Etude Guenifey : Généalogie successorale et Fiducie

For several years, in France and around the world, public opinion and many museums have been questioning the origin of numerous cultural objects held in their collections. This growing debate is taking place in parallel with, and/or in connection with, a legislative context driving new restitutions to their rightful owners, particularly those who were dispossessed during the Second World War. This renewed focus has led to a sharp increase in the need for provenance research and the identification of the rightful heirs, nearly 80 years after the events.

According to the French Ministry of Culture, provenance research into an object looted during the Second World War “consists of researching and documenting – to the extent possible – the complete history of an object and establishing changes of ownership between 1933 and 1945 in accordance with the Washington Principles [1].”

Specialized in provenance research

The word “provenance” refers to a concept that is both spatial and temporal. It denotes the history of an object through time, tracing the journey it has taken.

Every work carries within it the scattered traces of its past, a memory that must be patiently reconstructed.

This demanding task falls to specialist researchers — true biographers of cultural objects — who establish the connections between history, memory and knowledge. Determining the provenance of an object means retracing its successive changes of ownership, from its creation to the present day. It also means questioning its legitimacy within a collection: while some objects were acquired legally through purchase, gift or inheritance, others changed hands as a result of spoliation, theft, forced sales or looting.

Fundamental to restitution efforts, the fight against forgeries and the prevention of illicit trafficking, provenance research plays an essential role in our contemporary societies.

The Guénifey Memory Service is also committed to honouring the memory of the forgotten figures of our history — the heroines and heroes of the Second World War. Drawing on our expertise in historical and genealogical research, we contribute to the posthumous recognition of those who, at the risk of their own lives, protected, sheltered or assisted persons persecuted because they were Jewish, in particular by supporting their nomination as Righteous Among the Nations.

This work of remembrance involves identifying and documenting the acts of courage and humanity carried out by these often little-known individuals. We reconstruct personal histories, trace descendants and gather the evidence needed to enable these everyday heroes to receive the recognition they deserve.

By paying tribute to these exemplary lives, we take part in an essential duty of transmission, so that their commitment may never be forgotten.

Our expertise

Researching the provenance of cultural property looted during World War II: identifying the property, locating it, determining its successive owners; document its history as far as possible.

Search for the heirs and/or beneficiaries of the dispossessed owner.

Legal support with a view to compensation or restitution.

Genealogical and historical research with a view to recognition as Righteous Among the Nations or as part of a specific historical project (contemporary period).