Nazi Looted Art and the Fight for Open Data

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In 2000 the American newspaper Chicago Tribune examined the struggle to publish long hidden Holocaust-related art looting archives. 

The article, "KEY TO ART NAZIS STOLE MAY BE LOCKED AWAY"written by journalist and history professor Ron Grossman, recounts the struggle to provide open access to:

 a massive cache of World War II records documenting Nazi looting of works by some of the greatest artists in history 

The context of the article is that a United States government commission on Holocaust reparations is preparing to issue its final report, and there is fear that these crucial archives, which had been marked classified and locked away, will remain inaccessible despite the efforts of the Presidential Commission. The Commission is planning to publish a public database, but there are problems. Additional government funding is needed. A deadline looms.

Mapping ALIU looted art market networks with Google Fusion Tables

Graphs from Google Fusion Tables can help us to visualise the Nazi looted art market described in 1946 by the OSS Art Looting Investigation Unit

There is little, at present, in the way of digital network analysis of Nazi looted art markets.

The field appears to be wide open. (Digital art historians, take note). 
There does not seem to be a sophisticated user base of researchers adapt at using digital tools to explore Nazi looted art markets or even much of an appreciation for how illuminating use of these tools can be.

Google Fusion Tables is a free experimental tool that is easy to use, very powerful and built for collaboration. It has been widely adopted by investigative journalists and data journalists whose analytical detective methods have much to offer to historians of the Holocaust as well as scholars of the art market.

Time is short, as Google has announced plans to pull the plug on Fusion Tables on December 3, 2019.

The clock is ticking. However, in the eleven months that Google Fusion Tables has to live, there is a lot of innovative research that can be done with methods that are within the reach of absolutely anyone who cares to learn. (This includes not just those interested in Nazi looted art, but also researchers of colonialism.)

see:

Networks of Bruno Lohse

The Ultimate Art Looting Network: Agents of High Placed Nazis

Switzerland in the Art Looting Investigation Unit Red Flag List of Names

Networks of Gustav Rochlitz

RIP Fusion Tables: Google is killing off the beloved data visualization tool from Fastcompany