§ Legal basis

The goal of Nazi provenance research is the restitution of cultural property seized as a result of persecution to the rightful owners or their heirs.

• “Washington Declaration”, also “Washington Principles” (1998):
   https://www.kulturgutverluste.de/Webs/DE/Stiftung/Grundlagen/Washingtoner-Prinzipien/Index.html
  (Englische version:  https://www.state.gov/washington-conference-principles-on-nazi-confiscated-art/ )

• Federal Law on the Restitution of Art Objects (BGBl. I, 181/1998), version of 23.11. 2009:
   https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10010094&FassungVom=2009-11-23

The University of Salzburg, and thus the University Library, is not obligated by the Art Restitution Act of 1998 to research its holdings or to make restitutions. Nevertheless, it decided in 2009 to research its history during the years from 1933 to 1945, to search its holdings for Nazi looted property and to restitute it.

 In the spirit of commemoration, the record of looted books and graphics will not be deleted from the online catalog after their restitution, but will be marked as a “virtual memorial” to the injustice that occurred as “Nazi looted property.”