180:
87:, he "sold a few artworks, smuggled cash to his brother Robert via Amsterdam, and had about 250 of his most precious paintings and sculptures as well as numerous picture frames taken over the border to France with false papers. Assisting him were his servant Werner Abel, Düsseldorf art dealer and freight forwarder Fritz Beyer and August Kleucker." The Nazis, however, had enacted confiscatory taxes, fees and rules to rob fleeing Jews of all their assets, and on 15 November 1938 Westfeld was arrested for violating the Third Reich's foreign exchange regulations.
626:
documented in
Westfeld's possession, and 1941, when it appeared on the New York art market. While the six-year, international research project was not conclusive, it resulted in the identification of a limited number of ways the painting could have left his possession during this time. Based on these scenarios, it is unlikely that Westfeld gave or sold the painting voluntarily, but rather, as a Jewish art dealer living in Nazi Germany, disposed of it due to persecution.
170:
in Linz. On 23 September 1942, Walter
Westfeld wrote his will on a small piece of cloth in his cell and appointed Emilie Scheulen as sole heir. He wrote his last words to his partner, whom he called Ihmer: "I know everything will be different after the war. So you, head up! Yet. Yet! I wait for you
811:
The Heirs of Walter
Westfeld, a prominent German art dealer during the 1930s, seek to recover the value of Westfeld's art collection from the Federal Republic of Germany. Westfeld had attempted to remove his art collection to Tennessee but, before he could do so, Nazi officials seized and sold off
782:
Nazis arrested art dealer Walter
Westfeld just after Kristallnacht and killed him at Auschwitz after seizing his collection of Old Masters paintings, including works by Rubens, Hals and van Dyck. Before killing him, the Nazis demanded to know what happened to an El Greco that Hitler wanted for his
625:
The Museum decided to reach a financial settlement for the painting with the estate after reviewing recent research conducted by
Victoria Reed, the Museum's Monica S. Sadler Curator for Provenance. This research has clarified few details about the path the work took between 1936, when it was last
563:
937 wurden in der Nazi-Aktion „Entartete Kunst" aus den
Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Kassel sein Aquarell Zwei Akte und die Druckgrafiken Liegender Frauenakt und Zwei Akte beschlagnahmt und vernichtet. und bekam er Berufsverbot in Deutschland. Sein Aquarell Burggespenst (60 × 46 cm) wurde mit der
151:
The Düsseldorf
Regional Court sentenced Westfeld on 2 July 1940, under Director Hans Opderbecke and his assessors, Theodor Hoberg and Theo Groove, to three years and six months in prison and a fine of 300,000 Reichsmarks. Emilie Scheulen was sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 1,000
103:
under Joseph
Hanstein. Westfeld was taken out of detention and forced to work on the catalog of the forced sale. The title of the auction was "Foreclosure ... from non-Aryan property ... on behalf of the Public Prosecutor General Düsseldorf." The forced auction of Westfeld's collection included
198:
camp on the orders of Police
Officer Wilhelm Kurt Friedrich. Shortly thereafter, the Düsseldorf Regional Council, which did not recognize Westfeld's legacy to Scheulen, ordered the collection of Westfeld's remaining assets. Walter Westfeld was deported from Theresienstadt to
221:
issued a certificate confirming that
Westfeld was married to Emilie Scheulen (marriage certificate No. 362/1956 of the registry office Düsseldorf-Mitte dated 30 May 1956) and the marriage was retroactively registered for the date of 1 October 1935.
241:
was restituted, the mayor of Burladingen rejected any attempt to make amends stating, "We are not bound by the Washington Declaration... If we had a duty to return the painting, there would be laws forcing us to do so. But there are no such laws".
22:
812:
the collection. The district court granted Germany's motion to dismiss, holding that the Heirs' claims were barred by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and do not fall within the exception for acts in connection with commercial activity.
605:"Walter Westfeld painting at MFA Boston June 2011: Provenance Outreach Conducted by Museum of Fine Arts Boston Results in Agreement to Retain Ownership of Eglon Van der Neer's 'Portrait of a man and woman in an interior'"
155:
Westfeld wrote a letter to Scheulen in which he expressed his fear of being deported and concluded with the sentence, "There is not much fiddling about with a Jew." On 15 June 1942, Westfeld was questioned again by the
892:
912:
211:
In September 1947, Emilie Scheulen asked Galerie Lempertz for information about Walter Westfeld's assets. The gallery announced that all related documents had been destroyed.
398:
715:
67:
After the Reich Chamber of Culture banned outlawed Jewish art dealers, Westfeld was forced to liquidate his gallery. He moved to Düsseldorf at Humboldtstrasse 24.
