The Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin has announced the restitution of the 1922 bronze sculpture 'Tänzerinnen-Brunnen' (Dancers’ Fountain) to the heirs of its original owner, a Jewish art collector and insurance executive named Stahl. Following an extensive provenance investigation, the museum determined that Stahl was forced to sell his villa and the sculpture under Nazi persecution and economic coercion in 1941, shortly before he was deported and murdered at the Theresienstadt concentration camp.
This restitution is significant as the sculpture has served as a centerpiece of the museum's garden for nearly fifty decades and is one of Kolbe's most recognizable works. The decision underscores the ongoing commitment of German cultural institutions to the 1998 Washington Principles, highlighting a proactive shift toward moral accountability and the systematic identification of 'persecution-related losses' within public collections.