Great article. I highly recommend (if you haven't seen it already) Nazi Labour Camps of Paris, which gives a sense of the immense scale of the looting and describes the "camps" where Parisian Jews were forced to sort, pack, repair and otherwise "feed" the Nazi hunger for Jews' possessions, from the most humble to the most precious. Some of the camp occupants even had to see their own belongings through the pipeline. Here's a link to the catalog URL from the Berkeley Public Library's Link Plus system. http://linkencore.iii.com/iii/encore/record/C__Rb33641600
3
This "sold under duress by Jews desperate to flee" is baloney. An asset is an asset. If you sell it because you want money, no matter the reason, it's a legitimate sale.
And if you sell the title to a lost object, where you have no idea where it is or if it will ever be recovered, then you have made a legitimate sale too.
The only sales that should be set aside are sales made with associated extortion. If you sold an object to a Nazi official or other person who has capacity to cause you harm, to buy freedom from harm, then that's not a legal sale.
And if you sell the title to a lost object, where you have no idea where it is or if it will ever be recovered, then you have made a legitimate sale too.
The only sales that should be set aside are sales made with associated extortion. If you sold an object to a Nazi official or other person who has capacity to cause you harm, to buy freedom from harm, then that's not a legal sale.
3
I'm Jewish, and I can't help thinking, does the issue of art stolen by the Nazis ath this point justify the amount of media attention it's given, when there is so much injustice and suffering in the world in the present day? When do we hear about what's going on in Guatemala? How are people faring in Liberia?
6
Anywhere there is a war you can buy land cheap.And if you are an oil company you can get a government to start a war on your behalf so you can steal a nation's oil (or get most of the profit of it).
There are several comments here that suggest excusing possession of art that was either stolen or purchased under extreme duress by Nazis from Jews. This should never be considered as an option. Given the scope of the Nazis' horrific, systematic attempt to exterminate the Jewish people and the fate of the owners of these looted paintings, any subsequent title of ownership to these works is tainted beyond doubt. If such a work is identified and someone rightfully entitled to inherit it cannot be located, the work should be seized and given to a public museum for exhibition with the caveat that it should forever be identified as Nazi loot.
2
Art thefts and forced sales have long history. The story of dealer Daniel H. Kahnweiler (1884-1979) is one example from World War I: In the years before World War I, Kahnweiler established relationships with Picasso, Derain, Braque, Vlaminck and Léger and built up a significant stock of their pictures. In 1914 he moved his Paris gallery to rue d'Astorg, but as a German national he was soon forced into exile in Switzerland during the war. His stock and gallery were impounded by the French state as enemy property. Between 1921-1923 (!) this stock was sold by the government (four sales were held in Paris: 13 June 1921; 17 November 1921; 4 July 1922; 7 May 1923). Forced to begin again from scratch, Kahnweiler's new venture was in partnership with André Simon.
2
How many Americans own art looted by GIs who traipsed through Italy and Germany as WW2 rolled to its conclusion?
7
All over Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, and other countries where collaboration with the Nazis was intense and even jubilant, there are households contained "cherished family heirlooms," not necessarily art, but former possessions of Jews who were deported and/or murdered. Their neighbors ransacked the homes of the deported and murdered for anything valuable or useful. Think about it -- millions of looted objects. I would love to see this massive looting become a preoccupation, but I doubt I will live to see any of the looters' descendants give up silverware and porcelain and jewelry. In a few of these countries, the descendants won't even acknowledge the participation of their relatives in the crimes against Jewish neighbors.
4
The same could be said of the property in the former Yugoslavia.
Yes, and in Israel it is the same. Humans are the same all over the world, aren't they? Some individuals suffer and others prosper, depending on which side of the issue they are willing to stand.
4
Kosovo did come to mind.
Most of the previous owners are dead and their children are dead, incinerated in the ovens. As for forced sales, the Nazis forced those 'sales' when they gave Jews a passport out of the country in exchange for all of their possessions. Adolph Eichmann perfected such a process in Vienna. Jews walked into one side of a building and walked out the other side completely stripped of their belongings, property and money with a pass to get out of the country within just a few days.
5
"While museums are bound by the international Washington Principles ..."
