Musées nationaux récupération explained

National Museum Recuperation (MNR or Musées nationaux récupération) is the French state organization that manages the looted artworks recovered from Nazi Germany and returned to France after the Second World War. Of 61,000 looted artworks returned to France, 2143 remain in custody of the MNR.[1]

History

After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, 61,000 plundered artworks recovered by the Allied Monuments Men in Germany were returned to France which was responsible for restituting them to their original owners. 45,000 artworks were returned to their owners, while others were entrusted to the custody of the national museums. These artworks constitute what are called MNRs for Musées Nationaux Récuperation, ("National Museums Recuperation").[2] [3] [4]

The acronym MNR refers to all these works, around 2000, but also constitutes the prefix of the inventory numbers of the only old paintings entrusted to the Department of Paintings of the Louvre (about half of all the works). Jewish art collectors in all countries occupied by Nazi Germany were targeted for looting.[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] In France, Jews were plundered by the Nazi looting organisations known as the E.R.R. (Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg) and M-Aktion, and well as by the French occupation authorities.[12] [13] [14]

Artworks in the MNR are supposed to be researched and returned their legitimate owners if they can be located.[15] [16]

The 2131 MNR artworks, are kept at the Louvre, the Orsay Museum, the National Museum of Modern Art and in other museums throughout France.[17] [18] France has published an online database of MNR artworks at the Site Rose-Valland Musées Nationaux Récupération[19]

Seizures

From the beginning of the occupation, the German embassy in Paris, and its representative, Otto Abetz, under the pretext of "securing" art, organized major seizures of art collection.[20] In September 1940, the responsibility for plundering artworks of Jewish art collectors shifted to the nazi looting organisation known as the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg or Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce or (ERR). In France, looted art was inventoried initially at the Louvre, then at the Jeu de Paume which was made available to the ERR in November 1940. Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering visited frequently to select artworks for his own personal collection.[21]

After cataloguing, the confiscated objects left for the Louvre where they were crated before being shipped. Between April 1941 and July 1944, the ERR sent 138 wagons to Germany containing 4,174 cases, or about 22,000 lots.[22]

Inventories: MNR, OAR, REC

The decree of September 30, 1949 which puts an end to the Commission de récupération artistique (CRA) obliges the administration of museums to create a specific inventory on which will be registered the works selected by the selection commissions, then entrusted by the OBIP to the custody of the museums.[23] The museums decide to inventory them under the acronym R of "recovery".[24]

Les sigles des objets au Louvre sont :

Les sigles au Musée national d'art moderne sont :

In 2017, the Louvre museum dedicated two new rooms to present 31 paintings from artistic recovery (MNR) in addition to the 76 paintings presented in the permanent museum tour, accompanied by a specific mention indicating their origin.[25] .

Criticisms

Until the recent creation of public databases, the MNR, along with other institutions formally responsible for restituting looted artworks, were the object of criticisms for opacity and inefficiency.[26] [27] [28] [29] [30]

Recent restitutions

A few examples of restitutions include:

