Get back to where you once belonged (Volume 2: Bootylicious)
Ah, legislation. It makes fools of us all.
Congratulations, everyone, UK museums can now return artworks looted in WWII! What, you ask, they couldn't do this before? No, apparently not - national institutions cannot dispose of things in their collections, they could (prior to this law) just pay off the victims in the sum of the value of the looted artwork, which would remain safely in the keeping of the institution. Finders Keepers, and all that. I love how self-congratulatory the politicians are:
A great step forward perhaps 70 years too late? Justice limited only to a very recent conflict, and one where the victims are generally white (ish, depending on who you talk to)? Maybe it's my hormones, but this kind of back-slapping small-mindedness makes me stabby.
Congratulations, everyone, UK museums can now return artworks looted in WWII! What, you ask, they couldn't do this before? No, apparently not - national institutions cannot dispose of things in their collections, they could (prior to this law) just pay off the victims in the sum of the value of the looted artwork, which would remain safely in the keeping of the institution. Finders Keepers, and all that. I love how self-congratulatory the politicians are:
Culture minister Margaret Hodge said it was "a wonderful day" for families who "suffered so terribly during the Nazi era".
"For too long families who had heirlooms stolen from them by the Nazis were unable to reclaim them, although they were the rightful owners."
Anne Webber, co-chair of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, said this was "a great step forward" that confirmed Britain's "commitment to providing justice".
A great step forward perhaps 70 years too late? Justice limited only to a very recent conflict, and one where the victims are generally white (ish, depending on who you talk to)? Maybe it's my hormones, but this kind of back-slapping small-mindedness makes me stabby.
Comments