Is there a Washington Principles for any other situation of looting? What about when an entire country is taken by force, shouldn't there be restitution for that? What about for victims of other genocides or forceful transfers of people who lost everything they had?
Is there a Washington Principles for any other situation of looting? What about when an entire country is taken by force, shouldn't there be restitution for that? What about for victims of other genocides or forceful transfers of people who lost everything they had?
3
Yeah, the Greeks conquered Egypt, the Romans conquered the Greeks, and then barbarian tribes conquered the Romans. I can foresee a lot of restitutions....
3
I suggest that the USA and all its museums, galleries, art collectors finally start looking for the stolen goods they DO have an stop negating it.
Probably today most of the stolen art goods are in the USA, a country which does not do anything about it, but tells other how bad they are. This must stop and the cleaning of its own house to start.
Probably today most of the stolen art goods are in the USA, a country which does not do anything about it, but tells other how bad they are. This must stop and the cleaning of its own house to start.
2
After 80+ years, I think it is time we gave up on this witch hunt for pictures. It is really impossible to know the complete Provenance of a painting and we should not make it into a never-ending project.
3
With all due respect, it's easy for you to say this if your family's art was not stolen during WWII. You're right, it can be challenging to know the complete provenance of a work of art. But if it can be discovered, why shouldn't it be returned to the family? Moreover, as the article stated, many of the people who discover such works in their possession do not wish to keep them anymore.
Returning these stolen works of art when possible can help in healing and reconciliation, even decades later.
Returning these stolen works of art when possible can help in healing and reconciliation, even decades later.
9
Clearly your family did not lose any beloved possessions (not to mention beloved relatives) in any war. Witches are not what this hunt is for.
9
We will never forget.
10
The Holocaust was not perpetrated in America by Americans against other Americans. American art collectors have Native American and African American art. While European art collectors have the spoils of their colonial empires. Some painful pasts are created more equal and significant than others.
7
What has never been discussed is the Soviet looting of art and libraries (at least the ones they did not burn) in Poland after their invasion of 1939. A second looting took place in 1944-45 and also included Germany. (That is why Schleiman's Gold (his discovery in Troy) is no longer in Berlin and instead moulders in a box at the Hermitage.
As for Poland - were even half of the items looted by the Soviets returned - they would need five years to exhibit everything.
As for Poland - were even half of the items looted by the Soviets returned - they would need five years to exhibit everything.
8
"Schleiman's Gold" let us not forget, was not Schleiman's at all. It was simply stolen from Turkey, as was the expectation of explorers and archaeologists of the time. This kind of thievery has been going on for centuries. It is some consolation that now, in at least one instance, an attempt is being made to compensate the true owners.
1
@mcs - But the Anatolian peninsula was occupied by Dark Age Greeks when the gold objects were created. It did not become 'Turkey' until tribes from central Asia invaded 2000 years later. So can we say that these objects belong to 'Turkey'?
You fail to deal with the fact that the Soviet's looted it and hundred's of thousands of other objects.
Let them return those objects and then we can start a discussion about where these objects should remain. Surely boxed in a crate at the Hermitage is not approproate.
Let them return those objects and then we can start a discussion about where these objects should remain. Surely boxed in a crate at the Hermitage is not approproate.
I know Bettina Horn, and it is very much her to have become proactive years ago and investigate whether there is Nazi-area loot among the art she inherited from her husband. If one wants to see her fabulous collection - mostly modern expressionist German art, Barlach, Kollwitz, die Bruecke - the trip to Schloss Gottorf/Schleswig, just south of the Danish border, is well worth it.
As for the wider topic, it is not always that straightforward. Take the much publicized case Gurlitt. An old, somewhat life-unfit man who was living like a hermit in his apartment in Munich with pictures inherited from his father. When this was discovered, press and public took for granted that the paintings were Nazi loot. All were confiscated and Gurlitt was swamped with media attention that he did not know how to handle. He soon died.
But it then turned out that from the 1500 pictures or so, only 5 could be identified as loot. 0.3 percent of the total, and by far not the most valuable. Further, the German authorities had incorrectly applied tax law provisions to seize Gurlitt's pictures—the confiscation had been plain illegal. The 5 pictures are still 5 too many, of course, but I do believe the context lets the Gurlitt case appear in a different light.
