Over 1,500 pieces of artwork were discovered recently in a Munich apartment owned by a son of a WWII era art dealer. Among the collection were pieces from Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
A spokesman from the Conference on Jewish Material Against Germany claims that these pieces were among the many thousands that were looted by the Nazis during WWII. The Nazis, under Hitler’s reign, were known for acquiring fine art from many private Jewish collectors as well as public museums. Most of these pieces have not been recovered… possibly until now.
A man named Hildebrand Gurlitt once acquired the fine art pieces that were discovered in his son’s Munich flat. Gurlitt was commissioned by infamous Nazi, Joseph Goebbels to find what he called “degenerate art” and sell it to make money for Germany during Hitler’s reign. “Degenerate art” was anything that the Nazis considered “un-German.” These are the pieces that have been found. They have been valued at an estimate of $1.35 billion.
The Jewish group demands that these pieces be returned to their original owners, or at least their families.
Although many pieces were just recently found, there are still many that were taken by the Nazis seventy years ago that are still unaccounted for.
I find it amazing how seventy years past this war and the vicious oppression of the Jewish culture that new evidence is still coming to light about all that happened in that time. Although there is clearly nothing that can be done to make up for the violence that the Jews endured, it is nice to read that some of their culture has been restored, even all these years later.