Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste

The German Center for Cultural Property Losses is the central German funding institution for provenance research. It supports public and private museums, libraries, archives, universities, as well as individuals in the research and clarification of unlawfully removed cultural property. This includes cultural property seized due to Nazi persecution, war-related displaced property, objects from colonial contexts, and those confiscated in the Soviet Occupation Zone/GDR. The foundation offers financial project funding, advice, networking, and databases (Lost Art, Proveana) and mediates in restitution and negotiation processes.

The German Lost Art Foundation is committed to investigating historical injustices involving cultural assets and achieving just and fair solutions. By promoting research and facilitating contacts, it enhances transparency regarding the origin and whereabouts of cultural property, thereby contributing to reconciliation, international understanding, and the preservation of cultural heritage.

The funding is aimed at public-law and non-profit institutions in Germany – museums, libraries, archives, universities – as well as privately operated institutions and affected individuals. The goal is to provide provenance researchers, collection managers, and descendants of victims of cultural property losses due to National Socialism, war, colonialism, and the Soviet Occupation Zone/GDR with concrete support in research, documentation, and restitution.