This new research project sets out to explore the Art Looting Investigation Unit Reports – better known as the “Red Flag Names” list. This was compiled by the Art Looting Investigation Unit (ALIU) of the American Office of Strategic Services between 1945 and 1946. The list contains the names of individuals and organisations that appeared in the context of Nazi art trade. The ALIU's goal was to identify the actors, networks and structures involved in the Nazi trade in art and cultural property and to gather information about their activities. Their work was based on interrogations and interviews. The findings were systematically compiled and documented in the form of the Red Flag Names List.
The list has become an established tool for provenance research and serves as an important source of information when investigating suspicious cases. Despite this continued relevance, there has however been no critical examination of the list. This is precisely where our project comes in: We seek to explore, among others, how the list was brought together, what roles and functions those on the list actually played, and how the list can be used specifically for provenance research in the future. We are particularly interested in those figures neglected by the research to date.