As for the wider topic, it is not always that straightforward. Take the much publicized case Gurlitt. An old, somewhat life-unfit man who was living like a hermit in his apartment in Munich with pictures inherited from his father. When this was discovered, press and public took for granted that the paintings were Nazi loot. All were confiscated and Gurlitt was swamped with media attention that he did not know how to handle. He soon died.
But it then turned out that from the 1500 pictures or so, only 5 could be identified as loot. 0.3 percent of the total, and by far not the most valuable. Further, the German authorities had incorrectly applied tax law provisions to seize Gurlitt's pictures—the confiscation had been plain illegal. The 5 pictures are still 5 too many, of course, but I do believe the context lets the Gurlitt case appear in a different light.
8
Five stolen paintings is five stolen paintings too many.
1
I did not write anything else.
1
A good question to ask the swiss collectors and their swiss bankers- they were nazi enablers and accomplices in hiding stolen property...
13
“I don’t want stolen goods hanging on the wall — it’s quite simple,” said Jan Philipp Reemtsma, who hired a researcher 15 years ago to examine the collection he inherited from his father, the tobacco industrialist Philipp F. Reemtsma.
My God, I would think the haunting sentiment would be "Stolen goods that are on my wall are probably from someone who was murdered and MUST be researched and returned to the owner's heirs." Sorry, but there is NO grey area in this topic for me. I remember reading the book, "The Monuments Men" which dealt with stolen art during WWII from the German Army because Hitler wanted EVERYTHING for his "Fuhrer Museum". There is so much documentation about missing art during the German occupation and surviving heirs in search of these pieces, I find it incomprehensible that stolen art is still in the hands and on the walls of many individuals who know in their hearts and conscience that it belongs to someone else. The bigotry, hate and discrimination that fueled the Nazi Party is being replaced with greed and selfishness by various art collectors today. Shame on all of these individuals for not doing the right and honorable thing.
27
Quite a few of your claims show lack of familiarity with the subject - which doesn't stop you from making strong judgements.
Art affected by restitution claims is rarely from people who were murdered, but mostly from people who left Germany. Often these people were forced to sell their possessions to pay the Nazi "emigration tax" - and where this applies, it is clearly morally equivalent to expropriation. But it is also not always true, and depends on when and under what circumstances people emigrated, what contacts they had, etc.
Further, the people who ended up with the art bought it typically third- or fourth-hand through dealers, with Paris the center of the market. Rarely had they knowledge about previous owners - and could also not automatically assume that the art was loot that, even in the 1940s, was only a fraction of the market. There was excess supply depressing prices, so buyers often got a (too) good deal. But this had many causes, as many people and institutions fell under duress during WWII and had to sell.
Overall, this results in a huge grey area. The distinction is whether one leaves it at that. Or makes an effort to separate darker from the lighter shades of gray, and to come to fair results.
Finally, much art from German museums and private homes ended up in the Soviet Union and Poland, and is still there. Do you see no grey area there either?
Oand overall this result in a huge gray area were legitimate purchase ends and looting starts.
Art affected by restitution claims is rarely from people who were murdered, but mostly from people who left Germany. Often these people were forced to sell their possessions to pay the Nazi "emigration tax" - and where this applies, it is clearly morally equivalent to expropriation. But it is also not always true, and depends on when and under what circumstances people emigrated, what contacts they had, etc.
Further, the people who ended up with the art bought it typically third- or fourth-hand through dealers, with Paris the center of the market. Rarely had they knowledge about previous owners - and could also not automatically assume that the art was loot that, even in the 1940s, was only a fraction of the market. There was excess supply depressing prices, so buyers often got a (too) good deal. But this had many causes, as many people and institutions fell under duress during WWII and had to sell.
Overall, this results in a huge grey area. The distinction is whether one leaves it at that. Or makes an effort to separate darker from the lighter shades of gray, and to come to fair results.
Finally, much art from German museums and private homes ended up in the Soviet Union and Poland, and is still there. Do you see no grey area there either?
Oand overall this result in a huge gray area were legitimate purchase ends and looting starts.
6
Not exactly correct. Some of the stolen art in private collections is being held on to because of racial bigotry. You think it ended in 1945 in Germany?
