Syllabus

Short Course Description

For the first time in Israel, an academic course dedicated to the legal and historical issues of Nazi-looted art will take place. The course is a collaboration between TAU and University of Bonn, Germany. It will be attended by law, art-history and humanities students from Tel-Aviv University as well as from the University of Bonn in Germany.
Over 75 years have passed since the end of WWII and the issue of Nazi-looted art is still very much present and even growing. Museums and private owners worldwide and in Israel still hold artworks looted from Jews during the Holocaust which have not yet been restituted. In 1998 the Washington Conference set up principles for the restitution of artworks lost during the years 1933-1945. The course will review these principles and how they are implemented (or not) in several countries. The course will deal with two primary disciplines: provenance research and the legal framework for restitution.
Academic advisor, Tel-Aviv Law Faculty: Prof. Leora Bilsky.
Academic advisors, Bonn Law Faculty: Prof. Dr. Matthias Weller and Prof. Dr. Christoph Zuschlag.
[Academic Moderator: Eyal Dolev. Teaching assistant: Niv Goldberg.]
The course will include several guest lectures by leading experts from museums, auction houses, NGOs, and experts in art, provenance research, and art and cultural property law. The course will be held (via Zoom) on Wednesday evenings.
Israeli students will be required to write a final paper, in English, that will analyze an existing case based on the theory and principles discussed. The course will be regarded as an English course for law students, and will credit 2 academic points. Participation in the Zoom classes is mandatory.
* Provenance is the ownership history of an artwork.

Grade components: 10% Attendance, 10% Active Participation, 80% Final Paper.