The Bührle Collection is the Swiss version of a Holocaust memorial. Bührle sold weapons to the Nazis and amassed a collection that reached its gigantic size thanks to persecution, expropriation and murder. Unfortunately, the Kunsthaus only realised that this could be problematic when the exhibition of the Bührle Collection in 2021 brought a political scandal upon the institution. Two years later, the management finally pulled the ripcord and put an end to this embarrassing episode: the Bührle Collection was finally closed!

We, the Komitee Kunstraub Konfiskation Kommunikation (KKKK), are helping the Kunsthaus Zürich on the last few metres. Until its closure on September 5th 2023, the committee is taking care of the mediation, reappraisal and contextualisation of the collection. This is done with the help of audio guides, guided tours and events on the premises of the Kunsthaus.

After the closure, the Komitee Kapital Kollaboration Kriegsgewinn recommends the following steps:

1. The unconditional and immediate restitution of all works that Emil Bührle stole directly or indirectly from Jewish collectors.
2. The sale of all remaining works of the Bührle Collection for the benefit of the survivors of Nazi persecution, their surviving dependents and the forced labourers.
3. The conversion of the vacated rooms in the Kunsthaus Zürich into a museum on the history of the Swiss migration regime, its foreign policy and the arms industry during the Second World War.

The Komitee Kontextualisierung Kommunikative Katastrophe would like to thank the Stadt Zürich Kultur for its support ︎︎