Inventory No. 1938: Examining Nazi Confiscations and Provenance Research at Technisches Museum Wien

This permanent exhibition at the Technisches Museum Wien examines the often overlooked aspect of Nazi confiscations: everyday objects like radios, furniture, and bicycles stolen from persecuted individuals. It reconstructs victim life stories and documents the ongoing search for living heirs.

The public discourse on provenance research often centers on the restitution of valuable artworks, overshadowing the widespread theft of everyday items such as radios, cameras, furniture, musical instruments, and vehicles from individuals persecuted on racial or political grounds. The Technisches Museum Wien's collection, which has always focused on objects of daily life, has been found to contain items previously owned by Jewish individuals. '_Inventory No. 1938_' is the first permanent exhibition of its kind in a German-speaking museum dedicated to this subject. It details the daily practice of Nazi raids, reconstructs the life stories of the victims, and documents the complex process of tracing living heirs across the globe. The exhibition also highlights the 'Aryanisation' of everyday objects around 1938, offering visitors an interactive database on looted vehicles for their own research.

This exhibition is a permanent display at the Technisches Museum Wien. Further visitor information and ticketing details can be found on the museum's website.