German foundation examining origin of colonial era goods

The German Lost Art Foundation said Tuesday it will begin developing guidelines for project funding that will include provenance research in museums, collections and basic research. (Photo: German Lost Art Foundation website)

BERLIN – The German foundation that co-ordinates research into the origin of Nazi-confiscated property says it will also start looking into cultural objects collected during Germany’s colonial past.

The German Lost Art Foundation said Tuesday it will begin developing guidelines for project funding that will include provenance research in museums, collections and basic research.

It says it will work closely with the German Museums Association and experts.

Founded by the government in 2015, the foundation’s main job is help identify property confiscated from Jewish owners during the Nazi era from 1933-1945 to facilitate its return or compensation, and cultural assets lost under the Soviet occupation and in communist East Germany.

German colonies included territories in what is today Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Mozambique in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.