UPDATE: Following the Süddeutsche Zeitung's report of 19/20 February 2025 on the number of works suspected of being looted art in the holdings of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, the parties involved exchanged their partially divergent views on the facts of the case. The Süddeutsche Zeitung has edited the online version of the article in two sections to clarify that the classification in the “red category” does not correspond to a clear categorisation as looted art from the point of view of the Staatsgemäldesammlungen, but only means a suspicion of looted art and that the number of works marked as ‘red’ currently only amounts to 97 according to the Staatsgemäldesammlungen. The parties have thus settled the legal disputes over the content of the reporting, each maintaining their factual and legal positions.

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In response to the article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung titled ‘Alarmstufe Rot’ (‘Red alert’) of 20 February 2025 about a list of allegedly 200 looted works of art in the holdings of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, we hereby issue the following statement:

The Süddeutsche Zeitung claims to be in possession of a ‘red list’ and further stated:

‘200 works in the Bavarian State Painting Collections are Nazi-looted art according to internal museum documents.’ („200 Werke in den Bayerischen Staatsgemäldesammlungen sind internen Museumsdokumenten zufolge NS-Raubkunst.“) The works on the list are categorised as ‘red’, which means that they are clearly looted art, that they must be returned immediately and that the heirs must be informed as a matter of urgency. It is also claimed that the public should never have seen this list.

All of these statements are false. In fact, at the time of the article, there was no internal museum document with 200 works labelled as ‘red’. It is true that 97 works in the holdings of the Bavarian State Painting Collections are currently marked in red. This marking is already assigned if potentially affected persons assert restitution claims or if looted art is suspected, i.e. if there is a need for research. The crucial false assertion of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, which ultimately forms the basis of the entire article, is therefore that an internal review has long since clearly identified the works on the list as looted art to be returned in accordance with the Washington Principles.

It is equally wrong that large parts of the list and the findings identified there have not been made public. In fact, 53 of the artworks on the list are already registered with Lost Art and 82 of the paintings in the Online Collection are accessible to the public with their provenance chains.

The impression conveyed in the article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung that no restitutions have taken place is also false. In total, the Bavarian State Painting Collections have made 25 restitutions since the signing of the Washington Principles, including five in the years 2020 - 2024 alone, according to a decision by the State Ministry of Science and the Arts. A total of nine further works are currently awaiting restitution, four of which were approved in December 2024.

The German Lost Art Foundation (DZK) confirmed today that the categorisation of the traffic light colours at the Bavarian State Painting Collections corresponds to standard museum practice, whereby the specific details may vary.

The Bavarian State Painting Collections have therefore commissioned the renowned press law expert Professor Dr Christian Schertz, Berlin, to examine legal steps against the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The Bavarian State Painting Collections are pleased about the press release of 25 February 2025, in which the Bavarian State Minister of Science and the Arts, Markus Blume, promised additional funding for provenance research and will immediately implement the tasks articulated therein.

PRESS DEPARTMENT
Tine Nehler, M.A. 
Head of Press & Communications
Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek, Sammlung Schack and Branch Galleries 
& 
Pinakothek der Moderne (Art| Prints & Drawings | Architecture | Design) 
Richard-Wagner-Str. 1 | 80333 Munich
+49 (0)162 2621301 
presse@pinakothek.de 
www.pinakothek.de/presse

The Bavarian State Painting Collections vehemently reject the accusations made in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of 20 February 2025. In particular, this concerns the accusation of deliberately withholding information in cases of suspected looted art and generally not acting transparently.

TRANSPARENCY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF RESEARCH RESULTS

All works known to the Bavarian State Painting Collections (BStGS) that are suspected of being looted art have been accessible to the public in the Online Collection of the BStGS since 2022. The list provided to the Süddeutsche Zeitung therefore contains no new information. The information has been accessible to the general public online since 2022.

The contents of our database were passed on without authorisation and at an unknown time. We will not authorise them. Furthermore, they no longer correspond to the current state of research: the leaked list is therefore outdated and reflects the so-called initial check of the work groups (acquired 1933-1945, acquisitions from Nazi ownership) and an initial evaluation of the works acquired after 1945 completed in 2020. The aim was a rough classification in the colour scheme of the provenance traffic light for internal purposes in order to prioritise the works for the ‘in-depth research’.

