German art experts defend slow progress on Nazi-era hoard

A German task force investigating the provenance of a spectacular Nazi-era art hoard says that only five out of 500 works had been proved to be looted thus far, and defends its slow progress.

The government-appointed panel presents a report on the pieces of suspect origin among the more than 1,200 artworks in the secret collection discovered in Cornelius Gurlitt’s cluttered Munich apartment four years ago.

But the 14-member task force, which wrapped up its work in late December, says that only one percent could be shown without doubt to have been stolen from Jewish families under the Third Reich or sold under duress.

The 14-member international task force was established in 2013 to sort through the spectacular trove hidden for decades by Cornelius Gurlitt, son of a powerful art dealer during the Third Reich. It included experts from France, Israel, Austria, Poland, Hungary, the United States and Germany, and victims’ groups such as the Jewish Claims Conference.