Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project
The Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project’s goal is the creation of a comprehensive listing of all Jewish owned cultural objects plundered by the Nazis and their allies from the time of their spoliation to the present. The project is a joint initiative of the Commission for Art Recovery and the Claims Conference.
Archives of Nazi Records: The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg
The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) was the main Nazi agency responsible for looting Jewish-owned cultural valuables in Nazi-occupied countries as well as plundering libraries, archives and Judaica.
Baltics
Since 2025, the Claims Conference has supported research into Nazi-looted cultural- and religious property in the Baltics.
More information to come.
Hungary
The Claims Conference-WJRO has initiated three major projects aimed at researching the looting of Jewish owned cultural and religious property in Hungary.
Croatia
The Claims Conference-WJRO published an extensive report that presents a historical analysis and partial list of cultural objects looted from Jews and others by the Croatian fascists – the Ustaše – during the Holocaust and after World War II, that were nationalized by the Communist government and distributed to Croatian state institutions.
Estonia
In April 2023, the Claims Conference-WJRO made available the report “The ERR Looting of the Julius Genss Collection in Estonia.”
Judaica
Facilitating restitution of Judaica plundered during the Holocaust is a priority for the Claims Conference-WJRO.
Other Projects in Provenance Research
The Claims Conference-WJRO makes grants to support research into the spoliation of looted cultural and religious property. Learn more about supported projects.
last updated February 2026
Images:
Screenshot JDCRP website: https://jdcrp.org/documentation-of-persecuted-jewish-artists/
A map showing the activities of the ERR in occupied Europe. Yad Vashem, archival signature: 368.
ERR sorting books in the Baltic states. Yad Vashem, archival signature: 368.
Racetrack in Budapest. Copyright: Fortepan /Kölcsey Ferenc Dunakeszi Városi Könyvtár / Petanovits fényképek
Jews wearing Jewish badges with the Star of David and the letter Z, Zagreb, Croatia. Yad Vashem, archival signature: 6315/7.
“Julius Genss Library,” painting by Dagmar Bette-Punga, 1938. Courtesy of Julia Gens.
Provenance: S. J. Pomrenze - Display of ritual synagogue textiles confiscated by the Nazis. USHM photograph number: 48738.
An American soldier discovers a framed painting that was looted by the Nazi regime in an underground vault. USHMM photograph number: 37461. National Archives and Records Administration, source record ID: 111-SC-374692. [public domain]