Records of the The Italian Directorate General of Archives Relating to Nazi-Era Cultural Property
The Direzione Generale Archivi (DGA: Italian Directorate General of Archives) coordinates and promotes the activities of all of the Italian State Archives (one in each province) and of the Soprintendenze archivistiche (Archival Departments, one in each region). The State Archives hold the documents that all state offices deposit 40 years after the records were created. The records of the offices of the Prime Minister, the ministries and other central bodies are sent to the Central State Archives in Rome, and those from regional offices go to the appropriate State Archives in each province. The Soprintendenze supervise the archives of other public authorities and of private archives considered of notable historical importance. This means that the DGA does not directly conserve documents but supervises all the state, public and private archives throughout the country.
The Royal Decree 126/1939 stated that Italian Jews could not own assets exceeding a certain amount. A special public agency, Ente di Gestione e Liquidazione Immobiliare (EGELI: Agency for Real Estate Management and Liquidation), was in charge of management and destination of excess assets. After January 1944, EGELI was in charge of the assets both seized and confiscated from Jews in the Fascist Italian Social Republic who had been sent to concentration camps. EGELI delegated the management of these assets to public and private credit institutions. Cultural properties were not mentioned separately, so it is necessary to search the files to find evidence of looted art and other cultural property. Please use the links below to view descriptions of relevant records included in the DGA Archives Information System or in other institutional web sites.
| Archivio Centrale dello Stato (Central State Archive) | |
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Central State Archive - Ministry of Finance, Coordination Directorate-General Taxation, General Affairs and Personnel, Jewish Property Service, General Affairs, Management of Assets in excess of CSR and Confiscation Decrees, 1938-1945 |
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Central State Archive - EGELI, 1939-1945 |
| Archivi di Stato (State Archives in Provinces) | |
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State Archive of Mantova - Local EGELI, Jewish Property in Mantova, 1944-1945 |
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State Archive of Turin - Office of Internal Revenue, Damage of Wars, Racial Laws: Compensation for confiscation of Jewish assets, 1943-end of the 20th century |
| Other Archives | |
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Historical Archives of the Compagnia di San Paolo (Foundation of St. Paul) - Records concerning EGELI's delegation of responsibility to the Compagnia di San Paolo for management of confiscated Jewish assets in the Piedmont and Liguria regions, 1940-1950 |
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Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (Academy of the Arts of Drawing) - Records of Rodolfo Siviero, 1921-1983 |
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Centro Bibliografico Ebraico (Jewish Bibliographic Center), Rome - Guide to Archival Fonds at the Bibliographical Center Tullia Levi, Activities of the Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche Italiane (Union of Italian Jewish Communities since 1965), 1965-1986 |
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Archivio e biblioteca Renato Maestro (Archive and Library Renato Maestro) - Jewish Community of Venice, 1930-1989 |
For more information about the records of the Italian Directorate General of Archives, please visit its website.
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