By law, museums in New York that show works of art that the Nazis stole during the Holocaust must now display placards beside the stolen artworks to inform the public of those tragic chapters in their origin.
According to experts, Jews were robbed of at least 600,000 works of art both before and during World War II. Some of those loot ended up in famous museums throughout the globe.
The new restriction is being implemented when many museums in the United States and Europe are also coming to terms with collections that contain several items taken from Asia, Africa, and other regions throughout centuries of colonization.
Uncertainty surrounds how many of the works of art currently on exhibit will be classified as Nazi loot, and controversy has already erupted over certain pieces of art with murky pasts.
Fifty-three pieces in the collection of the New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art have been identified as having been taken under duress during the Nazi regime and sold.
After being given back to their original owners, the museum acquired all those items.
The museum’s deputy director for collections and administration, Andrea Bayer, opined that the public should still be aware of their heritage.
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