In 2014, the exhibition "Ausplündern & Verwalten - Das Finanzamt Bremen stellt sich seiner NS-Vergangenheit" took place in the Haus des Reichs, the headquarters of the Senator for Finance. The exhibition presented the results of the research project "Judenverfolgung und Wiedergutmachung in Bremen" led by Dr Jaromír Dittmann-Balcar at the Institute of History at the University of Bremen in cooperation with the Senator for Finance. In a letter from the Chief Finance President of Weser-Ems to the bailiff Johannes Rötsch dated 6 February 1942 regarding the auction of the removal goods of Jewish emigrants stored in the port, the latter instructed that ‘objects suitable for furnishing the administration, e.g. desks, bookcases and other office furniture, armchairs, carpets and office machines, especially typewriters, are generally excluded from sale or auction’ (StAB 4.42/3 7). In the subsequent years of the exhibition, various pieces of furniture attracted attention in the tax authorities due to their characteristics.
The cabinet caught the eye in 2013 during preparations for the exhibition, as it does not look like a typical piece of functional government furniture. Instead, its high quality, fine workmanship and ornamentation suggest that it originally served as private furniture in a living room or as part of the furnishings of a prestigious office. The cabinet also has numerous markings and remnants of stickers on its back. It also bears a stamp marking it as ‘Reich property’ of the Eastern Tax Office.
At present, it is not possible to reconstruct how the cabinet came to be in the house. There is therefore at least the suspicion that the cabinet could be cultural property confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution.
