On 21 September 2024, the Nuremberg Academy participated in a new edition of the the Stadt(ver)führungen (“city guided tours”), which took place between 20 and 22 September. Project Officer Dr Pablo Gavira Díaz moderated a panel discussion in historic Courtroom 600, together with experts Dr Ruth Lecher (K&L Gates) and Leva Wenzel (Bonn University).
The panellists conversed on the topic “Treasures” from the perspective of the restitution of looted cultural objects. This subject is connected to the offences charged to one of the defendants at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg: Alfred Rosenberg. He was found responsible for coordinating and implementing a programme designed to confiscate cultural objects in occupied territories during the Second World War. Dr Lecher and Mrs Wenzel provided for a historical and legal overview of the post-war situation in Germany, detailing the efforts to return plundering objects to their rightful owners. The experts also discussed the practices adopted by museums and cultural institutions in carrying out inventories and descriptions of their collections. This was the subject of a lively conversation with the participants that it helped everyone to understand better the legal intricacies arising from a highly political issue. (pg)