National galleries to hand back Nazi art
Artworks looted by the Nazis during the Second World War and now held in Britain's national museums and galleries are to be handed back to their owners.
The Tate, the British Museum, and the British Library are all known to hold looted items but are currently prevented by law from giving them back to the families that once owned them.
Now the Government has decided to bring in new legislation to allow the artworks to be moved.
Experts have estimated that there could be several hundred artworks or artefacts in British galleries and museums that were plundered from occupied Europe by the Nazis. Many were seized from Jews who were killed in the Holocaust.
The move is expected reignite the debate over the Elgin Marbles, with campaigners seeking their return to Greece likely to claim the new legislation will set a precedent for museums to hand back items with disputed ownership.
The proposed legislation follows a campaign by Andrew Dismore, the Labour MP for Hendon.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The Tate, the British Museum, and the British Library are all known to hold looted items but are currently prevented by law from giving them back to the families that once owned them.
Now the Government has decided to bring in new legislation to allow the artworks to be moved.
Experts have estimated that there could be several hundred artworks or artefacts in British galleries and museums that were plundered from occupied Europe by the Nazis. Many were seized from Jews who were killed in the Holocaust.
The move is expected reignite the debate over the Elgin Marbles, with campaigners seeking their return to Greece likely to claim the new legislation will set a precedent for museums to hand back items with disputed ownership.
The proposed legislation follows a campaign by Andrew Dismore, the Labour MP for Hendon.