. With this in mind, one could not have imagined a more suitable place for a symposium on the issue of art treasures looted by the Nazis in the Second World War. The topic of restitution cannot be considered solely from a legalistic perspective. Restitution cases cannot be regarded outside the context of profound emotions and human drama. A large proportion of the hundreds of thousands of works of art ‘taken’ by the Nazis from the Netherlands, Belgium, France and other European countries came from the homes of Jewish families who had been transported to concentration camps. Many of the owners of this looted art did not survive these camps. A cold reception and a looted home awaited those few who did return. And if, by some miracle, they had survived the camps but their family had been murdered, they had other things on their mind than missing household effects and artworks. Surviving children are often not exactly sure of what was actually in the home of their parents. But if after many years something has been returned, it signifies much more to the survivors than simply ownership of a precious piece of art. The return of looted art to the rightful heirs means for them a tangible memory of parents or grandparents whom they – in many cases – never or hardly knew. Restitution for them also feels like the fulfil- ment of a debt of honour. This makes the burden of responsibility of the work of the Restitutions Committee even heavier. The Restitutions Committee was initially established to advise the government on claims to works in the national art collection. The Committee has since made 130 recom- mendations, virtually all of which have been adopted. The large majority of these recom- mendations involve works of art that disappeared into Germany during the occupation and were later restituted by the Allies to the Dutch government. Nowadays the Dutch national collection still contains an ‘heirless art collection’ of approximately 4,000 works of art, which is known as the Nederlands Kunstbezit-collectie (Netherlands Art Property Collection), or NK collection for short.