887:
214:
At the request of the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office, the foreign currency ruling against Walter Westfeld of 2 July 1940 was overturned on 13 May 1952.
179:
564:
Sammlung es jüdischen Sammlers und Kunsthändlers Walter Westfeld beschlagnahmt und 1939 vom Kunsthaus Lempertz zwangsversteigert. Es gilt als verschollen.
152:
Reichsmarks. After serving his sentence, Westfeld was immediately rearrested in 1942 because, as a Jew, he was considered an enemy of the Nazi state.
872:
256:
seized in 1939 and auctionned off through Lempertz, are considered lost and listed on the German Lost Art Foundation website (Lost Art-ID 461012)
440:
322:
837:
766:
364:
56:
Walter Westfeld, brother of the painter Max Westfeld, ran a gallery in Wuppertal-Elberfeld at Herzogstrasse 2 from 1920 to May 1936.
556:
203:
on 23 January 1943, where he was subsequently murdered. The exact date of his death is unknown. In May 1945 he was pronounced dead.
195:
825:
302:
288:
882:
877:
275:
740:
520:
469:
Lost Art Internet Database – Jüdische Sammler und Kunsthändler (Opfer nationalsozialistischer Verfolgung und Enteignung)
200:
287:
was also filed against Germany. Germany refused to restitute the looted artworks arguing that they were barred by the
263:
188:
259:
The Westfeld heirs, represented by Fred Westfeld, have initiated several restitution claims for the looted artworks.
612:
113:
64:
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Walter Westfeld was persecuted and plundered because of his Jewish origins.
897:
95:
The artworks still remaining in his collection were confiscated and on 12 and 13 December 1939, auctioned by
125:
218:
783:
private collection. Now Westfeld's heirs have sued Germany, demanding the return of the looted paintings.
907:
902:
282:
576:
109:
592:
Walter Westfeld, Düsseldorf; 12./13.12.1939 Zwangsversteigerung Kunsthaus Lempertz, Köln, Nr. 263
271:
184:
145:
795:
343:
841:
826:"The Failure of Soft Law to Provide an Equitable Framework for Restitution of Nazi-looted Art"
552:
446:
436:
318:
310:
230:
141:
133:
117:
105:
688:
372:
121:
337:
Jüdische Sammler und Kunsthändler (Opfer nationalsozialistischer Verfolgung und Enteignung)
137:
494:
166:
83:
in 1938, he and Scheulen and Westfeld prepared to flee to the USA. According to the book
315:
Verlorene Bilder, verlorene Leben – Jüdische Sammler und was aus ihren Kunstwerken wurde
664:"Suspecting It Harbors a Nazi-Looted Painting, MFA Boston Preemptively Pays Settlement"
76:
866:
393:
226:
129:
80:
45:
663:
638:
546:
403:
41:
796:"Westfield v. Fed. Republic of Germany, 633 F.3d 410 | Casetext Search + Citator"
432:
Lost lives, lost art: Jewish collectors, Nazi art theft and the quest for justice
85:
Lost Lives, Lost Art: Jewish Collectors, Nazi Art Theft and the Quest for Justice
79:
by living with a non-Jew Emelie Scheulen (born 6 June 1896 in Düsseldorf). After
332:
234:
40:
May 1945) was a German Jewish art collector and art dealer whose collection was
21:
845:
450:
357:
Der Elendsweg der Düsseldorfer Juden – Chronologie des Schreckens 1933–1945.
464:
604:
250:
161:
96:
164:
in his collection which Hitler wanted to confiscate the picture for his
767:"Heirs Demand Millions From Germany|For Art Collection Looted By Nazis"
171:
all over the world. 1000 grape greetings from the paradise of memory."
157:
100:
75:
In August 1937 he was denounced to the Düsseldorf police for violating
430:
262:
In 2011, a settlement was reached between the Westfeld heir and the
225:
The Westfeld family has located a few of the artworks, including an
178:
20:
160:
in the Düsseldorf police prison which wanted to locate an
716:"ARTS, BRIEFLY; Museum of Fine Arts Has Deal on Painting"
893:
German people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp
521:"Nazi victim's family sues Germany over looted art"
399:List of claims for restitution for Nazi-looted art
194:On 1 October 1942 Walter Westfeld was deported to
16:German Jewish art collector murdered at Auschwitz
913:Art and cultural repatriation after World War II
303:"NS-Restitution Lebens- und Leidensgeschichten"
291:, an argument which was accepted by the judge.
489:
487:
485:
274:(1634–1703) It had been sold to the museum by
217:On 19 April 1956, the Ministry of Justice of
207:Attempts to recover the looted art collection
8:
741:"Portrait of a Man and Woman in an Interior"
359:Droste, Düsseldorf 2005, ISBN 3-7700-1204-6.
