Commission pour l’indemnisation des victimes de spoliations intervenues du fait des législations antisémites en vigueur pendant l’Occupation Report to the public on the work of the 2019 Proceedings of the symposium held on November 15, 2019 Speech by French President Jacques Chirac, on July 16, 1995, at the commemoration of the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup (July 16, 1942) Excerpts « In the life of a nation, there are times that leave painful memories and damage people’s conception of their country. It is difficult to evoke these moments because we can never find the proper words to describe their horror or to express the grief of those who experienced their tragedy. They will carry forever, in their souls and in their flesh, the memory of these days of tears and shame. [… ] On that day, France, land of the Enlightenment, of Human Rights, of welcome and asylum, committed the irreparable. Breaking its word, it handed those who were under its protection over to their executioners. [… ] Our debt to them is inalienable. [… ] In passing on the history of the Jewish people, of its sufferings and of the camps. In bearing witness again and again. In recognizing the errors of the past, and the errors committed by the State. In concealing nothing about the dark hours of our history, we are simply standing up for a vision of humanity, of human liberty and dignity. We are thus struggling against the forces of darkness, which are constantly at work. [… ] Let us learn the lessons of history. Let us refuse to be passive onlookers, or accomplices, of unacceptable acts. » * * * Decree No. 99-778 of September 10, 1999 establishing a Commission for the Compensation of Victims of Spoliation Resulting from the Anti-Semitic Legislation in Force during the Occupation. Article 1 « A commission shall be set up under the Prime Minister tasked with examining individual applications presented by the victims or their heirs to make reparations for losses resulting from the spoliations of property that occurred due to anti-Semitic laws passed during the Occupation, both by the Occupying forces and by the Vichy authorities. The Commission is responsible for seeking and proposing appropriate means of reparation, restitution or compensation. » Report to the public on the work of the 2019 3 CONTENTS Foreword ........................................................................... 7 Part one: reparations and memory .................................... 9 1/ Twenty years of redress for spoliations ...........................................13 Compensating losses suffered .............................................................. 14 Reparation of bank-related spoliations ...................................................... 19 Searching for victims’ heirs ................................................................ 21 Appeals .................................................................................. 21 2/ A renewed mission for spoliated cultural property ............................. 22 A new cooperative framework with the Ministry of Culture ................................... 22 The new Mission involved in Franco-German cooperation .................................... 25 How the new Deliberative Panel functions .................................................. 27 Clarifying the notion of cultural property ................................................... 28 Paying back compensation in the event of restitution ........................................ 29 3/ The network of European restitution committees: a look back at its first year .... 30 4/ The CIVS’ role in terms of Franco-German remembrance efforts ..............31 The first edition of the «Spoliated Art» workshop (February 21, 2019) .......................... 31 «Comparative perspectives on remembrance sites» roundtable discussion (April 11, 2019) ....... 33 Partnership with the House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial ............................ 33 The conclusion of mediation actions: the Forner case ........................................ 34 Contribution to the Franco-German consultations on action against anti-Semitism (September 11, 2019) ...................................................................... 35 Testimonies from Raphaël Esrail in Berlin (on December 11 & 12, 2019) ........................ 35 5/ Adapting the Commission’s resources ........................................... 36 Department reshuffle ..................................................................... 36 New IT infrastructure ..................................................................... 36 Report to the public on the work of the 2019 5 CENTRAL SECTION: the Commission’s means in 2019 ..................................... 38 Part two: twenty years of redress for anti-Semitic spoliations during the Occupation: between compensation and returns (Proceedings of the symposium held on November 15, 2019) .................... 41 1/ Accueil de Lionel Jospin, ancien Premier ministre, par Michel Jeannoutot, Président de la CIVS .............................................. 45 2/ Discours de Lionel Jospin, ancien Premier ministre ........................................ 47 3/ Regard sur vingt ans de réparation : dialogue avec François Bernard, vice-président de la CIVS ................................................................ 52 4/ Des spoliations à la Mission Mattéoli (Anne Grynberg) ..................................... 56 5/ Remarks by Ambassador (ret) Stuart E. Eizenstat ........................................... 63 6/ Recomposer des histoires familiales (Serge Klarsfeld) ...................................... 73 7/ Le regard de la partie américaine à l’Accord de Washington (Sylviane Rochotte, Richard Weisberg) .................................................... 78 8/ Une réparation probablement incomplète (Jean-Michel Augustin) ........................... 82 9/ Politiques de réparation : l’exemple autrichien (Hannah M. Lessing) ......................... 86 10/ Présentation de la seconde partie : les biens culturels, « un domaine dans lequel nous devons faire mieux » (Ines Rotermund-Reynard) ............. 92 11/ The implementation of ‘just and fair’ solutions in Europe (Charlotte Woodhead, Matthias Weller) .................................................. 98 12/ En France, une nouvelle impulsion pour restituer les œuvres d’art spoliées (David Zivie) ........ 114 13/ Les défis de la recherche de provenance (Sébastien Chauffour) ............................ 117 14/ A European network – The traces of Art under control of Nazi Germany in World War II (Lea Grüter, Leonhard Weidinger) ....................................... 123 15/ The Challenge for Looted Libraries (Antonia Bartoli, Sebastian Finsterwalder) ............. 129 16/ Table ronde sur les ventes forcées : définition et approche comparée ...................... 136 17/ Synthèse de la journée (Frédérique Dreifuss-Netter) ..................................... 141 About the speakers ........................................................... 145 APPENDICES .................................................................. 149 6 Report to the public on the work of the 2019 FOREWORD Michel Jeannoutot, Chairman of the CIVS «I should like the Minister of Culture and Chairman Commission; an Expert Mission set up within of the CIVS to make sure that these new procedures the Ministry of Culture, tasked with reviewing apply with all the diligence and effectiveness that are the spoliation cases on which the Commission now necessary.» By announcing, on July 22, 2018, is called to make judgments; completion of the new means and renewed momentum given a database bringing together the paintings by the Government to the restitution of spoliated and drawings mentioned in its case files from cultural property, the Prime Minister has tasked the last twenty years; and review of the CIVS’ the Ministry of Culture and the CIVS with procedures, to «connect» it to the new partner ensuring that the new setup works effectively. Mission and oversee the decisions made on the basis of its recommendations by the Prime As the body tasked with proposing to the Prime Minister – henceforth the sole authority for Minister the measures taken by France to make making restitution decisions regarding spoliated amends for the losses following anti-Semitic cultural property. spoliations during the Occupation, in 2019 the CIVS saw its mission renewed for five years. The next five years are also set to benefit from the international partnerships forged in 2019. The next five years will no doubt be strongly The cooperative partnership agreed with the shaped by the Prime Minister’s pledged extensions Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste (German in favor of returning spoliated cultural property, Lost Art Foundation) nurtures closer ties with particularly items in the collections of public our German partners and incorporates the libraries and museums. «National collections still Mission for Research and Restitution of Cultural harbor a number of works which were spoliated from Property spoliated between 1933 and 1945. The Jews during the Occupation» (Edouard Philippe, July network of European restitution committees 22, 2018). has also had a very promising first year. Such The proactive stance adopted in this regard led an international profile has had an unexpected to meaningful action in practice as early as the effect too: of setting in motion a restitution first half of 2019, with four new qualified experts movement regarding property from Germany. and representatives of the Ministries