Bibliography

Books

For children

Films

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NATIONAL MUSEUMS RECOVERY 'MNR' WORKS AT THE MUSÉE DU LOUVRE Louvre site des collections. live. 2021-06-14. collections.louvre.fr. After World War II, 61,000 works of art were retrieved in Germany and brought back to France. Many had been stolen from Jewish families. To date, more than 45,000 have been returned to their rightful owners. Unclaimed works were sold by the French State, with the exception of 2,143 objects placed under the legal responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and entrusted to French national museums for safekeeping. These works are not the property of the State.. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614071449/https://collections.louvre.fr/en/album/1.
  2. Web site: MNR : Musée Nationaux Récupération. 2021-06-13. www.culture.gouv.fr. fr. 2021-06-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20210612091329/https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Espace-documentation/Bases-de-donnees/Fiches-bases-de-donnees/MNR-Musee-Nationaux-Recuperation. live.
  3. Web site: Restitution d'œuvres spoliées par les nazis : "la France doit mieux faire". live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210613051626/https://www.europe1.fr/international/Restitution-d-oeuvres-spoliees-par-les-nazis-la-France-doit-mieux-faire-600862. 2021-06-13. 2021-06-13. Europe 1. fr.
  4. Book: le Masne de Chermont, Isabelle. Le pillage de l'art en France pendant l'occupation et la situation des 2000 œuvres confiées aux musées nationaux: contribution de la direction des Musées de France et du Centre Georges-Pompidou aux travaux de la Mission d'étude sur la spoliation des Juifs de France. 2000. Documentation française. 978-2-11-004563-8. Paris. French. 906870511. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20210625175933/https://www.worldcat.org/title/pillage-de-lart-en-france-pendant-loccupation-et-la-situation-des-2000-uvres-confiees-aux-musees-nationaux-contribution-de-la-direction-des-musees-de-france-et-du-centre-georges-pompidou-aux-travaux-de-la-mission-detude-sur-la-spoliation-des-juifs-de-france/oclc/906870511. live.
  5. Book: Feliciano. Hector. The lost museum: the Nazi conspiracy to steal the world's greatest works of art. Bent. Timothy. 2007. Basic Books, a member of the Perseus Books Group. 978-0-465-04194-7. New York. English. 751125079. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614071447/https://www.worldcat.org/title/lost-museum-the-nazi-conspiracy-to-steal-the-worlds-greatest-works-of-art/oclc/751125079. live.
  6. Book: Dean, Martin. Robbing the Jews: the confiscation of Jewish property in the Holocaust, 1933-1945. 2011. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-88825-7. Cambridge. English. 812775661. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614071454/https://www.worldcat.org/title/robbing-the-jews-the-confiscation-of-jewish-property-in-the-holocaust-1933-1945/oclc/812775661. live.
  7. Web site: Art Looting Intelligence Unit (ALIU) Reports 1945-1946 and ALIU Red Flag Names List and Index. 2021-06-14. www.lootedart.com. 2019-12-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20191208101524/https://www.lootedart.com/MVI3RM469661. live.
  8. Jonathan Petropoulos. 2017. Art Dealer Networks in the Third Reich and in the Postwar Period. Journal of Contemporary History. 52. 3. 546–565. 10.1177/0022009416637417 . 159830753 . 0022-0094. 7065317262. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614071500/https://www.worldcat.org/title/art-dealer-networks-in-the-third-reich-and-in-the-postwar-period/oclc/7065317262. live.
  9. Book: Aalders, Gerard. Nazi looting: the plunder of Dutch Jewry during the Second World War. 2004. Berg. 978-1-85973-722-4. Oxford; New York. 53223516. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20210625175938/https://www.worldcat.org/title/nazi-looting-the-plunder-of-dutch-jewry-during-the-second-world-war/oclc/53223516. live.
  10. Book: Müller. Melissa. Lost lives, lost art: Jewish collectors, Nazi art theft, and the quest for justice. Tatzkow. Monika. 2010. Vendome Press. 978-0-86565-263-7. New York. English. 505419574. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624195155/https://www.worldcat.org/title/lost-lives-lost-art-jewish-collectors-nazi-art-theft-and-the-quest-for-justice/oclc/505419574. live.
  11. Book: Lillie, Sophie. Was einmal war: Handbuch der enteigneten Kunstsammlungen Wiens. 2003. Czernin. 978-3-7076-0049-0. Wien. German. 450860255. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614072357/https://www.worldcat.org/title/was-einmal-war-handbuch-der-enteigneten-kunstsammlungen-wiens/oclc/450860255. live.
  12. Web site: Mission d'étude sur la spoliation des Juifs de France. 2000. Le pillage de l'art en France pendant l'occupation et la situation des 2000 œuvres, confiées aux musées nationaux. 26 September 2015. www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr. 26 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150926004411/http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/var/storage/rapports-publics/004001389.pdf. live. .