689:"The MFA's Painting Worth A Thousand Words"
317:(in German). München: Elisabeth-Sandmann.
268:Portrait of a Man and Woman in an Interior
765:Staff, Courthouse News (7 October 2008).
639:"Nazi victim's Nashville heir to be paid"
424:
422:
420:
418:
187:from the Westfeld collection, now in the
284:Westfield v. Federal Republic of Germany
577:"Das Burggespenst | Lost Art-Datenbank"
414:
551:. Musei provinziali Alto Adige. 2019.
519:Hickley, Catherine (1 November 2008).
888:German Jews who died in the Holocaust
344:Westfield v. Fed. Republic of Germany
7:
245:Other works, such as the watercolor
838:Washington University School of Law
745:Association of Art Museum Directors
615:from the original on 23 August 2020
14:
365:"Graphisches Kabinett J. Amendt"
289:Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
873:Theresienstadt Ghetto prisoners
276:E. & A. Silberman Galleries
175:Deportation and murder by Nazis
824:Birnkrant, Michael J. (2019).
714:Itzkoff, Dave (27 June 2011).
1:
37:
196:Theresienstadt concentration
189:Museum of Fine Arts (Boston)
44:. Westfield was murdered in
77:Nazi anti-semitic race laws
929:
369:kunsthandel-der-moderne.eu
313:; Tatzkow, Monika (2008).
270:(1665–67) by Dutch artist
264:Boston Museum of Fine Arts
237:), however while Menzel's
91:Forced auction at Lempertz
830:Global Studies Law Review
429:Müller, Melissa (2010).
771:Courthouse News Service
478:– via lostart.de.
339:– via LostArt.de.
219:North Rhine-Westphalia
191:
26:
883:German art collectors
878:Jewish art collectors
363:Schweiger, Werner J.
301:Czöpan, Gabi (2009).
182:
24:
499:Gedenkbuch Wuppertal
375:on 12 September 2007
144:, Adolf Scheyer and
126:Jean-François Millet
120:, Alselm Feuerbach,
138:Franz von Defregger
110:Egbert van der Poel
720:The New York Times
465:"Westfeld, Walter"
272:Eglon van der Neer
266:for the painting,
192:
185:Eglon van der Neer
146:Rombout van Troyen
42:plundered by Nazis
27:
609:www.lootedart.com
495:"Walter Westfeld"
442:978-1-84832-577-7
355:Herbert Schmidt:
333:"Walter Westfeld"
324:978-3-938045-30-5
231:Franz von Lenbach
142:Franz von Lenbach
134:Andreas Achenbach
106:Peter Paul Rubens
99:auction house in
920:
857:
856:
854:
852:
821:
815:
814:
808:
806:
792:
786:
785:
779:
777:
762:
756:
755:
753:
751:
737:
731:
730:
728:
726:
711:
705:
704:
702:
700:
685:
679:
678:
676:
674:
660:
654:
653:
651:
649:
635:
629:
628:
622:
620:
601:
595:
594:
589:
587:
573:
567:
566:
543:
537:
536:
534:
532:
527:. Bloomberg News
516:
510:
509:
507:
505:
491:
480:
479:
477:
475:
461:
455:
454:
426:
384:
382:
380:
371:. Archived from
340:
328:
306:
247:Das Burggespenst
122:Camille Pissarro
114:Antonio Molinari
60:Nazi persecution
39:
36:(4 March 1889 –
928:
927:
923:
922:
921:
919:
918:
917:
898:Nazi-looted art
863:
862:
861:
860:
850:
848:
823:
822:
818:
804:
802:
794:
793:
789:
775:
773:
764:
763:
759:
749:
747:
739:
738:
734:
724:
722:
713:
712:
708:
698:
696:
687:
686:
682:
672:
670:
662:
661:
657:
647:
645:
637:
636:
632:
618:
616:
603:
602:
598:
585:
583:
575:
574:
570:
559:
545:
544:
540:
530:
528:
518:
517:
513:
503:
501:
493:
492:
483:
473:
471:
463:
462:
458:
443:
428:
427:
416:
411:
391:
378:
376:
362:
352:
331:
325:
311:Müller, Melissa
309:
300:
297:
239:Upturned Teapot
209:
177:
93:
73:
71:Attempt to flee
62:
54:
30:Walter Westfeld
25:Walter Westfeld
17:
12:
11:
5:
926:
924:
916:
915:
910:
905:
900:
895:
890:
885:
880:
875:
865:
864:
859:
858:
816:
787:
757:
732:
706:
680:
655:
630:
596:
581:www.lostart.de
568:
557:
538:
511:
481:
456:
441:
413:
412:
410:
407:
390:
387:
386:
385:
360:
351:
348:
347:
346:
341:
329:
323:
307:
296:
295:External links
293:
208:
205:
176:
173:
118:Arnold Böcklin
92:
89:
72:
69:
61:
58:
53:
50:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
925:
914:
911:
909:
906:
904:
901:
899:
896:
894:
891:
889:
886:
884:
881:
879:
876:
874:
871:
870:
868:
847:
843:
839:
835:
831:
827:
820:
817:
813:
801:
797:
791:
788:
784:
772:
768:
761:
758:
746:
742:
736:
733:
721:
717:
710:
707:
695:. 5 July 2011
694:
690:
684:
681:
669:
668:lootedart.com
665:
659:
656:
644:
643:lootedart.com
640:
634:
631:
627:
614:
610:
606:
600:
597:
593:
582:
578:
572:
569:
565:
560:
558:9788895523163
554:
550:
549:
542:
539:
526:
522:
515:
512:
500:
496:
490:
488:
486:
482:
470:
466:
460:
457:
452:
448:
444:
438:
435:. Frontline.
