Symposium: Honour & Discomfort, war booty in museum collections

Date: 12-13 November 2024
Time: 09.30 AM – 5 PM
Location: National Military Museum, Verlengde Paltzerweg 1, 3768 MX, Soest
Organisation: The Royal Defense Museums Foundation (SKD)
Language: English

On 12 & 13 November 2024, at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, The Royal Defense Museums Foundation (SKD) is organizing the symposium: ‘Honour & Discomfort, war booty in museum collections’. At this symposium, the current state of provenance research and restitution in military museums will be discussed.

Military history cllections are a separate niche
Driven by political activism and an increased sense of historical fairness, there is a renewed interest in war, colonialism and their tangible heritage. Recently, many museum objects have been returned to their original owners, all of which appears to be just the beginning of a new surge of claims and restitutions that is also set to reach military museums. Military history collections are a separate niche that cannot just simply be directly compared to art or anthropology museums.

At the symposium, we will discuss the current state of provenance research and restitution in military museums. We will engage with experts on how to deal with the subject and discuss the notion of ‘fairly conquered in battle’. With the renowned Dutch historian and moderator Hans Goedkoop as the events’ chair, the symposium is set to address the above alongside many other related issues.

A selection of topics:

• “Deutsch or Dutch?” – Joint Provenance Research on the Fokker D.VII Airplane at Deutsches Museum, Munich
• Looting nazi Germany – the case of the German War Art Collection
• The case of the so-called saber of El Hadj Omar Tall
• Who should own the past? Restitution of contested heritage and the law
• The legacy of a Swiss-German arms manufacturer E. Bührle – Dillema’s, Challenges and Entanglements in presenting a contested art collection
• Four colors, not three. The symbolic power of a flag

Military museums
The symposium is being organized by the The Royal Defense Museums Foundation (SKD), with the support of the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Arms and Military History (ICOMAM). Dutch and international experts from museums and the field of looted art, war booty and restitution will be sharing their views and insights. The symposium is aimed at museum professionals, civil servants, legal practitioners, historians, policymakers, reporters and private collectors. The two-day event revolves around lectures covering the legal, social, historical, ethical, moral and practical aspects of the subject, with plenty of room for discussion and exchange of views.