As recent debates have shown, restitution can hardly be conceived as merely the return of looted objects. While grounded in the current political moment, restitutions unfold in relation to the past: a complex set of circumstances that they can never undo. This interplay of power relations involved in dealing with claims to pieces of cultural heritage is explored in this issue of TEXTE ZUR KUNST. Past instances of repatriating cultural assets illustrate the multidimensionality of negotiations that pave the way for restitution, and of the processes of integration that follow. The scholarly and artistic contributions to this issue also sketch the challenges and potentials of restitution.