As I mentioned in my previous blog post about the book and film “The Monuments Men,” there is somewhat of an art controversy in Munich. This issue is very hot right now because the apartment in Munich where stolen art was found was owned by Hidebrand Gurlitt, who was an art dealer in the Nazi era. He was said to have worked to establish the Nazi art museums during that time period, and to have possibly bought these relics from the Nazi party, who stole them.
Mr. Gurlitt has since passed, but his son has been fighting for custody of these paintings and various works of art. The battle has been raging on in courts for a few months now, and at first, the authorities wanted to keep the identity of the works unknown. However, a list of the art has now been published. The works included art by Picasso, Matisse, and other renowned artists.
It seems that the courts have ruled in favor of Mr. Gurlitt’s son, who is 80 and was housing the “stolen” relics, which he claimed were bought and paid for. How he came into possession of the works was not discussed. 300 of the over 1,500 pieces will be returning to his apartment in Munich. This has enraged Jewish groups throughout the country.
For any more information go to www.spiegel.de/international. It is a great website for international news!
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