Second World War

From the archive | how MacDonald Gill's lettering provides an egalitarian monument to the British and Commonwealth fallen of two world wars

The first biography of ‘Max’ Gill reveals the versatile talent of an artist who was a master of lettering and murals and a standout mapmaker-artist

Sculpture by Arno Breker—one of Hitler’s favourite artists—found buried in Berlin museum garden

Missing for 75 years, the large marble head, one of the artist's best-known works, was uncovered by chance during construction work at Kunsthaus Dahlem

National museum in Stockholm to return stolen 16th-century painting to Poland

Officials in Poland and Sweden piece together provenance of work by School of Lucas Cranach the Elder

Code-cracking lot: Second World War Enigma machine on offer at Vienna’s Dorotheum

The Germans believed Enigma was uncrackable; cryptographers at Bletchley Park broke the code, contributing to the Allies’ victory

Executed by the Nazis: the story of Vincent van Gogh’s brave great-nephew

This month the Van Gogh family pays tribute to Theodoor, the 24-year-old student who faced a firing squad in 1945

a blog by Martin Bailey

The cultural consequences of the Second World War carry into today

From art restitutions to how museum adapted to wartime constraints, we continue to feel the fallout 75 years after the conflict’s end

What can we learn from museums during the Second World War?

On the 75th anniversary of VE Day, we look back at how art institutions adapted to wartime constraints, from tours without pictures to child's play

The astonishing tales of how the Sunflowers survived the Second World War

To mark VE Day, we investigate the fate of Van Gogh’s masterpieces under Hitler and Churchill

a blog by Martin Bailey
Booksreview

Book offers broadest and deepest study of Nazi culture yet

This is the first publication to fully examine the cultural output of the Third Reich, which, unsurprisingly, failed to produce great art

Obituariesfeature

Obituary: Nathalie Brooke, a leading figure in the preservation of Venice

A remarkable cultural ambassador in London's art, political, and musical scene and on return visits to her native Russia. One of the founders of Venice in Peril

This book gives a first-hand account of Second World War art and propaganda

A vivid account of the art arising from the experiences of the artist, George Plante

Churchill's 'strongest link' in the Battle of Britain: new museum tells story of Biggin Hill airfield

Bitter campaign against the new museum, comparing design to concentration camp structure, almost derailed the project

From the archive, 1 October 1990: 'We did not pursue any party political nonsense on the Museum Island'

On the 25th anniversary of German reunification, we republish our first ever front-page story, in which East Berlin museums chief Günter Schade defends his record and reveals how East German museums sold in order to buy

Bode museum finally lays bare its war-damaged collection

An exhibition in Berlin surveys the ethical implications of restoring damaged art

Fixing - or not fixing - the works in Berlin's sculpture collections damaged in 1945

Should they be left as a reminder of a dark past or restored to reflect the artists’ intentions?

Germany’s Nazi past is evoked in Anselm Kiefer’s first retrospective in the UK

Dealing with the traumatic experience of growing up in a nation rising from the ruins of the Third Reich has been an important theme in the artist's work

The message about looted art is finally getting through as Cambodia is inundated with returned loot

The restitution of Cambodian statues by major museums and auction houses is an encouraging sign

Nazi lootarchive

Nazi loot claim for Tate’s Constable

Beaching a Boat, Brighton, has been claimed by the heirs of Baron Ferenc Hatvany

Heirs of persecuted dealer Alfred Flechtheim reject provenance project over restitution claims

The Jewish dealer’s relatives say participating museums are not dealing satisfactorily with their claims

Filmsarchive

The art of warfare: new documentary on practical applications of art installation during WWII

Rick Beyer’s “The Ghost Army” is the story of the artists who worked to throw the German army off the scent of the real location of Allied troops

Getty Institute publishes Nazi auction data

Rise in restitution claims expected after launch of online German auction catalogues for 1930-45

Looted artarchive

The Dutch government gives up its claim on Nazi loot

The decision not to appeal cannot but weaken its claim to other war booty such as the Koenigs collection still held in Russia

Newsarchive

Germany supports research into Russia’s wartime losses

Archives of the western allies will be searched for clues

The source of infamous forger Van Meegeren’s secret supplies exposed

A Scotland Yard report shows that the notorious Dutch faker bought lapis lazuli paint for his “Vermeers” in bulk from Winsor & Newton

Museumsarchive

Oligarch Marek Roefler opens museum in Warsaw

Collector shows off Polish art with French accent

Newsarchive

Ukraine suffered “colossal” looting during World War II

New research challenges Russians’ claim that they own many cultural valuables from the independent state