Though I entirely understand your feelings you are unfortunately blaming the wrong person. There are not many persons in the world more dedicated to reveal the atrocities of the nazi-regieme than Jan Philipp Reemtsma:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Philipp_Reemtsma
Maybe the next time you check the facts before you blame somebody.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Philipp_Reemtsma
Maybe the next time you check the facts before you blame somebody.
4
I think it's right and good to undo small parts of the injustice and inhumanity of Nazi Germany by having the descendants of those who "received" (trying to use a term that is not charged so it captures a lot of different types of receipt, because some recipients paid for the art with real money and no knowledge that it might have been stolen) the art returning the art to descendants of prior owners. But I do wonder, as a matter of ethics more broadly, why descendants of those who earned fortunes through slavery, child labor, or criminal or amoral activity of whatever type should be able to keep the remains of those fortunes without criticism. Clearly Nazi looting is on the wrong side of the ethical line, but where, exactly, is that line drawn?
5
It's the line of "expediency", the same line that allowed Nazi war criminals to escape thanks to the Vatican and the U.S. government, who hired many of them - including Wernher von Braun, responsible for the death of at least 3,000 slave laborers (not including the 40,000 Londoner's who died from his "vengeance weapons"). Instead of being tried and hanged as a war criminal he was appointed head of NASA by JFK who awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
3
It would be wonderful if art where the provenance can be established, but the heir can't be found, were donated to a museum to house these works in a collection.
2
The rules for art at home: if it is not rightfully yours, your conscience won't let you enjoy it.
8
A good many people can rationalize anything, including thinking themselves good people.
2
So many artists and writers now considered brilliant and important lived and died in penury. If a starving, impoverished, desperate artist sold a work to a capitalist for far less than its period value, let alone its adjusted current market value, should that considered a sale "under duress" and thus worthy of restitution?
3
Until the owners of stolen paintings are legally required to give them up, de-nazification will not be complete. If original owners cannot be found, these works should be sold to museums and the proceeds donated to Holocaust related causes.
It is amazing that this is still going on. It should have been ended in 1945.
It is amazing that this is still going on. It should have been ended in 1945.
21
I believe there is and should be a huge difference between works that were "looted" or stolen by German officials as or after their owners were sent to concentration camps to die and works that were sold by their owners "under duress" for funds to flee, pay for food, or pay bribes. All people in situations of stress are likely to do the latter; it really is and was not unique to the Jews in WWII; it happens all the time, even today. In fact, that is one of the reasons people collect art--because it is a repository of value that can be liquidated in hard times.
If a sale resulted in an agreed value to the seller it should be treated as voluntary, no matter what the underlying motivation.
If a sale resulted in an agreed value to the seller it should be treated as voluntary, no matter what the underlying motivation.
3
Vineyridge you appear to know little about hte past and about the German/Nazi cprogram to acquire art from persons who had not choice. Why not start with the Rape of Europe, the bokk that broke into the past and that demosntrated the system the Nazis used. Similarities do not mean identical circumstances.
5
A firm believer, I see, in the offer that cannot be refused.
8
It is not nearly as simple as you portray.
First, as a basic legal principle of contract law, a transaction made under duress is legally considered to be null and void.
Second, it was rarely a question of a "motivated" seller choosing to liquidate an asset for money before fleeing. Most often, as it has been widely documented, it was a situation of a government representative or soldier (be they SS, a Vichy accomplice, etc.) attending an address an giving the owner a "choice": take a meager sum of money or not, the state is confiscating the art.
There was never "an agreed value" that could ever paint the transaction to have been "voluntary."
First, as a basic legal principle of contract law, a transaction made under duress is legally considered to be null and void.
Second, it was rarely a question of a "motivated" seller choosing to liquidate an asset for money before fleeing. Most often, as it has been widely documented, it was a situation of a government representative or soldier (be they SS, a Vichy accomplice, etc.) attending an address an giving the owner a "choice": take a meager sum of money or not, the state is confiscating the art.
There was never "an agreed value" that could ever paint the transaction to have been "voluntary."
6
Provenance cuts both ways. Yes it is true that prior to and during World War Two many individuals were forced to sell their art collections for small per centages of their value, some were confiscated outright.
Let us go further back though and examine the ownership bonafides.
