Injustice & Profit

The Badisches Landesmuseum in the period of National Socialism

Seemingly unsuspicious – for a long time, that was the role ascribed to Museums during the NS-period. More still  – they were considered “victims” because of the state-ordered removal of objects (“corrupted art”). But in 1998, the “Washington Conference on Nazi-Confiscated Art in the time of the Holocaust” realization set in: All museums and institutions preserving cultural possessions could be proven to have profited from the theft of cultural goods from Jewish ownership. The Badisches Landesmuseum is now facing up to its past.

The exhibition shows about 70 objects from its own collections: ceramics, painting, sculptures and textiles from antiquity to Art Nouveau. The objects presented for the first time were all illegally taken from their owners during the NS-period. They make clear the extent to which the Badisches Landesmuseum profited from the robbing of Jewish citizens. The focus is on the years 1933 to 1945. But two purchases from the 1970s are also presented.

Another theme of the exhibition is the function of the museum as a powerful visual backdrop. The former residence palace was at the center of political actions of the NS regime and the palace façade and the plaza before it were used for proclamations. Moreover, the configuration of the exhibition illustrates the task of the research into provenance: enlargements of newspaper excerpts, seizure lists and press photos explain the source and provide important hints in following the clues, which often proceeded over years. 

A publication will accompany the exhibition (Nünnerich-Asmus Verlag & Media, 127 pages with numerous illustrations, Museumshop 24 euros, German).

Special Exhibition

April 12 – September 28, 2025
Karlsruhe Palace


Picture Gallery

Besucher betrachtet einen historischen Stadtplan von Karlsruhe
Auf einer Holztafel stehen Text-Auszüge aus dem Roman "Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl", daneben befindet sich eine Vitrine mit einem rosa Plüschhasen
Besucher betrachtet ein Gemälde mit dem Porträt einer Frau
Besucher in einer Ausstellung, einige betrachten einen großen Wandbehang
Puppen-Kaffeeservice in einer Vitrine
Besucher mit Kopfhörern schauen einen Film in einer Ausstellung
Konzertflügel in einer Ausstellung
Besucherin betrachtet ein kleines Gemälde, hinter ihr steht die bemalte Holzskulptur eines Heiligen auf einem Sockel
Besucherin betrachtet leere Münzpappen
Besucherin betrachtet eine weiße Skulptur, in deren Sockel eine Uhr integriert ist
kunstvoll verzierter Mörser aus Bronze

The Badisches Landesmuseum shows events from the National Socialist era. In the context of the exhibition, historical sources can be seen unchanged in the original. We expressly distance ourselves from the ideology of National Socialism and from illegal and discriminatory content of any kind that is reproduced in this exhibition.