According to a 2011 federal report, out of 326 Swiss museums that responded to a survey, 25 estimated that they could have works that were looted by Nazis. Source: The Art Newspaper, 29 January 2016
Switzerland puts up 2m SFr to track down Nazi loot in its museums, The Art Newspaper, 29 January 2016
The federal office of culture is encouraging museums to research the provenance of works in their collections
Over five years, Switzerland’s culture ministry will give 2m Swiss francs to encourage museums to investigate the provenance of works in their collections. According to a 2011 federal report, out of 326 museums that responded to a survey, 25 estimated that they could have works that were looted by Nazis.
The government aid will be awarded through a competition, with requests due to be filed by the end of April 2016. The culture office will then choose the projects to received funding based on multiple criteria: the institution’s standing, the significance of the cultural property in question, the urgency of action, an analysis of the cost-benefit and the amount of self-financing the museum could manage.