At the conclusion of World War One many of these art collectors were not native Germans, they were in fact carpetbaggers that rushed into a debilitated country, suffering from hyper inflation and snapped up the family farms, businesses and art treasures that had been accumulated over centuries. Many of these transactions were conducted in shady dealings for tiny percentages of there true values.
These interlopers and carpetbaggers took advantage of the local population due to the food shortages which were contrived to punish Germany at the conclusion of the War. These transactions then set the stage for what became known as the Holocaust through resentment and harsh memories.
So who in fact is the owner of these art objects ?
Let us go further back though and examine the ownership bonafides.
At the conclusion of World War One many of these art collectors were not native Germans, they were in fact carpetbaggers that rushed into a debilitated country, suffering from hyper inflation and snapped up the family farms, businesses and art treasures that had been accumulated over centuries. Many of these transactions were conducted in shady dealings for tiny percentages of there true values.
These interlopers and carpetbaggers took advantage of the local population due to the food shortages which were contrived to punish Germany at the conclusion of the War. These transactions then set the stage for what became known as the Holocaust through resentment and harsh memories.
So who in fact is the owner of these art objects ?
17
Tom ,Retired Florida Junkman
Is the writer suggesting that the people who were killed by Nazis during the Holocaust brought it upon themselves? Where is the proof of the shady dealing to which you refer? Many of the Germans of Jewish ancestry lived in Germany for centuries (longer than most of us lived in the US) and considered it their homeland.. Many of them, before and after WWI, supported the arts and commissioned artwork that we enjoy today, i.e. Gustav Klindt. If one uses this nativist reasoning, the only natives in the US are Native Americans and the rest of us who came after 1492 are interlopers and are deserving of being gassed. This comment smacks of something that has recently been raising its ugly head again.
Is the writer suggesting that the people who were killed by Nazis during the Holocaust brought it upon themselves? Where is the proof of the shady dealing to which you refer? Many of the Germans of Jewish ancestry lived in Germany for centuries (longer than most of us lived in the US) and considered it their homeland.. Many of them, before and after WWI, supported the arts and commissioned artwork that we enjoy today, i.e. Gustav Klindt. If one uses this nativist reasoning, the only natives in the US are Native Americans and the rest of us who came after 1492 are interlopers and are deserving of being gassed. This comment smacks of something that has recently been raising its ugly head again.
3
Flake
I am certain you are aware of the hyper inflationary financial situation that existed in Germany at the close of WW I. Whenever economic conditions collapse in centralized governments there is oppourtunity for unjust enrichment.
One need only study the post war era to know that conditions were ripe for abuse that did in fact occur.
I am certain you are aware of the hyper inflationary financial situation that existed in Germany at the close of WW I. Whenever economic conditions collapse in centralized governments there is oppourtunity for unjust enrichment.
One need only study the post war era to know that conditions were ripe for abuse that did in fact occur.
1
As one who has studied this era I consider It quite a leap from the opportunity for unjust enrichment to your innuendo that the owners of these artworks obtained them by nefarious means before WWII. Please provide sources that this did "in fact" as you state, occur as I have provided the information that Klindt was commissioned to paint portraits by many wealthy Jewish people who supported the arts.
3
Is there a legitimate way of owning another countries ancient historical artifacts? What I think of every time I look through the glass, how did you get this? Ask the inhabitants from the island of Samothrace. I doubt there was a vote from people of any country ever to sell their history. Its all done with arrangements, quid pro quos with less then honest brokers, its all loot.
3
My take on "Nazi looted" art, even though I am not a specialist, is that we should address art collections not only in Germany but worldwide. Art is often changing hands, and some of these pieces have landed in American hands also, they were literally taken and shipped to the Americas...
7
after WW2 a lot of russian exproprieted and stole paintings, sculptures and funiture and jewelers from Germany. You are still find them in the houses, offices and etc...
3
The Soviets deployed "Trophy Brigades" to systematically loot art at the end of WW2. Much of it was clearly art that had been previously looted by the Nazis. None of that is coming back.
6
Why just Nazi looted art or assets? Why not examine any looting throughout history?