  13. Book: Gensburger, Sarah. Witnessing the robbing of the Jews: a photographic album, Paris, 1940-1944. 2015. 978-0-253-01733-8. English. 1041213387. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614072404/https://www.worldcat.org/title/witnessing-the-robbing-of-the-jews-a-photographic-album-paris-1940-1944/oclc/1041213387. live.
  14. Book: Polack. Emmanuelle. Le marche de l'art sous l'Occupation: 1940-1944. Bertrand Dorleac. Laurence. 2019. 979-10-210-2089-4. French. 1249856969. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20210625180003/https://www.worldcat.org/title/marche-de-lart-sous-loccupation-1940-1944/oclc/1249856969. live.
  15. Web site: Musées d'Angers. Qu'est-ce qu'un MNR ?. 26 January 2014. musees.angers.fr. 10 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151110003831/http://musees.angers.fr/collections/mnr/qu-est-ce-qu-un-mnr/index.html. dead. .
  16. Web site: MNR : Musée Nationaux Récupération. 2021-06-12. www.culture.gouv.fr. fr. 2021-06-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20210612091329/https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Espace-documentation/Bases-de-donnees/Fiches-bases-de-donnees/MNR-Musee-Nationaux-Recuperation. live.
  17. Web site: La spoliation des œuvres d'art par les nazis pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale en Limousin. 2021-06-14. France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine. fr-FR. 2021-06-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624195022/https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/nouvelle-aquitaine/haute-vienne/limoges/la-spoliation-des-uvres-d-art-par-les-nazis-pendant-la-seconde-guerre-mondiale-en-limousin-2023042.html. live.
  18. Web site: les-oeuvres-mnr Des œuvres spoliées pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. live. musee-lorrain.nancy.fr/. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614074416/https://www.musee-lorrain.nancy.fr/de/collections/les-oeuvres-mnr/.
  19. Web site: Recherche - POP Récupération artistique (MNR Rose-Valland). live. 2021-06-13. www.pop.culture.gouv.fr. 2021-06-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20210613052914/https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/search/mosaic?base=%5B%22R%C3%A9cup%C3%A9ration%20artistique%20(MNR%20Rose-Valland)%22%5D&image=%5B%22oui%22%5D.
  20. Web site: Art Looting Intelligence Unit (ALIU) Reports 1945-1946 and ALIU Red Flag Names List and Index. live. 2021-06-13. www.lootedart.com. Abetz Otto. German Ambassador to France. Connected with the early seizures of Jewish art collections, particularly through the Kunsberg organisation.. 2019-12-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20191208101524/https://www.lootedart.com/MVI3RM469661.
  21. Book: Yeide. Nancy. Beyond the dreams of avarice: the Hermann Goering collection. Edsel. Robert M. 2009. Laurel Publishing. 978-0-9774349-1-6. Dallas, Tex.. English. 763131781. 2021-06-13. 2021-06-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20210625175929/https://www.worldcat.org/title/beyond-the-dreams-of-avarice-the-hermann-goering-collection/oclc/763131781. live.
  22. Web site: Le pillage des œuvres d'art en France pendant l'Occupation:des actions organisées et de grande envergure Site Rose-Valland - Musées Nationaux Récupération. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190501172718/http://www2.culture.gouv.fr/documentation/mnr/AH/fr-pillage.htm. 2019-05-01. 2021-06-13. www2.culture.gouv.fr.
  23. Linsler. Johanna. 2018-02-14. Lumière sur les " MNR " ?Les œuvres d'art spoliées, les musées de France et la Mission Mattéoli : les limites de l'historiographie officielle. Yod. Revue des études hébraïques et juives. fr. 21. 10.4000/yod.2607. 0338-9316. free. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614073428/https://journals.openedition.org/yod/2607. live.
  24. Web site: Sélection de textes législatifs français relatifs aux spoliations des biens juifs Site Rose-Valland - Musées Nationaux Récupération. live. 2021-06-13. www2.culture.gouv.fr. 2018-05-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20180501181708/http://www2.culture.gouv.fr/documentation/mnr/MnR-tj.htm.
  25. Web site: 2018-02-10. Deux nouvelles salles au Louvre pour les tableaux de la récupération artistique (MNR). live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171222071754/https://presse.louvre.fr/deux-nouvelles-salles-au-louvre-pour-les-tableaux-de-la-recuperation-artistique-mnr/. 2017-12-22. 2021-06-13. Espace presse du musée du Louvre. fr-FR.
  26. Linsler. Johanna. 2018-02-14. Lumière sur les " MNR " ?Les œuvres d'art spoliées, les musées de France et la Mission Mattéoli : les limites de l'historiographie officielle. Yod. Revue des études hébraïques et juives. fr. 21. 10.4000/yod.2607. 0338-9316. free. 2021-06-14. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614073428/https://journals.openedition.org/yod/2607. live.
  27. Web site: Spoliation des biens culturels juifs : une trop lente réparation. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108120604/https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/grand-reportage/spoliation-des-biens-culturels-juifs-une-trop-lente-reparation. 2020-11-08. 2021-06-14. France Culture. fr. Des milliers de Juifs ont été spoliés de leurs biens sous l'Occupation. Parmi ces biens, de nombreuses œuvres d'art qui ont parfois intégré des musées par la suite. Aujourd'hui, de nombreuses familles demandent leur restitution. Une procédure longue et dont le succès est incertain..
