The Holocaust Era Assets Conference was held in Prague and Terezin from 26-30 June 2009.
The outcome of the Conference was the Terezin Declaration which was endorsed by the 46 participating governments on 30 June 2009. The text of the Decaration is available here.
A Joint Declaration of the European Commission and the Czech EU Presidency was signed on 29 June 2009 and is available here.
Full details of the conference, including speeches given, statements made, videos of events and other materials were available on the Conference website at www.holocausteraassets.eu but as of September 2018 that site is no longer available. However, a pdf of the entire proceedings is available here.
All the texts below can be found in the proceedings as well as in the individual links below:
To read the keynote speech by Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, click here.
To read the keynote speech by Elie Wiesel, click here.
To read the expert conclusions, click here.
To read the expert papers on looted cultural property click as below:
Patricia Kennedy Grimsted (United States, Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University) - Documenting Looted Art:Perspectives from the Archives of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) Appendix
Petr Bednařík (Czech Republic, Documentation Centre of Property Transfers of Cultural Assets of WW II. Victims) - Archive Research on the Issue of Lost Works of Art in the Czech Republic
Anne Georgeon-Liskenne (France, French Foreign Office/Archives) - French Archival Sources and Researches About Cultural Jewish Property, Spoiled by Nazis before 1945
Božena Kovářová (Czech Republic, Moravian District Archive in Brno) - Archival Records in the Moravian District Archive in Brno
Marc Maurovsky (United States) - A New Paradigm for Restituting Looted Cultural Property
Graham Beal (United States, Detroit Institute of Art) - Four Cases from One Museum, Four Different Results
Agnes Peresztegi (Hungary, Commission for Art) - Recovery, Restitution or Renationalisation
Lynn Nicholas (United States, Independent) - The Washington Principles:Ten Years Later
Jean-Pierre Bady (France, CIVS) - Restitution and Compensation in four Countries of Western Europe: Belgium, France, Luxemburg and Netherlands
Raymond J. Dowd (United States, Dunnington Bartholow and Miller LLP) - Fritz Grunbaum’s Stolen Art Collection: Legal Obstacles To Recovery
Shauna Isaac (United Kingdom, Sage Recovery) - Technology and the Accessibility of Information
Mečislav Borák (Czech Republic, Documentation Centre of Property Transfers of Cultural Assets of WW II. Victims) - Identification of Works of Art Belonging to the Holocaust Victims and the Possibility of Restitution to the Original Owners
Anna Rubin (United States, Holocaust Claims Processing Office) - Presumptions: Applying Lessons Learned from Compensation Programs
Miriam Friedman Morris (United States) - Artist David Friedmann: A Daughter's Search for Lost and Stolen Art
Angelika Enderlein (Germany, Bundesamt für zentrale Dienste und offene Vermögensfragen) - Introduction of the new database on the "Central Collecting Point Munich" (CPP)
Olaf S. Ossmann (Germany, IAJLJ) - One Collection, One Persecution, One Deseizin - but Different ideas of " Just and Fair Solutions" Hurdles in Different National Processes for Heirs of Art Collections
Georg Heuberger (Germany, Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany) - Holocaust - Era Looted Art: A World-wide Overview
Marc-André Renold (Switzerland, The University of Geneva) - The Renewal of the Restitution Process: Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods
Stephen Knerly Jr. (United States, Association of Art Museum Directors) - Selected Issues for American Art Museums Regarding Holocaust Looted Art
Norman Palmer (UK, Spoliation Advisory Panel) - Integrity, Transparency and Pertinacity in the Treatment of Holocaust-Related Art Claims
Nawojka Cieslinska-Lobkowicz (Poland, Freelance Art Historian and Provenance Researcher) - The Obligation of the State or a Hobby of the Few. The Implementation of the Washington Principles in Poland
Lucian Simmons (United States, Sotheby's) - Provenance and Private Ownership: Just and Fair Solutions in the Commercial Art Market
Helena Koenigsmarková (Czech Republic, Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague) - The Experience of the Museum of Decorative Art in Prague with Looted Objects in Its Collection and Their Identification
Monica Dugot (United States, Christie's) - Impact of the Washington Conference Principles on Art Market Practices: Moving the Discussion Forward
Felicitas Thurn (Austria, Dorotheum) - Dorotheum: Provenance Research and Due Diligence in the Art Trade in Central Europe
Carla Shapreau (United States, University of California, Berkeley) - Musical Cultural Property: The Nazi Era and Post-War Provenance Challenges
Uwe Hartmann (Germany, Arbeitsstelle für Provenienzrecherche) - Project Related Promotion of Provenance Research in Germany, Taking Stock after the First Year
Jacques Lust (Belgium, Belgian Federal Science Policy) - Provenance and World War ll - Art, Research and Illusion
Nancy Yeide (USA, National Gallery of Art) - Provenance Research in American Museums
Sophie Lillie (Austria, Independent) - The Blacklash Against Claimants
Many news articles about the conference can be found in the news section on this website by clicking here and reviewing articles in the sections for June and July 2009.
