WJHopwood
9 years ago
Those interested in the Nazi seizure of artwork in
WWII may recall that about two years ago there was a
thread in this forum with a title similar to this one
which covered the matter of thr approx 1,200
paintings by famous artists which, in 2012, had
been discovered in storage in a Munich apartment
owned by Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of a Nazi-era
art dealer named Hildebrand Gurlitt.
The fact that the elder Gurlitt had worked as an agent
of the Nazi government to round up valuable artwork
for delivery to that government, some of which
ended up in the private collections of high-ranking
Nazi officials, set the scene for the belief by many
in the press and public that all or a large number of
the paintings discovered in the Munich apartment
would turn out to have been looted from wealthy
German Jews and museums in countries occupied
by Nazi Germany and had therefore attracted
considerable international media attention to the
Gurlitt discovery which, among other incidents
helped to inspire publicity for the release in 2014
of the movie starring George Clooney, "The
Monuments Men."
In today's New York times (01/14/16) there is a story
datelined Berlin which announces the completion of
work by the German art Task Force established to
determine ownership status of the Gurlitt paintings
at the time they were allegedly confiscated and it's
findings seem somewhat surprising, at least to me.
After all the initial hype over the Gurlitt discovery, two
years of research, and the expenditure of 1.8 million
Euros the German Task Force findings just released
report that of the some 1200+ paintings discovered in
the Gurlitt apartment, only five were determined to
have been, (in the words of the report) "wrongfully
taken from Jewish owners, four of which have been
returned to their descendants. The fifth work,...was
determined to have been looted, but it has not yet
been restituted. "
WJH
WWII may recall that about two years ago there was a
thread in this forum with a title similar to this one
which covered the matter of thr approx 1,200
paintings by famous artists which, in 2012, had
been discovered in storage in a Munich apartment
owned by Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of a Nazi-era
art dealer named Hildebrand Gurlitt.
The fact that the elder Gurlitt had worked as an agent
of the Nazi government to round up valuable artwork
for delivery to that government, some of which
ended up in the private collections of high-ranking
Nazi officials, set the scene for the belief by many
in the press and public that all or a large number of
the paintings discovered in the Munich apartment
would turn out to have been looted from wealthy
German Jews and museums in countries occupied
by Nazi Germany and had therefore attracted
considerable international media attention to the
Gurlitt discovery which, among other incidents
helped to inspire publicity for the release in 2014
of the movie starring George Clooney, "The
Monuments Men."
In today's New York times (01/14/16) there is a story
datelined Berlin which announces the completion of
work by the German art Task Force established to
determine ownership status of the Gurlitt paintings
at the time they were allegedly confiscated and it's
findings seem somewhat surprising, at least to me.
After all the initial hype over the Gurlitt discovery, two
years of research, and the expenditure of 1.8 million
Euros the German Task Force findings just released
report that of the some 1200+ paintings discovered in
the Gurlitt apartment, only five were determined to
have been, (in the words of the report) "wrongfully
taken from Jewish owners, four of which have been
returned to their descendants. The fifth work,...was
determined to have been looted, but it has not yet
been restituted. "
WJH