The UK Government will call for stronger efforts to return Nazi-looted art to its original owners at the first European conference dedicated to the issue in five years.
Hundreds of experts from the UK, Germany, France, Holland, Austria and across the globe will gather in London in September. The Conference ‘70 Years and Counting: The final opportunity?’ aims to strengthen partnerships, build greater cooperation on spoliation and examine how the process of returning stolen artworks can be accelerated.
The conference comes as the Government strengthens its commitment to these issues by announcing that it will seek to extend the UK’s Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act, which gives national museums powers to return works of art found to be looted during the Third Reich. The Act expires on 11 November 2019 and the Government will seek to renew the powers indefinitely.