 Originally they dealt with artworks left behind during the flight and expulsion of ethnic Germans between 1944 and 1950.Only after 1990 was looted art, defined as cultural goods seized illegally by German authorities during National Socialism, included in the Center's documentation.In 1998, the Koordinierungsstelle für Kulturgutverluste moved to Magdeburg with newly extended responsibilities and financed half by the German Federal Government and half by all of the state governments.