Room of martyrs- art stolen by nazis

The Room of Martyrs, a storeroom for art banned by the Nazis, at the Jeu de Paume gallery in Paris (Credit: The Jewish Museum)



Ritual objects were rescued by Jewish communities as part of a wider salvage effort (Credit: The Jewish Museum)

The masterpieces stolen by the Nazis

The masterpieces stolen by the Nazis

These objects are the material survivors of the Jewish communities of Europe, each one with a distinct story, an "afterlife" of survival, to reveal. Yet taken as a whole, these tales also adhere to what we might think of as a new kind of archetypal journey, one that follows the fate of each work, from the original uprooting of cultural theft to displacement to eventual rescue and restitution.


Johannes Felbermeyer, Artworks in storage at the Central Collecting Point, Munich, [ca. 1945-1949]




The entry to the exhibit features a photo of the “Room of the Martyrs” at the Jeu de Paume gallery where the Nazis hung much of their looted art before deciding its fate. The Room of the Martyrs was filled with art considered degenerate and often slated for destruction.