#SPURENSUCHE.
A provenance walk through Berlin

On the International Day of Provenance Research (in German)

For the 7th International Day of Provenance Research, ten Berlin cultural institutions are joining forces to #SPURENSUCHE: The Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB) is taking part! The program includes five guided walks through the capital that provide insights into the work of provenance researchers in the individual cultural institutions. At the same time, various stations in today's Berlin cityscape will show the still visible traces of colonial heritage and Nazi rule as well as the fates of persecuted people and institutions.

Wed 9 Apr 2025, 10 am & 12 noon

Where

Berlin, various locations

Where, when, what?

#SPUR 1

The first walk starts at 10 am at the Topography of Terror Documentation Center and follows the question of why the Secret State Police and the SS Security Service stole millions of books and what happened to them. The tour then moves on to the JMB library, where visitors are given an insight into the working library of senior cantor Estrongo Nachama. The stamps, nameplates and bookplates on his books are reminders of Berlin preachers and cantors who were robbed and murdered by the National Socialists.

After a short break, there will be an opportunity to take part in a guided tour of the exhibition Provenances. Wayfaring Art. The meeting point is the foyer of the Berlinische Galerie. Please allow some time to drop off jackets or bags there.

The word Spurensuche with enlarged letters in the middle of the word on a red-berry background.

The complete program of all walks can be found on the website of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin: Spurensuche - Provenance Research

#SPUR 2

The second walk begins at 12 noon in front of the JMB library, where Elisabeth Weber will talk about looted everyday objects and the search for their original owners. The walk then continues to the Berlinische Galerie, where a guided tour of the exhibition Provenances. Wayfaring Art offers insights into the gallery's provenance research.

The Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB), the Akademie der Künste, the Berlinische Galerie, the Deutsches Historisches Museum, the Ethnologisches Museum - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, the Stiftung Topographie des Terrors, the University Library of Humboldt-Universität, the Zentral­archiv der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin and the Zentral- und Landesbibliothek Berlin are taking part in the #SPURENSUCHE project.

A woman with frizzy, short hair and glasses looks friendly into the camera.

Elisabeth Weber, Provenienz­forscherin am JMB, Foto: Jüdisches Museum Berlin

Where, when, what?

  • Entry fee

    Free of charge

  • Registration Walk #SPUR 1 
    Walk #SPUR 2

    Meetingpoints 10 am – Topography of Terror Documentation Centre, Niederkirchnerstraße 8, 10963 Berlin, in front of the stairs to the Documentation Center (in the foyer in case of heavy rain)

    12 noon – In front of the entrance to the W. M. Blumenthal Academy, Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin (opposite the Jewish Museum)

Share, Newsletter, Feedback