Symposium: 

HONOUR & DISCOMFORT

War booty in museum collections

National Military Museum in the Netherlands

November 12 and 13, 2024

 

PROGRAMME and TICKETS

The Royal Defence Museums Foundation (Stichting Koninklijke Defensiemusea) cordially invites you to the symposium ‘Honour & Discomfort, war booty in museum collections’ at the National Military Museum.

Driven by political activism and an increased sense of historical fairness, there is a renewed interest in war, colonialism, slavery and their tangible heritage. All of which appears to be just the beginning of a new surge of claims and restitutions that is also set to hit military museums. Military history collections are a separate niche that cannot just simply be directly compared to art or anthropology museums. At the symposium, we will be discussing the current state of affairs and engaging with experts on how to deal with this subject. We will also debate the term ‘fairly conquered’ and raise the question as to whether there is a need for new and more effective laws and regulations. With Hans Goedkoop as the event’s chairman, the symposium is set to address the above along with many other issues. The symposium is being organised with the support of ICOMAM, the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Arms and Military History. Dutch and international experts from museums and the field of looted art, war booty and restitution will be sharing their views and insights. The symposium will be conducted in English.

 

A selection of featured topics and speakers:

• “Deutsch or Dutch?” – Joint Provenance Research on the Fokker D.VII Airplane at Deutsches Museum, Munich

by Andreas Hempfer, curator, Deutsches Museum Dennis Mitschke, researcher, Deutsches Museum 

• Looting nazi Germany – the case of the German War Art Collection

by Almar Seinen, Allard Pierson Museum 

• The case of the so-called saber of El Hadj Omar Tall

by Lucile Paraponaris, provenance researcher, Musée de l’Armee 

• Who should own the past? Restitution of contested heritage and the law

by Evelien Campfens, legal expert, Universiteit van Amsterdam 

• Four colors, not three. The symbolic power of a flag

by Wim Manuhutu, historian and lecturer at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 

• The RMS-flag in the Marines Museum

by Casper van Dijk, curator, National Military Museum  

• The legacy of a Swiss-German arms manufacturer E. Bührle Dillema’s, Challenges and Entanglements in presenting a contested art collection

by Ann Demeester, director, Kunsthaus Zürich  

• When should we give back our Tiger?

by David Willey, curator, The Tank Museum  

• Announcement of upcoming plans and projects of the NMM and ICOM/ICOMAM

by Paul van Brakel, curator, National Military Museum