3
My husband's great aunt and uncle perished in Theresianstadt. They were assimilated Hungarian Jews who lived in Vienna. Many works of art were stolen before they were transported. It took years and great expense by my mother-in-law, their only survivor, to recover one painting from a Swiss citizen. Proving the Provence of such art requires lawyers, patience and documentation (rare, much was destroyed in the war).
I applaud the German citizens who are willing to examine the past and make attempts to return looted art.
I applaud the German citizens who are willing to examine the past and make attempts to return looted art.
53
I come to stories like this in the hope that I can learn something, perhaps have my faith in humanity restored for a little while, and to take my mind off the looming horror from Washington DC. Maybe it's just me but will there be tribunals in sixty years time, when the effects of climate change are obvious even to those unwilling to open their eyes, about what to with the wealth acquired by those who made a living as deniers? Is there a reverse Godwin's Law where every Nazi story leads one back to Trump?
8
With today's technology every painting sold should have its history. And the same should happen when anyone wants to purchase a painting. The history should be annotated. This should not be allowed to happen. And every painting should be accounted for and no private collection should be exempt.
9
I hate to point this out, but there are millions of paintings in the world, most of them worth less than $1000. Nobody is going to waste their time building a giant database for that. Nobody even knows who has a private collection or where they got the paintings from. You go to enough flea markets and tag sales, and you know what your are doing, you can build up a nice collection of minor works.
1
Wopps NOT recommended. At present their are databases and their are numerous researches attempting to trace provenance of works of art on the market or that are in publica nd private collections. Every museum must provide an accurate provenance, so too dealers, and art collectors should care deeply about their collection, care enough to learn where their Van Dyck, Indonesian sculpture or any other work originates from.
When did you first start buying electronic music. I was an early adopter. I lost collections when companies went out of business. How many computers have have you gone through and not recovered the items what were lost.
And they you have a question about the invasion of people's privacy. People have a right to the quiet enjoyment of what is lawfully theirs. You are asking us to set aside our constitutional right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure on the basis that "everything should be accounted for".
Well, how much cash do you have in your wallet and what is the size of your bank account?
And they you have a question about the invasion of people's privacy. People have a right to the quiet enjoyment of what is lawfully theirs. You are asking us to set aside our constitutional right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure on the basis that "everything should be accounted for".
Well, how much cash do you have in your wallet and what is the size of your bank account?
In the age of bans,walls, (for lack of a better word) con artist "leaders" it is heart warming people want to do the right thing no matter the amount of time that has gone by. It is never too late to do good. The past doesn't need to be the future. We can't be afraid to learn and then make positive changes. Art mimics life.
16
The many past officials and" looters" of Communist regimes both deposed and still in power,happily survived and still survive to old age with their wealth from plundered state resources and possessions of victims condemned to torture and death in gulags,political concentration camps,and by forced slave labor.
Nazi and communist totalitarian regimes were both run by criminally insane ideologues ,who indiscriminently murdered all opponents and pillaged their possessions........The Lenin and Stalin regimes murdered and plundered more than twice the number of victims,killed by Hitlers Nazis and their allies................theres been little justice for victims of Communism !
Nazi and communist totalitarian regimes were both run by criminally insane ideologues ,who indiscriminently murdered all opponents and pillaged their possessions........The Lenin and Stalin regimes murdered and plundered more than twice the number of victims,killed by Hitlers Nazis and their allies................theres been little justice for victims of Communism !
9
Yes, and when the Red Army invaded Germany in 1945, you can be sure they took everything they could and shipped it back to the Soviet Union. No just art and valuables - they dismantled entire factories and put them on freight trains.
6
The Nazis had destroyed a considerable amount when they invaded Russia.
German Art Collectors Face a Painful Past: Do I Own Nazi Loot? The answer - YES!
4
There will always be dark periods in any nation's history. How the people handle the aftermath of these periods will define a nation. I applaud the Germans for realizing that their family's stories in obtaining this art is suspect. It is very hard to do to question a family member's past. After 153 years, some southerners will not acknowledge their family's past of owning slaves nor of how they were treated. In response to a commentator here, we are repeating this horrible period by allowing King Trump and Court of Thugs to pass "executive order" that is violating our very identity. But we are not the Germans of the 1930s, although we have a dark past, many have learned from it. This article reminds us that a future generation will have to pay for our mistakes we do now.
