German panel rejects claim on Nazi-era relics sale
Print Edition
A German panel ruled on Thursday against the heirs of Jewish collectors seeking to recover a trove of precious medieval church artifacts, saying its sale in 1935 was not made under Nazi duress.
The dispute centers on the Guelph Treasure or “Welfenschatz” of gold, silver and gem-studded relics believed to be worth hundreds of millions of euros (dollars) in total.
The more than 40 pieces, the largest publicly owned collection of German ecclesiastical art, are kept in a Berlin museum of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.
The case comes at a sensitive time after news last year of a vast stash of long-lost art found in a Munich flat sparked complaints of German foot-dragging on returning Nazi loot.
The state-backed Limbach Commission found that the former Jewish owners did not sell the Welfenschatz treasure under duress and received a fair market price from the state of Prussia. The mediation panel on Nazi-era art claims said it was “aware of the severe situation of the art dealers and their persecution in the Nazi era.” But it added that it saw no evidence of “a persecution-induced forced sale” and that the price was normal.
Lawyers for the claimants said “the decision causes us consternation and is incomprehensible for us and our clients as well as for those at home and abroad who know the details of the history of the Guelph Treasure.”
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