Restitutions of high-priced artworks have given the public the impression that items stolen from Jewish citizens during the National Socialist era were almost exclusively works of art and objects of great value. The opposite is the case: Most of the possessions seized were things used in everyday life, including furniture, or simple household goods. They ended up not only in public authorities or museums, but also in private households. How should museums deal with objects that were - allegedly - once in the possession of Jewish individuals and that are now often off ered to them by descendants of the individuals who subsequently acquired them? Are the stories that have been handed down in the family true? Can they be verified?Should museums accept such historically charged objects at all?

Carolin Lange, Landesstelle für die nichtstaatlichen Museen in Bayern, München.