The Restitutions Committee advised the Minister not to restitute 14 plates to the applicants, the only granddaughters of Abraham Citroen. The applicants were excluded by their father Karel Adolf Citroen as heirs to his estate in his will. The Committee takes the view that it should not infringe the freedom of a person to determine for themselves who their legal successor or successors pursuant to inheritance law are by departing from the general rule regarding the ownership requirements in its assessment framework. The restitution application was rejected on these grounds.

There is a family history behind every restitution application. The object for which restitution is being requested is often the only tangible reminder of family members murdered by the Nazi regime during the Second World War or who otherwise did not survive the horrors of that war. Restitution of an object looted by the Nazis can help surviving relatives reconstruct their shared history.

The Committee has advised the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science to restitute the painting Fruit Still Life by the seventeenth-century painter Johannes Bosschaert to the Order of Freemasons under the Grand Orient of the Netherlands. Although this is not generally known, the Nazis persecuted the Order of Freemasons as an organization during the occupation.

On Thursday 26 June the Dutch Restitutions Committee will contribute to the international conference Recovered Memories in Paris. Descendants of families from five European countries who were victims of art looting during the Nazi regime, professionals and interested parties from all over the world will engage in discussing the importance of restituting Nazi looted art. The emphasis is on sharing the histories of the robbed families.

The RC has advised Rotterdam to restitute the drawing Girl Writing at a Table by Max Liebermann to the heirs of Max and Martha Liebermann. As a rule, restitution applications are submitted by the descendants of art collectors and art dealers. This is the first case of an application being submitted by the heirs of the maker of the artwork in question.

A link between a number of objects and the Jewish art dealer Mozes Mogrobi was found during implementation of the Programme to Accelerate WWII Restitution Policy, under the auspices of which the provenance of the entire NK Collection is being reinvestigated. As a result, Mogrobi's heirs submitted a request for restitution, which led to this restitution.

The Restitutions Committee has advised Amsterdam City Council to restitute the painting ‘Odalisque’ (Henri Matisse) to Albert Stern’s legal successors. The Committee came to the conclusion that the textile manufacturer Albert Stern was the owner of the painting during the occupation on the grounds of the investigation conducted by the Commission for Looted Art in Europe and assessed by the Expert Centre Restitution NIOD.

The Restitutions Committee has advised the State Secretary for Culture and Media to restitute the oil painting Fighting Card Players (unknown artist) to the heirs of the Jewish antiques dealer Meijer Marcus van Praag (1871-1943). Research revealed that Van Praag sold the painting from his private collection in October 1941 to an art collector. The sale was connected to measures taken by the occupying forces against Jewish citizens and arose out of necessity.

The Restitutions Committee has advised the State Secretary for Culture and Media to restitute the painting God Appearing to Abraham at Sichem by Moeyaert to Herman Hamburger’s heir. The Committee concluded on the grounds of the investigation conducted by the Expert Centre Restitution that it is highly likely that the painting had been part of the private collection of the Jewish art dealer and collector Herman Hamburger since 1936. It also became sufficiently plausible that Hamburger lost possession of the painting as a result of circumstances directly connected with the Nazi regime.

The RC has advised the State Secretary for Culture and Media to restitute the watercolour The Aunts Go on a Journey by Alexander Hugo Bakker Korff to the heirs of Jacob Lierens (1877-1949). On the grounds of research conducted by the Expert Centre Restitution the Committee concludes that it is highly likely that the watercolour came from the private collection of Jewish art collector Jacob Lierens of Amsterdam. Research has also shown that it is sufficiently plausible that he lost possession of the watercolour involuntarily as a result of circumstances directly related with the Nazi regime.

The Restitutions Committee has advised Rotterdam City Council to restitute the ivory relief Hodegetria or Virgin and Child, which is in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, to the heirs of the partners of Kunsthaus A.S. Drey.

A number of changes have been made to the Restitutions Committee Procedural Regulations in order to remove possible ambiguities and to make the Restitutions Committee’s working practices clearer.