Heirs accept return of the dancers’ fountain

The heirs had until mid-February to comment on the offer

The Sculpture Museum’s most prominent exhibit – undoubtedly confiscated due to Nazi persecution – is likely to leave the collection. There is no mention of an amicable agreement with the heirs, possibly a permanent loan or a planned purchase (estimated value: 1.3 million euros) in the museum’s current announcement. Recently there were sharp disputes between the descendants’ lawyers and the museum after it emerged that a waiver had only been obtained from part of the family in 2001. The case had to be reopened.

After it was finally clarified that the grandson Werner Stahl had not spoken on behalf of the entire family when handing over the fountain 25 years ago, the museum made an offer of restitution to all heirs in September. The descendants had until mid-February to comment on this.

With the current acceptance of both branches of the family, the affair surrounding the Dancer’s Fountain could still come to a happy end, which has already cast a shadow on the museum, which had actually tried to deal with the robbery case. The research exhibition on the history of the fountain, which opened in April 2025, will therefore continue to be visible in the basement, as the museum emphasizes.

At the same time, Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer commented on the Restitution Act on Deutschlandfunk. It is currently being prepared, says Weimer. The legal regulation long demanded by the descendants of Jewish victims of Nazi persecution would then also cover looted art in private ownership. So far, only public collections are obliged to make restitution.

The Union and the SPD have anchored a new regulation in their coalition agreement, so it should be passed by the beginning of 2029 at the latest. In the “Interview of the Week” with Deutschlandfunk, however, Weimer also explained that the project was complex because it had many constitutional and financial levels. Many people therefore consider the law, which has been repeatedly criticized, to be unrealistic.