06.06.2024 – 27.10.2024
An unprecedented campaign of looting accompanied the systematic disenfranchisement, persecution and ultimately murder of Vienna’s Jews. Thousands of homes were looted by various organisations, but also by private individuals. Stolen furniture, works of art and decorative objects were confiscated. Through later sales or donations, many of them ended up in the collections of Viennese museums.
“Robbery” – a joint exhibition by the Jüdischen Museums Wien and the Wien Museum – sheds light on these criminal practices. It traces the path from looting to the inclusion of the objects in the museum collections. Having arrived in the present day, the exhibition finally focuses on the restitution endeavours that began with the passing of the Vienna Restitution Act in 1999.
The exhibition is presented as a film installation in two locations. It begins in the Jüdischen Museums Wien, Museum Judenplatz, which symbolises the looted objects and their rightful owners: Here, their stories are told, and the stolen objects are shown being packed and transported away. At the Wien Museum, visitors can observe the process of unpacking and incorporation into the city’s collections, as well as subsequent restitution efforts.
Robbery
06.06.2024 – 27.10.2024
Wien Museum
Karlsplatz 8
1040 Vienna
www.wienmuseum.at
Jüdisches Museum der Stadt Wien
Judenplatz 8
1010 Vienna
www.jmw.at
