Erinnerung kartieren. NS-Kunstraub, Verantwortung und die politische Dimension der Provenienzforschung

This paper examines how provenance research can be repositioned under changing conditions of memory politics and analyses Karol Estreicher’s Index of Persons as an early example of actor- and network-oriented provenance research. Compiled during WWII by the Polish art historian, the index systematically recorded the individuals, institutions, and networks involved in Nazi art looting in occupied Poland, shifting the focus from stolen objects to structures of responsibility and participation. As a relational source, it reveals art looting as an organised practice of violence and reconstructs networks of perpetrators, intermediaries, and beneficiaries. The paper demonstrates the potential of actor-based sources for a politically engaged and responsibility-oriented provenance research and advocates for their stronger integration into digital, internationally connected research infrastructures between Poland and Germany.