34
Although the economy was not as dependent on it, slavery existed in the North as well as the South. And all regions of this nation share the blame for the genocide committed against Native Americans. Not to mention the internment of Asian Americans in concentration camps during WWII.
If you want to play the blame game for the sins of generations past we will all have to put on our hair shirts and say our mea culpas.
If you want to play the blame game for the sins of generations past we will all have to put on our hair shirts and say our mea culpas.
9
Japanese Americans were interned in WW2, not all Asians. The Chinese and Chinese Americans were not interned, for example. Japan was the declared enemy. China fought with us against Japan.
1
Yea, thanks for the history lesson. Doesn't really change my point. It was still inexcusable and remains a stain on American history.
1
I'm astonished to read that German law protects private and corporate owners in such situations. Do heirs really have a right to profit from their forebears crimes?
25
Interesting article on a continuing problem. I recently saw two movies "Monuments Men" and the "The Woman in Gold" that I highly recommend. These movies deal with aspects of this sad history.
10
Both movies were equally moving and both books (Monuments Men and The Lady in Gold) were equally heart wrenching. After reading the two books, my husband and I felt compelled to visit the Neue Galerie in New York to see "The Lady in Gold" as well as Bruges, Belgium to see Michelangelo's "Bruge Madonna". It's one thing to read about such incredible stories but seeing these pieces of art made my heart ache and smile that both pieces were recovered for the entire world to view and remember what happened during those horrible, dark years of mankind.
5
As a Jew, I am heartened by the atonement actions of young Germans.
51
The same is true for members of the allied forces. Many objects from german homes were taken home by troops as "souvenirs".
18
Lily, You are not comparing a few soldiers pocketing some loot to the Nazi thefts or untold wealth or artworks, are you? What are you trying to say? Not finding this relevant.
10
My very good father always loved Germany. The language, the books, the music, the history, the culture. This did not prevent him from being arrested on a street in Berlin on Kristallnacht, sent to Buchenwald, having his business and property confiscated, being evicted from Germany with just the clothes on his back and losing many family members and friends to Hitler.
Starting over in America was hard. At the age of 38, he found work as a stock boy in a department store, saved every penny he possibly could and eventually was able to start another small business of his own.
The best explanation he could ever come up with for what had happened to him was that the people of Germany had gone crazy. There was a part of him that never stopped loving those books, that music and that culture.
When Germany lost my father, they lost an extremely valuable citizen, a man capable and desirous of contributing to the progress and development of his country in many ways.
It is a terrible pity that Germany and other countries in Europe are now falling victim to many of the same attitudes that back in the Thirties made them incapable of understanding and benefitting from the many fine qualities of people like my father.
Starting over in America was hard. At the age of 38, he found work as a stock boy in a department store, saved every penny he possibly could and eventually was able to start another small business of his own.
The best explanation he could ever come up with for what had happened to him was that the people of Germany had gone crazy. There was a part of him that never stopped loving those books, that music and that culture.
When Germany lost my father, they lost an extremely valuable citizen, a man capable and desirous of contributing to the progress and development of his country in many ways.
It is a terrible pity that Germany and other countries in Europe are now falling victim to many of the same attitudes that back in the Thirties made them incapable of understanding and benefitting from the many fine qualities of people like my father.
115
Yes, it's heartbreaking beyond words.
3
Sadly its not just Europe today falling victim; repelling many good and potential citizens. This America seems to be leading the frenzied pack.
14
And it seems that, unfortunately, so are we in the US.
2
1956. My husband and I have been invited to dinner at the home of a French acquaintance in Paris. He tells us that the apartment belongs to his parents. We comment on the wonderful paintings that line the walls. "Oh", he laughs, "they belonged to the upstairs neighbors before the war, but they were taken away".
Seems the Germans were not the only looters.
Seems the Germans were not the only looters.
106
Sadly in war even the victors have looted. I suspect you can find such treasures in homes here and Russia and the UK and... I suspect it is a challenge for the decedents of the wronged and the wrongdoers to come to grips with the past, particularly if it was hidden from them.
I respect those who have made this journey, as it gives me hope in humanity.
I respect those who have made this journey, as it gives me hope in humanity.
