The Documentation Centre for Property Transfers
of the Cultural Assets of WWII Victims
Uncovering, documenting
and investigating historical injustices
News
Guided tours of the exhibition From the Shadows to the Light
Follow in the footsteps of books that survived one of the darkest chapters in European history. A guided tour of the exhibition From the Shadows to the Light will reveal the fates of books and book collections looted by the Nazis from European Jewish...Show detail
From the Shadows to the Light: Hebrew Books in the Memory of the National Library
The exhibition, 'From Shadows to Light', presents a selection from an extraordinary collection of nearly 700 Hebrew prints held in the National Library of the Czech Republic. Each of these books has a unique story behind it. The Nazis confiscated them...Show detail
Karl Maria Swoboda, the Trustee for Reich-owned Artistic Property
In September 1941, Adolf Hitler definitively confirmed Karel Maria Swoboda’s appointment as a full professor. Meanwhile, Swoboda, who had headed the Department of Art History since 1934, continued to strengthen his position in the field. By the end...Show detail
Karl Maria Swoboda, a connoisseur of local matters
Reviewing the career of Prof Dr Karel Maria Swoboda (1889, Prague–1977, Rekawinkel)—a leading art historian at the German University (known as the German Charles University between 1939 and 1945), the University of Vienna, and, during the Protectorate,...Show detail
International Provenance Research Day, April 8, 2026
To mark the 8th annual International Provenance Research Day, the Documentation Centre has prepared an online exhibition focused on the original owners of confiscated works of art. The individual stories not only recount the fates of the collectors themselves...Show detail
Paintings from Jewish Collections at the National Gallery in Prague II. Identified Owners
The second volume of the publication devoted to the provenance of paintings in the National Gallery in Prague presents not only the paintings themselves but also their original owners, identified through research. The book, entitled Paintings from Jewish...Show detail
A long-term research project dedicated to the painting collection administered by the National Gallery in Prague has been completed by the Documentation Centre
You can look forward to the new publication, Paintings from Jewish Collections in the National Gallery in Prague II. Identified Owners before the end of 2025 in an online version and in early 2026 in print!Show detail
Identified original owners
The fates of the original owners of the Nazi looted art
Publications
Paintings from Jewish Collections at the National Gallery in Prague II. Identified Owners
The second volume of the publication devoted to the provenance of paintings in the National Gallery in Prague presents not only the paintings themselves but also their original owners, identified through research. The book, entitled Paintings from Jewish...Show detail
A nation lives as long as its cultural monuments live. Art theft in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia 1939–1945. Mechanisms, development, contexts.
The publication "A nation lives as long as its cultural monuments live. Loot of art in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia in the years 1939–1945. Form, Course, Context" maps the confiscation of art objects and valuables on the territory of the...Show detail
Proceedings of the International Conference Transferred to Reich Ownership
On 17 - 18 September 2024, the Documentation Centre for Property Transfers of the Cultural Assets of WWII Victims, p.b.o. organized the 8th International Conference on the expropriation of property during the Second World War. These proceedings contain...Show detail