2023-07-21 14:00:00
Almost 80 years after the end of World War II, the question of the restitution of cultural property confiscated by the National Socialists has not lost its relevance in Germany. One of these cases was completed by the Federal Court of Justice on Friday, July 21.
The collector tried through the courts to remove the mention of one of his paintings from the database of works of art expropriated by the National Socialists, explaining that his property rights had been violated and the value of the painting had fallen. But judges in Karlsruhe decided that the appearance of information about lost cultural property in a profile database does not violate property rights if it is based on true facts.
An art dealer from Düsseldorf sold the painting after a ban on the profession
The subject of the dispute was the painting “Coast of Calabria” by German landscape painter Andreas Achenbach (Andreas Achenbach). A prominent representative of the Düsseldorf art school painted it in 1861. From 1931 to 1937, the canvas was in the Düsseldorf Stern Gallery. But in 1935, the owner of the gallery, art dealer Max Stern, faced a ban on professional activity – because of his Jewish origin.
Two years later, Stern sold the painting to a private individual in Essen and emigrated to Canada. The property of the art dealer is managed by a Canadian company, whose representatives in 2016 initiated a search for the painting through the German database of lost works of art.
The current owner legally purchased the painting at an auction in London in 1999. And during an exhibition in Baden-Baden, he learned that the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) was looking for the painting.
Information about cultural property confiscated by the Nazis is entered into the database
The base is maintained by the German Foundation for Lost Cultural Property. It contains information about works of art that the National Socialists confiscated from their owners as a result of persecution, and about those in the case of which such seizures cannot be ruled out. In addition, cultural values captured, displaced or exported as a result of the Second World War are brought into the database.
One of the foundation’s goals is to connect current owners of works of art with former owners or their heirs in order to help the parties find a fair decision on the future fate of the subject from the database. In the case of the “Coast of Calabria” in the card of the canvas, among the circumstances of the loss, it is indicated that it was seized by the National Socialists.
The plaintiff demanded that the card be removed from the database of lost works of art, as well as that the trustees from the Canadian company be prohibited from identifying themselves as the owners of the painting. However, the court in Karlsruhe did not satisfy any of the requirements.
The German Foundation is waiting for detailed explanations of the court
As emphasized by the Federal Trial Chamber, neither in the German database nor in the Interpol database are there any claims by the Canadian side that it is the rightful owner of the painting. In addition, the judges noted that the removal of records from the database should be handled by a German foundation, not a Canadian company. The foundation welcomed the court’s verdict and said they intended to wait for a detailed written rationale for the decision before proceeding with any action.
Judge Bettina Bruckner (Bettina Brückner) confirmed that the collector is in a “predicament” because it may encounter difficulties in selling the painting. The fact is that countries have different approaches to the issue of the return of illegally exported cultural property.
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