The list of participants at the Prague Conference is available here.
CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Conference were:
The overriding objective, as expressed by the chairman of the Czech Organising Committee, Ambassador Miloš Pojar, was to "mitigate the injustices caused by the Holocaust and other National Socialist wrongs and prevent them from recurring."
The conference programme is set out below:
Program
15:00 Opening of the Exhibition “Memories Returned” (Museum of Decorative Arts)
By special invitations only.
17:00 Press Conference (Žofín Palace, Small Hall)
18:00 Opening Ceremony (Žofín Palace, Large Hall)
Welcoming Remarks
Musical Perfomance
19:00 Reception
21:00 Adjourn
For the detailed programme for Saturday 27 June, click here.
10:00– 10:45 Working Group (WG) Looted Art
Opening Statements
11:00 - 12:30 Thematic Expert Roundtables
WG Looted Art
“Archives”
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“Genocide of the Czech Roma and New Educational Projects in the Czech Republic and Abroad”
12:30 – 13:30 Buffet Lunch
13:30 – 14:00 Exhibition Presentation
“Library of Rescued Memories”
14:00 – 15:30 Thematic Expert Roundtables (cont.)
WG Looted Art
“Restitutions”
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“Genocide of the Czech Roma and New Educational Projects in the Czech Republic and Abroad” (cont.)
16:00 – 17:30 WG Looted Art (PCC)
“Feedback: Cooperation of Respective Entities Towards Provenance Research”
19:00 – 21:00 Reception
Hosted by foreign embassies in Prague
For the detailed programme for Sunday 28 June, click here.
9:00 – 9:30 Opening Plenary Session (PCC, South Hall)
10:00 – 11:30 Concurrent Expert Sessions I
Special Session: Caring for Victims of Nazism and Their Legacy
“History and Perspective of Care Support Provided to Victims of Nazism and Their Legacy”
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“Holocaust Education: Experiences Gained and Challenges Ahead”
WG Immovable Property (Private and Communal) “Overview and Political Context”
WG Looted Art
“Legal Issues”
WG Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property
“Methodological Questions Concerning the Provenance Research of Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property”
11:30 – 11:45 Coffee Break
11:45 – 13:15 Concurrent Expert Sessions II
Special Session: Caring for Victims of Nazism and Their Legacy
“Responsibility in Partnership: Improving the Social Situation of Victims of Nazism”
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“Remembrance, Memorials and Museums”
WG Immovable Property (Private and Communal)
“Works in Progress—Examples from Communities”
WG Looted Art
“The Search for Works of Art and Other Cultural Assets – a Business or Hobby?”
WG Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property
“The Distribution of collected Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property after 1945”
13:15 – 14:30 Buffet Lunch
14:30 – 16:00 Concurrent Expert Sessions III
Special Session: Caring for Victims of Nazism and Their Legacy
“Legal and Social Status of Victims of Nazism and Maintenance of their Legacy”
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“Researching the Holocaust and Access to Archives”
WG Immovable Property (Private and Communal)
“Works in Progress—Examples from Communities” (cont.)
WG Looted Art
“Provenance Research”
WG Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property
“The Losses from State, Public and Private Collections after 1945”
16:00 – 16:15 Coffee Break
16:15 – 17:45 Concurrent Expert Sessions IV
WG Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
“The Future of Holocaust Remembrance”
WG Immovable Property (Private and Communal)
“Where do we go from here?”
WG Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property
“Circulation of Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property of Disputed Ownership”
19:00 Reception (Wallenstein Garden)
Remarks:
Přemysl Sobotka, President of the Senate, Parliament of the Czech Republic
For the detailed programme for Monday 29 June, click here.
9:00 – 12:30 Plenary Session (PCC)
Reports by Special Session and 4 Working Groups
Statements by Heads of Delegations
12:30 - 13:30 Buffet Lunch
13:30 – 16:30 Plenary Session (cont.)
Statements by Representatives of NGOs
Statements by Heads of Delegations
16:30 Concluding Remarks:
Yehuda Bauer, Historian, Israel
17:00 Press Conference
19:00 Special Performance (National Theatre)
“Golem 13”
World Premiere of kabalistic drama by George Whyte set to music by Noam Sheriff
Reception
For the detailed programme for Tuesday 30 June, click here.
7:45 - 8:00 Departure of conference buses from the conference hotels to Terezin.
9:30 Concluding Ceremony (Terezín Memorial, Former Riding Hall)
Terezín Declaration
10:30 Concert
“Defiant Requiem” by Murry Sidlin
12:00 Closing Lunch (Terezín Memorial, Magdeburg Barracks)
Hosted by the European Commission
13:00 Departure of conference buses to Prague (airport and hotels)
13:00 - 15:00 Guided tours of Terezín Memorial (optional)
The conference website provides full details of the panels and roundtables which took place on 27 and 28 June. For:
Looted Art sessions click here;
Judaica and Jewish Cultural Property sessions click here;
Immovable Property sessions click here;
Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research sessions click here;
Caring for Victims of Nazism and Their Legacy sessions click here.
For further details on all other aspects of the conference, click here.