British Museum Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Nazi-looted art === In 2002 the heirs of Arthur Feldmann, an art collector murdered in the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]], requested that four old master drawings stolen by the [[Gestapo]] in 1939 be returned to the family. A UK High Court judge ruled in 2005 that it would be illegal for the British Museum to return artworks looted by the Nazis to a Jewish family, despite its willingness and moral obligation to do so.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Art stolen by Nazis 'cannot be returned' |url=https://www.lootedart.com/news.php?r=MLG5GO355021 |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=www.lootedart.com |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118051414/https://www.lootedart.com/news.php?r=MLG5GO355021 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |date=14 July 2005 |title=Britain stuck on Nazi-looted art |url=https://www.jta.org/2005/07/14/lifestyle/britain-stuck-on-nazi-looted-art |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118052600/https://www.jta.org/2005/07/14/lifestyle/britain-stuck-on-nazi-looted-art |url-status=live }}</ref> The law was changed in 2009,<ref>{{Cite news |title=New British Law Lets Museums Return Works Stolen by Nazis |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2009-11-15/ty-article/new-british-law-lets-museums-return-works-stolen-by-nazis/0000017f-db50-d856-a37f-ffd0b32b0000 |access-date=18 January 2023 |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118052602/https://www.haaretz.com/2009-11-15/ty-article/new-british-law-lets-museums-return-works-stolen-by-nazis/0000017f-db50-d856-a37f-ffd0b32b0000 |url-status=live }}</ref> and again in 2022<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lawson-Tancred |first=Jo |date=27 September 2022 |title=A New U.K. Law Gives Museums Unprecedented Power to Deaccession Art and Repatriate Objects in Their Collections |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/charities-act-museums-repatriate-2182298 |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118052600/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/charities-act-museums-repatriate-2182298 |url-status=live }}</ref> giving museums additional powers to return looted art or provide compensation. The heirs of Dr Feldmann accepted a compensation payment for a looted drawing and stated that they were happy the drawing would remain in the British Museum collection.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Buganim |first=Eitan |date=17 October 2013 |title=British Museum Compensates Collector's Heirs for Art Looted by Nazis |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-10-17/ty-article/.premium/british-museum-pays-out-for-nazi-looted-art/0000017f-f862-d318-afff-fb6358490000 |access-date=18 January 2023 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210132403/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-10-17/ty-article/.premium/british-museum-pays-out-for-nazi-looted-art/0000017f-f862-d318-afff-fb6358490000 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the British Museum Spoliation report published by the Collections Trust in 2017, "Around 30% of some 21,350 continental and British drawings acquired since 1933 have an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the 1933β1945 period".<ref>{{Cite web |title=British Museum β Collections Trust |url=https://records.collectionstrust.org.uk/institution/british-museum/ |access-date=18 January 2023 |language=en-US |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118052602/https://records.collectionstrust.org.uk/institution/british-museum/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The museum lists these works on its website and investigates claims for restitution.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1933β45 provenance |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/1933-45-provenance |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=The British Museum |archive-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118065625/https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/1933-45-provenance |url-status=live }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page