Visibility is justice: Belgium and the moral duty to restitute Nazi-looted art

The discovery of Ghislandi’s painting Portrait of a Lady (Contessa Colleoni) in a real estate advertisement in Mar del Plata, Argentina, reads like a thriller with a painful punchline: the work was once forcibly taken from Jewish hands. The fact that justice ultimately brought it to safety proves one thing above all else: visibility saves truth. If Belgium really wants to return Nazi-looted art to where it belongs, these works should not be left to gather dust in the wings, but should be displayed publicly and registered internationally.

A historical responsibility

Belgium has no shortage of reasons to do so. In Kunst voor das Reich (Art for the Reich), investigative journalist Geert Sels documents eight years of research into Nazi art looting in and around our country. His most shocking figure: 78 paintings returned from Germany after the war and were assigned to eleven Belgian museums—often with gaps in their provenance. This is not a footnote in history, but a to-do list for justice.

Publication as an ethical duty

The discussion about lists and labels is not semantics, but morality. The Washington Principles (1998) and the Terezín Declaration (2009) are clear: identify Nazi-looted art, publish that information, and work toward “just and fair solutions.” Publication means more than a PDF on a website; it requires public presentation with clear provenance labels and registration in international databases that police, customs, museums, and the art market actually consult.

The databases that matter

1. INTERPOL’s Stolen Works of Art Database and the ID-Art app are the only certified international police database for stolen art. An entry there is a red flashing light at borders, auctions, and loans.

1. The FBI’s

1. National Stolen Art File (NSAF)

1. is publicly searchable and requires input from authorized police services, including those from abroad.
2. In addition, there are the Lost Art Database (Germany) and the private Art Loss Register—not alternatives to police sources, but use

1. ful mirrors that trade and institutions have

1. been using for years.

The Gunzburg model: three tracks, one goal

The Nico Gunzburg Foundation proposes a triptych that reinforces each other:

• Belgium: Unrestituted works are displayed in court custody as “Nazi looted art.” A national portal (NL/FR/EN) bundles the provenance, photos, file status, and contact point for each object. A specialized restitution committee acts as a single point of contact for fast, expert, and humane solutions.

• INTERPOL: All works in

• volved are reg

• istered in the Stolen Works of Art Database via the Belgian Federal Police. Museums, auctions, and lenders carry out a mandatory ID-Art check on every incoming or outgoing piece.
• United States: Where legally and procedurally possible, police services submit files to the NSAF, with standardized information and photos. The Gunzburg Foundation supports the compilation of files and coordinates with the FBI Art Crime Team.

Heirlessness and the Jewish community

When heirs no longer exist or cannot be found, the law must provide for an escheat arrangement: allocation to the Jewish community through a recognized foundation, with ring-fencing for care, remembrance, research, and education. Precedents exist. Belgium does not need to blaze a trail in the jungle; it must choose the right path and follow it.

Rule of law hygiene

Opponents sometimes fear legal uncertainty. Unnecessarily so. Public custody under judicial control does not legitimize dubious ownership; it freezes the status until the commission decides whether an agreement has been reached. Registration with INTERPOL and NSAF does not change ownership rights; it signals a presumption of injustice and activates international cooperation. This is not activism, but rule of law hygiene.

A feasible seven-point plan

1. Baseline measurement: confirm the list of 78 works in 11 museums and update with new cases.

1. File creation

1. : provenance, police report, photos, condition—uniform Object ID files.

1. Public custody: display the works in the gallery with clear provenance labels.

1. INTERPOL: register via the NCB workflow; mandatory ID-Art checks on incoming and outgoing flows.

1. NSAF: submit police files to the FBI; link to the NSAF app for market and public vigilance.

1. Restitution Committee: a single point of contact that decides or mediates quickly, expertly, and humanely.

1. Erfloos Act: anchor return to the Jewish community, with transparent spending on care, remembrance, and education.

A promise that counts

Let’s stop whispering about “sensitive provenance” and say out loud what is right: art taken under terror continues to speak—until we respond. The Nico Gunzburg Foundation, together with the Belgian Federal Police and the FBI Art Crime Team, is committed to having all paintings looted by the Nazis and not restituted in Belgian museums included in INTERPOL’s database and the NSAF, where legally and procedurally possible. This is not the last page, but the first chapter of the solution.

Visibility is not a fig leaf. It is the public recognition of injustice and the shortest route to redress. Today, Belgium can choose between the darkness of the depot or the light of the rule of law. For those who have ever lost in the darkness, that choice is not a luxury, but a duty.