hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Two Nazi looted art works found in German parliament
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Two Nazi looted art works found in German parliament
Berlin-k - Months ago a scandal broke involving art works, apparently stolen by Nazis during WWII, but now an art historian has discovered more stolen art works, this time inside Germany's parliament, the Bundestag.
The art historian began investigations into the German parliament's art collection in 2012. His discovery that two suspected stolen works of art were found in the Bundestag has not been confirmed but has been widely reported. It is a huge embarrassment to the German authorities. Bild newspaper broke the story which resulted in the Bundestag issuing a statement which simply said "an art historian was reviewing two "suspicious cases", but as Reuters reports a spokesman would not confirm the find. The art historians investigations followed the discovery of a stash of stolen art works inside the Munich apartment of German Cornelius Gurlitt, 80. The authorities remained silent on that discovery for two years but the story went global in late September. Digital Journal reported in October that police had intercepted Cornelius Gurlitt, as he crossed the Swiss border by train in 2010 and discovered he had in his possession 9,000 Euros in cash. A routine check led to a police investigation which uncovered a treasure trove of paintings. More than 1400 paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Klee and others. The lost art was believed to have been stolen during WWII and is now valued at one billion euros ($1.38 billion). The latest discovery of two stolen works of art in the German parliament has links to Gurlitt. As Reuters reports:
Bild newspaper said one of the two works discovered in the Bundestag collection had also originally belonged to the Gurlitt family.
Bild said the two works were an oil painting, 'Chancellor Buelow speaking in the Reichstag', by Georg Waltenberger dated 1905, and a chalk lithography entitled 'Street in Koenigsberg' by Lovis Corinth.The German authorities have been criticized for their two year silence about the Gurlitt treasure trove of stolen art works. Gurlitt is demanding they are returned to him but lawyers representing Jewish collectors are working on their behalf. Gurlitt may however be allowed to keep some of the art works. Representatives of the Central Council of Jews in Germany are demanding that the Bundestag publish full lists of its art works.
"If the Bundestag is keeping lists of its collection secret, hindering the press in its investigations, protecting the perpetrators of Ayranization and not informing the heirs, I would wish those responsible to show more sensibility and tact," Council President Dieter Graumann told Bild.German Nazis plundered art works from museums and private collectors during WWII and the location of many is still unknown. The legal status of the stolen art is unclear.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Two Nazi looted art works found in German parliament