At its meeting today, the Chemnitz City Council instructed the City of Chemnitz to submit a so-called "standing offer" to conclude an arbitration agreement on the restitution of Nazi-looted property from public collections. In doing so, the City of Chemnitz is following a recommendation by the Association of German Cities and participating in the newly established joint arbitration of the federal government, federal states and municipal umbrella organisations.
In future, this arbitration system will enable binding decisions to be made in disputes concerning cultural assets seized as a result of Nazi persecution. It replaces the previous "Advisory Commission on Nazi-looted property", whose recommendations were previously not legally binding. The new procedure significantly strengthens the position of victims and their descendants. Decisions of the arbitration tribunal have the effect of a legally binding judgement. The aim remains to find a fair and just solution - usually by returning the affected cultural assets.
The City of Chemnitz's "standing offer" is aimed at all eligible applicants and enables them to unilaterally invoke arbitration proceedings in accordance with the administrative agreement "Arbitration of Nazi-looted property". The proceedings are conducted by the German Lost Art Foundation (Deutsches Zentrum für Kulturgutverluste) based in Berlin and supervised by independent lawyers and experts in history and provenance research.
The basis for this are the "Washington Principles" of 1998 and the "Joint Declaration" of the federal government, federal states and municipal umbrella organisations from 1999, which provide for the restitution of cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution.
By taking this step, the City of Chemnitz is reaffirming its commitment to transparency, responsibility and historical justice, sending a clear signal in favour of a responsible culture of remembrance and supporting the just processing of National Socialist injustice, as it has already done in the past.
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