Nazi-stolen artwork returned to Jewish family
August 5, 2019
Descendants of a Jewish couple were reunited with nine works of art on Monday, more than 80 years after the Nazis stole the paintings, casts and engravings.
The return took place in a ceremony at the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, with Art Minister Bernd Sibler handing over the pieces along with the Director General of the museum, Frank Matthias Kammel, and the Deputy Director, Kurt Zeitler.
The artworks include five paintings, three color casts, created at the end of the 19th century, and a wooden panel with ivory. They were confiscated in Munich in 1938.
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The couple, Julius and Semaya Franziska Davidsohn, had lost the works of art due to their persecution by the Nazis.
"Despite the documented confiscation in 1938, it was very difficult to find the rightful heirs," Art Minister Minister Sibler confirmed in an interview with regional broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk.
"Because of the Holocaust, there were no children, and then it was a question of who is entitled to inherit the art. These were difficult legal disputes," he said.
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