1
How noble (?) and ethical (?) to do that, 80 years after the fact.
6
It took a whole new generation to do so. The older generation was too close to it and, no doubt, would not have wanted to open this can of worms which reflected poor on many of them.
7
"or sold under duress by Jews desperate to flee".
Those who were fortunate enough to be able to flee often had to "sell" their possessions, not just art, but homes, businesses etc. for a pittance or face losing it perhaps through confiscation. Thus, even a "deed' or "bill of sales" means very little in the late 1930s. These people rarely got any compensation, such as my late father-in-law whose first (and soon to be murdered) wife had to sell his business in Germany in 1939 when he was already in a concentration camp. The same for his home and possessions including (ceremonial) art. In this case nobody was fleeing, but rather being repatriated to Poland.
Those who were fortunate enough to be able to flee often had to "sell" their possessions, not just art, but homes, businesses etc. for a pittance or face losing it perhaps through confiscation. Thus, even a "deed' or "bill of sales" means very little in the late 1930s. These people rarely got any compensation, such as my late father-in-law whose first (and soon to be murdered) wife had to sell his business in Germany in 1939 when he was already in a concentration camp. The same for his home and possessions including (ceremonial) art. In this case nobody was fleeing, but rather being repatriated to Poland.
49
Can't the paintings be exhibited in public while searching for the true owners? Every art lover would want to view them.
20
At least on online public database, or even a Facebook page.
1
It would be a more interesting narrative if a thousand pieces of Western artwork were to be traced to the original creators. My guess is that fewer pieces of such a collection would pass this smell test, either.
A considerable mass or number of art pieces stolen during WWII is still missing which means that the beholders still know how they were acquired and that they are accomplices .
24
It seems that quite a bit of German property was brought back by the US occupation forces after the war. Not to even mention what the soviet forces did. That, also, should be returned.
37
People everywhere have a dark side that must be held in check by rules, regulations, and a sense of shame. That dark side was allowed to emerge during those horrible Nazi years. Is it happening again?
52
Yes it is happening again. I wonder what reparations our grandchildren will pay to the descendants of those harmed by Trump's policies.
54
It has always happened. Note all the reservations or pueblos in New Mexico and other states that have lost not only their initial homeland, but also a lot of art that was not just decorative, but spiritual, and not necessarily painted on an easel.
10
"People everywhere have a dark side" jumped out at me..........Yes its true. We have those kind of people here, and some in high positions.
I'm thinking about the stolen equity from foreclosed homes , where a Cabinet member of the Trump Admin. who bought a failed bank , added those assets to his already significant wealth.
The story lasted a few days and is now forgotten.
I'm thinking about the stolen equity from foreclosed homes , where a Cabinet member of the Trump Admin. who bought a failed bank , added those assets to his already significant wealth.
The story lasted a few days and is now forgotten.
12
Please note that the art is more than stolen. Lives were stolen. Profiting from the terror of people who were tortured and murdered is more than stealing their art.
109
A large portion of my family perished during the Holocaust and I am a child of refugees who were fortunate to secure entry into the U.S. durning WWII. It is only right that art stolen or received under duress by Nazis be returned to rightful owners, no matter how long the time frame. If a rightful owner cannot be found, I suggest that, Mr. Neubaer's painting be preserved by a foundation or museum such as the Jewish Museum in Berlin with the appropriate documentation, until or unless the original owners' heirs are found.
102
Donating some or all of the funds to descendents survivors, or other worthy causes might be a step in the right direction.
24
in the final analysis, the germans didn't make out too badly in the war for a country that initiated two world wars...this is underscored by the revelation (to me at least) that the looters of art continue to be protected by law in the possession of stolen goods.
42
"Final analysis"-has a chilling ring to it. Germany suffered 5.5 million military deaths and another 1 to 2 million civilian deaths. I'd call that pretty bad no matter that Germany is responsible for those, and many more, deaths.
4
Thank you for an excellent article. The recent political news has been so discouraging. It is nice to read a story with a happy ending.
27
Maybe that kind of compensation is what Israel could do for the Palestinian survivors in about 80 years.
22
I agree with you, Karin, but given what has been done to the native tribes in both the American continents, I have no expectations of anything but minimal survival.
5
Had to go there, huh?
5