Nazi-looted art: Who owns this expressionist painting?

"A Young Girl" is a portrait of an unnamed girl, painted by German artist Paula Modersohn-Becker around 1901.

Regarded as one of the most important representatives of early expressionism, the artist was best-known for her nude self-portraits — and a prolific output before dying at the age of 31. Influenced by avant-garde painters of the time, including Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh, Modersohn-Becker, who studied in Paris, eschewed the romantic landscape paintings of her colleagues and pioneered modernism in Germany. 

But now her art is in the spotlight for other reasons. "A Young Girl” has been in possession of the City of Hamburg and part of the collection of the Hamburger Kunsthalle for 67 years.

The painting was donated to the museum in 1958, noted the museum's director, Alexander Klar, in an interview with public broadcaster, NDR. But few other details about the work's provenance are known. "It's a black hole that requires further research," said Klar.  

As the digital collection of the museum states, the painting was gifted to the Kunsthalle by Elsa Doebbeke, the widow of Nazi party member and art collector Conrad Doebbeke. He is said to have acquired many paintings during the Nazi dictatorship — and often at a low price, especially from Jewish owners. 

In December 2020, the heirs of Jewish businessman Robert Graetz officially filed restitution claims relating to the painting. Graetz was an art collector from Berlin who was deported to the Warsaw Ghetto by the Nazis in 1942; he was declared dead in December 1945.

For a long time, nothing much seemed to happen after the claims were filed. The Kunsthalle claimed to be researching the origins of the painting, while the Graetz family had itself commissioned a research project on the artwork. 

Final looted-art case for the Advisory Commission

The family then contacted the "Advisory Commission on the return of cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution, especially Jewish property." From 2003 up until now, this expert panel was responsible for proposing solutions in legal restitution disputes. But from December 1, 2025, onwards, the commission will be replaced by arbitration tribunals. This was decided by Germany's federal, state and local governments.

The commission is being disbanded after it was criticized for being too inefficient. In its 22 years of existence, it has only been actively engaged in 26 cases. Compared to the 200,000 objects that are estimated to be Nazi-looted property in Germany alone, that number is shockingly low.

Many experts attribute the inefficiency to a lack of legal tools, along with the structure of the commission. It can only take action if called upon by both sides simultaneously. And it can only make recommendations that are not legally binding.      

Unlike many other countries, Germany has no restitution law that would create a binding legal basis for descendants of the victims to sue for restitution claims. Experts consider this unacceptable, especially in Germany, the so-called "land of the perpetrators."

In 1998, Germany adopted the Washington Declaration. This document, agreed upon by 44 countries and numerous organizations and victims' associations, demands a "fair and just solution" for cases of Nazi-looted art. The Advisory Commission was, and currently still is, responsible for implementing the Washington Principles and settling disputed cases.

New arbitration tribunals also faces criticism

Now, the commission is set to be replaced by arbitration tribunals, which have already come under fire: An open letter to then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz from January 2025 states that "the planned arbitration law blatantly worsens the situation of the victims," and that "[a] discussion on the… new rules never took place."   

Among the signatories of the open letter were restitution experts, victims' lawyers and descendants of the victims. They also criticized the continuing lack of clarity about the legal basis upon which the arbitration tribunals will decide, since there is still no restitution law.

The federal state of Bavaria, for instance, has for years been refusing to investigate the origins of a Picasso painting in the Bavarian State Paintings Collections. 

The arbitration tribunals are to each be made up of two historians and three lawyers. According to public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, regular appointment procedures will be substituted by individuals' applications for arbitration tribunal positions from September. 

Wolfram Weimer, the Minister of State for Culture, has informed the Advisory Commission that it will be dissolved on November 30. Cases that are currently still ongoing are to be completed by that deadline, so it shouldn't be long before Robert Graetz's descendants finally have certainty over the disputed artwork.

They have reason to be optimistic: Following a recommendation by the Advisory Commission in 2011, the federal state of Berlin returned two paintings by Karl Schmitd-Rottluff to Robert Graetz's grandson, Roberto.

This article was adapted from German.