434:
433:
425:
423:
421:
419:
415:
408:
406:
405:
401:
400:
396:
395:
394:The Holocaust
388:
374:
370:
366:
361:
358:
354:
353:
349:
345:
342:
338:
334:
330:
326:
320:
316:
312:
308:
304:
299:
298:
294:
292:
290:
286:
285:
279:
277:
273:
269:
265:
260:
257:
255:
252:
248:
243:
240:
236:
232:
228:
223:
220:
215:
212:
206:
204:
202:
197:
190:
186:
181:
174:
172:
169:
168:
163:
159:
153:
149:
147:
143:
139:
135:
131:
130:Carl Spitzweg
127:
123:
119:
115:
111:
107:
102:
98:
90:
88:
86:
82:
81:Kristallnacht
78:
70:
68:
65:
59:
57:
51:
49:
47:
46:the Holocaust
43:
35:
31:
23:
19:
849:. Retrieved
833:
829:
819:
810:
803:. Retrieved
800:casetext.com
799:
790:
781:
774:. Retrieved
770:
760:
748:. Retrieved
744:
735:
723:. Retrieved
719:
709:
697:. Retrieved
692:
683:
671:. Retrieved
667:
658:
646:. Retrieved
642:
633:
624:
617:. Retrieved
608:
599:
591:
584:. Retrieved
580:
571:
562:
547:
541:
529:. Retrieved
525:Star Tribune
524:
514:
502:. Retrieved
498:
472:. Retrieved
468:
459:
431:
404:Nazi plunder
402:
397:
392:
377:. Retrieved
373:the original
368:
356:
336:
314:
283:
280:
267:
261:
258:
253:
246:
244:
238:
227:Adolf Menzel
224:
216:
213:
210:
193:
183:Painting by
167:Führermuseum
165:
154:
150:
104:artworks by
94:
84:
74:
66:
63:
55:
33:
29:
28:
18:
908:1945 deaths
903:1889 births
531:13 November
504:13 November
235:Burladingen
867:Categories
851:25 January
586:8 February
409:References
350:Literature
281:A lawsuit
52:Early life
846:1546-6981
451:742252182
201:Auschwitz
34:Westfield
693:wbur.org
613:Archived
548:Leo Putz
389:See also
379:14 March
251:Leo Putz
162:El Greco
97:Lempertz
805:3 April
776:3 April
750:6 April
725:3 April
699:3 April
673:3 April
648:3 April
619:3 April
474:3 April
158:Gestapo
101:Cologne
844:
555:
449:
439:
321:
229:and a
836:(1).
853:2023
842:ISSN
807:2021
778:2021
752:2021
727:2021
701:2021
675:2021
650:2021
621:2021
588:2023
553:ISBN
533:2021
506:2021
476:2021
447:OCLC
437:ISBN
381:2023
319:ISBN
233:(in
249:by
32:or
869::
840:.
834:18
832:.
828:.
809:.
798:.
780:.
769:.
743:.
718:.
691:.
666:.
641:.
623:.
611:.
607:.
590:.
579:.
561:.
523:.
497:.
484:^
467:.
445:.
417:^
367:.
335:.
278:.
148:.
140:,
136:,
132:,
128:,
124:,
116:,
112:,
108:,
48:.
38:c.
855:.
754:.
729:.
703:.
677:.
652:.
535:.
508:.
453:.
383:.
327:.
305:.
254:,
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
