Museums in Saxony scrutinize artifacts forhidden Nazi treasures

In the heart of Saxony, the City and Steam Engine Museum (Stadt- und Dampfmaschinenmuseum) in Werdau is playing a significant role in the jointly planned, third-party-funded project "Art, Looting, Return - Forgotten Life Stories" by the SKD and the State Museums of Berlin. This project, funded nationwide by the German Centre for Lost Cultural Property to 100%, aims to shed light on the stories of persecuted families and their lost artifacts.

The focus of this project in Werdau is the Ringer family, whose department store on the market square was attacked and destroyed during the November pogroms in 1938. Family members of the Ringer family were deported and murdered shortly after the attack. Today, the store's sign, a collection piece that tells a special story about the fate of the Ringer family, has been preserved and was donated to the museum in 1966.

From September 2024 to January 2025, three museums - Museum Burg Mylau, the Neuberin Museum in Reichenbach, and the Stadt- und Dampfmaschinenmuseum Werdau - reviewed their collections, with external provenance researchers, including Mike Huth and Lore Liebscher, conducting these checks.

Intriguing findings were made during these reviews. The Museum Burg Mylau discovered two fragments of Hebrew writings, likely looted goods from Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. At least one of these writings was delivered to the museum by a Wehrmacht soldier in 1943. No credible indications of objects removed due to persecution were found in the Neuberin Museum.

Historian Jens Kunze and museum director Markus Doescher have succeeded in contacting descendants of the Ringer family. The research results, along with the store's sign, will be displayed in the special exhibition "80 Years Ago. End of the War in Werdau and Surroundings" (9.2.-15.6.2025) at the Stadt- und Dampfmaschinenmuseum Werdau.

The city of Werdau is aiming for a fair and just solution in accordance with the Washington Principles. On August 13, 2025, a stumbling block will be laid in Werdau in memory of the Ringer family. This poignant event will serve as a reminder of the past and a call for continued efforts in uncovering and restoring the lost stories of families like the Ringers.

Since late 2023, initial checks for suspected Nazi-looted art have been conducted on six non-state museums in Saxony. A follow-up research project and the inclusion of the writing fragments as a find report in the Lost Art database of the German Centre for Lost Cultural Property are planned. The journey to restitution continues, and the stories of families like the Ringers will not be forgotten.