  28. Web site: 2020-01-22. Less Than a Month After the Louvre Hired a Nazi Loot Expert to Investigate Its Collection, She Found 10 Ill-Gotten Works Hiding in Plain Sight. 2021-06-14. Artnet News. en-US. 2021-06-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20210613073542/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/restitution-nazi-loot-louvre-france-1758900. live.
  29. Web site: France Hopes Exhibit Of Nazi-Stolen Art Can Aid Stalled Search For Owners. 2021-06-14. NPR. en. 2021-06-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624195010/https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/02/23/588374670/france-hopes-exhibit-of-nazi-stolen-art-can-aid-stalled-search-for-owners. live.
  30. News: Breeden. Aurelien. 2018-02-08. Art Looted by Nazis Gets a New Space at the Louvre. But Is It Really Home?. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20180303133502/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/world/europe/louvre-nazi-looted-art.html. 2018-03-03. 0362-4331. Critics, while praising the intention, say the new rooms represent a missed opportunity because they do little to further the search for the rightful owners of the paintings or their heirs..
  31. Web site: 2013-02-21. Louvre returns nazi looted paintings to descendant of original owner Richard Neumann. 2021-04-07. Elginism. en. 2021-01-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126105338/http://www.elginism.com/similar-cases/louvre-returns-nazi-looted-paintings-to-descendant-of-original-owner-richard-neumann/20130221/6845/. live.
  32. Web site: 2013-02-14. Deux familles juives vont récupérer sept tableaux spoliés sous l'Occupation. 2021-06-14. LExpress.fr. fr. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614073425/https://www.lexpress.fr/culture/art/deux-familles-juives-vont-recuperer-sept-tableaux-spolies-sous-l-occupation_1220657.html. live.
  33. News: 2021-03-25. Nouvelle restitution aux héritiers spoliés d'Armand Dorville. fr-FR. La Croix. 2021-04-07. 0242-6056. 2021-04-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20210415120643/https://www.la-croix.com/Culture/Nouvelle-restitution-heritiers-spolies-dArmand-Dorville-2021-03-25-1201147579. live.
  34. Web site: 2020-01-22. Less Than a Month After the Louvre Hired a Nazi Loot Expert to Investigate Its Collection, She Found 10 Ill-Gotten Works Hiding in Plain Sight. 2021-04-07. Artnet News. en-US. 2021-06-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20210613073542/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/restitution-nazi-loot-louvre-france-1758900. live.
  35. Web site: Restitution de 17 objets d'art spoliés, faisant partie des œuvres dites Musées nationaux Récupération (" MNR "), aux ayants droit de Lucy Jonquet. 2021-04-07. www.culture.gouv.fr. fr. 2020-06-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20200628102627/https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Presse/Communiques-de-presse/Restitution-de-17-objets-d-art-spolies-faisant-partie-des-aeuvres-dites-Musees-nationaux-Recuperation-MNR-aux-ayants-droit-de-Lucy-Jonquet. live.
  36. Web site: Restitution de 7 œuvres d'art spoliées faisant partie des œuvres dites Musées nationaux Récupération (MNR) aux ayants droit de Marguerite Stern. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201202154950/https://www.culture.gouv.fr/Presse/Communiques-de-presse/Restitution-de-7-aeuvres-d-art-spoliees-faisant-partie-des-aeuvres-dites-Musees-nationaux-Recuperation-MNR-aux-ayants-droit-de-Marguerite-Stern. 2020-12-02. culture.gouv.fr/. French Government. Publié le 01.12.2020 Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, ministre de la Culture, se réjouit de la restitution, le 29 octobre 2020, de 7 œuvres d'art aux ayants droit de Marguerite Stern, et salue l'action des services du ministère de la Culture, du musée du Louvre, du musée d'Orsay et de la direction des archives du ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères, qui y ont œuvré..
  37. Web site: 2022-02-15. Spoliation nazie : deux œuvres d'art pillées sous l'Occupation à Paris restituées aux ayants droit. https://web.archive.org/web/20220220012908/https://www.connaissancedesarts.com/musees/musee-louvre/spoliation-nazie-deux-oeuvres-dart-pillees-sous-loccupation-a-paris-restituees-aux-ayants-droit-11170204/. 2022-02-20. 2022-02-20. Connaissance des Arts. fr. Le ministère de la Culture a annoncé la semaine dernière la restitution, le 7 février 2022, de deux œuvres spoliées aux ayants droit de Gabrielle Philippson (1880-1941), fille du banquier belge Frank Philippson, membre du Consistoire israélite de Belgique et président de la Communauté juive de Bruxelles. Il s’agit d’une peinture de l’école italienne du XVIIe siècle et d’une tapisserie de la manufacture des Gobelins, datée du XVIIIe siècle, toutes deux vendues sous la contrainte et pillées par les nazis dans l’appartement parisien Gabrielle Philippson en août 1942. Retrouvées en Allemagne à la fin de la Seconde guerre mondiale et rapportées en France, elles étaient inscrites sur l’inventaire de la « récupération artistique » et appartenaient aux biens dits « Musées Nationaux Récupérations » (MNR), sous les numéros MNR 32 et OAR 64..

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