All final research results have been published by the BStGS in the Online Collection since 2022: www.sammlung.pinakothek.de. There are currently 1453 provenances online. The number of works researched is constantly increasing.
Here you can find the results of the projects (only available in German):
Project: Kunstwerke aus ehem. NS-Besitz
Project: Erwerbungen 1933-1945
Project: Klassische Moderne
A contact form is active there for further questions.

The Bavarian State Painting Collections have been reporting on current claims for years in the annual report of the Forschungsverbund Provenienzforschung Bayern (Bavarian Provenance Research Network). Claims for restitution and current research in the current reporting year are published there.

In other words, we are dealing transparently with the results of provenance research, as called for in the Washington Principles. As a result of these publications, we are constantly receiving new restitution claims, legal successors can be identified and works can be restituted: This takes place on an ongoing and continuous basis, as can be seen on the BStGS website at www.pinakothek.de/en/the-museums/research/provenance-research.

The list provided to the Süddeutsche Zeitung therefore contains no new information that has not already been available to the general public since 2022.

THE PROVENANCE TRAFFIC LIGHT IN THE INTERNAL DATABASE

The so-called ‘provenance traffic light’ is a classification system for works acquired after 1933 and created before 1945. The classification is colour-coded according to the state of research and is updated on an ongoing basis.

Red: The red classification is based on two very different criteria: On the one hand, it applies to works suspected of being looted art after the initial check. On the other hand, works for which a restitution claim already exists or has been rejected are also assigned the same colour. The works from the Flechtheim and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy cases are accordingly marked as ‘red’.

APPLICATION

These categorisations are dynamic and adapt to the latest research. They are a work in progress and change depending on the state of research. In particular, they serve to prioritise the in-depth research for cases to be processed. They also support internal communication between the Provenance Research team and colleagues involved in the academic, curatorial or technical aspects of the works.

The current state of provenance research is due to the consistent and high level of commitment of the small team involved. The systematic review of over 5,000 works in the initial check was a major research achievement, which in many cases led to an in-depth knowledge of the provenance of the analysed works in the first place. The continuity in terms of personnel and methodology allows systematic processing of the cases, which is still being continued. Information on the current status can be found on our homepage under Provenance Research.

LOST-ART-REPORTS

The Lost Art Database records cultural artefacts that were confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution, particularly from Jewish owners. The documentation of an individual object or a collection in the Lost Art Database does not imply that it is actually a cultural artefact that was confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution or that was removed or lost in connection with the Second World War.

OUR CRITERIA FOR FOUND-OBJECT REPORTS

There is a general suspicion of looted art if owners or art dealers of Jewish origin appear in the provenance chain or works of art have been confiscated as a result of persecution. These works are given the traffic light colour ‘red’. However, the specific circumstances of the loss are not always directly documented, which is why an in-depth investigation is carried out before a Lost Art report is filed. If the suspicion is confirmed, a report will of course be made in the Lost Art Database.

376 found-object reports: The Bavarian State Painting Collections have currently reported 376 works suspected of being looted art in the Lost Art Database. These originate from the research projects ‘Acquisitions 1933 to 1945’ and ‘Transfers from Nazi Ownership’. The ‘transfers from Nazi ownership’ in particular are highly likely to be classified as problematic due to their origin in the possession of persons such as Hitler, Göring or Amann and are therefore always reported.

In addition to found-object reports, Lost Art is also used for search reports: The Bavarian State Painting Collections have currently reported 674 objects that were lost during the war and are being searched for.

RESTITUTION CLAIM IN THE CASE FLECHTHEIM AND COMMUNICATION WITH HEIRS

The exchange with the heirs must be clearly distinguished from public communication. The allegation that relevant research results were withheld from the heirs' representative, Mr Stötzel, is not correct.

The BStGS were in close contact with Mr Stötzel for the entire duration of the provenance research on all the claimed works. All facts obtained through the provenance research were forwarded to him with supporting documents.

CONCLUSION

The Bavarian State Painting Collections are demonstrably committed to transparent and scientifically sound provenance research. The results are handled in accordance with international standards, in particular the Washington Principles. The ongoing publication of research findings and active dialogue with heirs underscore this responsible approach.