Reconstructing and evaluating
The OFP project’s provenance research
As part of the OFP project, the provenance researchers are in the process of analysing around 42,000 digitised files from the inventory Rep. 36A Oberfinanzpräsident Berlin-Brandenburg (II) in order to find evidence of art and cultural property that was seized as a result of Nazi persecution.
The aim is to reconstruct the pathways of these objects from their being referenced in the files to their current location. The focus is on public institutions as current locations, as these fall within the scope of the Washington Principles of 1998.
As part of the OFP project, the provenance researchers are in the process of analysing around 42,000 digitised files from the inventory Rep. 36A Oberfinanzpräsident Berlin-Brandenburg (II) in order to find evidence of art and cultural property that was seized as a result of Nazi persecution.
The aim is to reconstruct the pathways of these objects from their being referenced in the files to their current location. The focus is on public institutions as current locations, as these fall within the scope of the Washington Principles of 1998.
contact with the project team
The inventory: a source for provenance research
From 1941, the Chief Finance President of Berlin-Brandenburg (OFP) was the regional financial authority responsible for the liquidation of the assets of emigrated and deported victims of Nazi persecution. At the beginning of 1942, the OFP set up its own office specifically for this purpose: the Asset Realisation Office.
Many of the personal files created in the course of this liquidation are preserved in the sub-file Rep. 36A Oberfinanzpräsident Berlin-Brandenburg (II) and document how the authorities and numerous other actors recorded the assets of those who were persecuted and sold them to the benefit of the state treasury.
| You can find a research guide to the inventory here. |
BackgroundIn order to appropriate the assets of the victims after their emigration or deportation, the Nazi state enacted various laws. From today's perspective, the assets transferred to the German Reich under these Nazi laws are considered looted property. The Asset Realisation Office was subsequently tasked with selling the looted property and the proceeds flowed into the state coffers. Art and cultural property was also among the possessions that were seized and liquidated. This is where provenance research done by the OFP project comes in. |
From 1941, the Chief Finance President of Berlin-Brandenburg (OFP) was the regional financial authority responsible for the liquidation of the assets of emigrated and deported victims of Nazi persecution. At the beginning of 1942, the OFP set up its own office specifically for this purpose: the Asset Realisation Office.
Many of the personal files created in the course of this liquidation are preserved in the sub-file Rep. 36A Oberfinanzpräsident Berlin-Brandenburg (II) and document how the authorities and numerous other actors recorded the assets of those who were persecuted and sold them to the benefit of the state treasury.
| You can find a research guide to the inventory here. |
BackgroundIn order to appropriate the assets of the victims after their emigration or deportation, the Nazi state enacted various laws. From today's perspective, the assets transferred to the German Reich under these Nazi laws are considered looted property. The Asset Realisation Office was subsequently tasked with selling the looted property and the proceeds flowed into the state coffers. Art and cultural property was also among the possessions that were seized and liquidated. This is where provenance research done by the OFP project comes in. |
Digital provenance research in the OFP holdings
In order for the provenance researchers to be able to analyse the files digitally for art and cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution, various pieces of preparatory work were necessary:
- Revision of the cataloguing information
- Restoration
- Digitisation
The digitised files, which have been made digitally readable using optical character recognition (OCR), are available to the researchers in an evaluation tool developed for this purpose. Search categories have been created that indicate the current locations of the art and cultural artefacts sought or the background to their removal:
- Berlin State Museums
- Other museums
- Ministries and authorities
- ‘Special Commission Linz’
- Hermann Goering’s Art Collection
- Military
- Libraries
Behind these categories are search indexes with various terms that are relevant to the respective category. The evaluation tool compares these terms with the OCR content and automatically assigns them to the respective search category.
The provenance researchers analyse the categories for matches or omissions and use this as a basis for further research on individual cases, for example in other archives and databases.
A further category, ‘Free Search’, enables the researchers to save additional files. These cannot be assigned to any of the above-mentioned categories, but they do contain works of art.
If the researchers are able to identify a work of art or cultural property in a public collection that is documented in the records of the Asset Realisation Office, they inform that collection about it.
An example of how such a case can proceed can be found here.
If you have any questions about the provenance research done by the OFP project, please contact the project's research assistants, Stella Baßenhoff, Birthe Freymann, Johanna Stauber: ofp.provenienz@blha.brandenburg.de
In order for the provenance researchers to be able to analyse the files digitally for art and cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution, various pieces of preparatory work were necessary:
- Revision of the cataloguing information
- Restoration
- Digitisation
The digitised files, which have been made digitally readable using optical character recognition (OCR), are available to the researchers in an evaluation tool developed for this purpose. Search categories have been created that indicate the current locations of the art and cultural artefacts sought or the background to their removal:
- Berlin State Museums
- Other museums
- Ministries and authorities
- ‘Special Commission Linz’
- Hermann Goering’s Art Collection
- Military
- Libraries
Behind these categories are search indexes with various terms that are relevant to the respective category. The evaluation tool compares these terms with the OCR content and automatically assigns them to the respective search category.
The provenance researchers analyse the categories for matches or omissions and use this as a basis for further research on individual cases, for example in other archives and databases.
A further category, ‘Free Search’, enables the researchers to save additional files. These cannot be assigned to any of the above-mentioned categories, but they do contain works of art.
If the researchers are able to identify a work of art or cultural property in a public collection that is documented in the records of the Asset Realisation Office, they inform that collection about it.
An example of how such a case can proceed can be found here.
If you have any questions about the provenance research done by the OFP project, please contact the project's research assistants, Stella Baßenhoff, Birthe Freymann, Johanna Stauber: ofp.provenienz@blha.brandenburg.de
