Austria Kultur
Vol 9 No.1/99

Looted Art: A Morality Tale

Austria's minister for Education and Cultural Affairs Elisabeth Gehrer was instrumental in the recent enactment of an unprecedented law expressing Austria's willingness to return artworks unlawfully taken from their rightful owners under the Nazi regime. The law distinguishes between three different categories of "looted art."

By Karin Hanta, a freelance journalist and contributing editor to Austria
Kultur.

We can never make amends for all the monstrosities committed during the Nazi regime," explained Elisabeth Gehrer, the Austrian minister for Education and Cultural Affairs, during her visit to New York City last November. "However,
before this century draws to a close, we would like to have a clean slate. That is why the Austrian parliament has repealed a law that imposed an export ban on artworks of great national significance, that survivors of the Third Reich were forced to 'donate' to Austrian museums after World War II."

Triggered by an impoundment of two Schiele drawings by a New York court after an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art at the end of 1997, the controversy surrounding art looted by the Nazis has come to a head. This issue afforded Austrian government officials an opportunity to review what had transpired until now.

In March of 1998 Mrs. Gehrer established a commission to systematically research whether the ten Austrian federal museums for which she is responsible hold rightful title to all the items in their possession. A statistical assessment of the Federal Bureau of Art Monuments showed that of the 18,500 art objects looted from those persecuted by the Nazi regime, 13,000 had been restituted between 1945 and 1948. Two laws from 1969 and 1986 and an amendment in 1995 stipulated that all artworks that could not be restituted to their rightful owners be handed over to the Federal Association of Austria's Jewish Communities.

However, upon further investigation, the archives of the various federal museums revealed that after World War II, museum officials had used a legal, though shameful, method to retain artworks they wanted to keep in Austria. When the Rothschild family wanted to recover its extensive art collection in 1946, for example, they were forced to leave behind ten paintings at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, including Portrait of a Man and Portrait of a Woman by Frans Hals. Museum officials at the time justified this step by imposing an export ban on artworks deemed essential for Austria's cultural heritage.

"From today's standpoint, we can no longer assume responsibility for this unethical practice," states Mrs. Gehrer. This group includes about 400 to 500 artworks, mainly from the collections of the Rothschild, Lederer, and Bloch-Bauer families.

In addition to this first category of looted artwork, the commission also established two other groups that had to be given special treatment: first, artworks that had rightfully passed into the museums' possession, but that had before been subject to transactions declared null and void after 1945. After World War II, some museums had purchased artwork in good faith, but their provenance became questionable at a later point. The commission has not yet been able to determine the exact number of works in this group.

The third category concerned "orphaned" artworks and objets d'art, i.e., artifacts that had never been claimed after World War II.

On November 5, 1998, the Austrian National Assembly unanimously passed a new restitution law. It stipulates that the export ban be lifted for all former "donations" and that the artwork be given back to the rightful owners free of charge. Secondly, all artwork subject to the "null and void" law can now be claimed in Austria. Thirdly, all unclaimed works are to be transferred to the Austrian National Fund, which is likely to make the victims of National Socialism benefit from the proceeds of an auction.

An independent advisory board will investigate which paintings, drawings, etc. come into question and to whom the works should be restituted. This advisory board consists of representatives of the Ministries for Education and Cultural Affairs, Justice, Defense, Finance as well as experts in the fields of history and art history.

While members of her cabinet never contested the enactment of a new restitution law, there was some controversy over how to appraise the artworks for tax or customs reasons.

"I made it clear that I did not want any financial appraisal of the paintings, drawings, and objets d'art," states the minister. "How should we have priced them - according to their auction or their collection value?" With this step, Mrs. Gehrer wanted to avoid discussions such as those generated in Switzerland during the Nazi gold saga.

The whole issue has not led to an upsurge of anti-Semitism in Austria, however. "There was a broad consensus that we should restitute what was not legally ours, especially among people interested in art," she stated.

In the largest federal museum, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, research work on the provenance of the collection pieces had been well under way before the Schiele éclat at MoMA. As early as 1995, scholar Herbert Haupt had published a book on the history of the museum from 1938 to 1945.

"At that time I had already pointed out the shamefulness of the 'donation' practice," he reports. In his forthcoming book Der Mut zur Wahrheit (The Courage to Say the Truth), he follows the history of every single object that the museum acquired between 1938 and 1945.

As for the other major art museum, the Albertina Graphic Collection, investigation work has been more difficult, since the museum is currently being renovated and all of its holdings are in storage.

According to the archivist of the Austrian Gallery at Belvedere Castle, Monica Mayer, 100 of the paintings in the museum were of questionable origin and would require more research.

The minister of education and cultural affairs does not have any jurisdiction over local museums in the nine Austrian provinces. "We informed them as to how we handled the situation and asked them to search their holdings," explained Elisabeth Gehrer. "I know that the Museum of the City of Vienna, for example, has taken the necessary steps to conduct a search of its archives."

The impoundment of two Schiele paintings Portrait of Wally and Dead City by District Attorney Robert Morgenthau remains a touchy issue for Minister Gehrer. Their return to Austria in January of 1998 was prevented by a subpoena after two American citizens, Rita Reif and Henry Bondi, claimed the paintings as rightfully theirs. The Museum of Modern Art contested the legality of this move, and in May a State Supreme Court justice agreed. But the District Attorney's office appealed. The paintings are still held in the Museum of Modern Art's storage rooms. "These paintings fall under the second category established by the restitution commission," explained Elisabeth Gehrer. "In these cases, we are dealing with artworks that might be the subject of a last will and testament. In my opinion, the two paintings should return to Austria, where a court will decide to whom they should belong."

Art looted by the Nazis was also the subject of a recent conference on Holocaust-era assets in Washington, D.C., in which delegates from 44 countries took part.

"The U.S. Government applauds the courageous decision of the government of
Austria to return art held in its federal museums and collections to surviving pre-war owners and their rightful heirs notwithstanding legal defenses," said Steward Eizenstadt, U.S. Under Secretary of State and organizer of the conference. "We hope other European governments will follow Austria's example in their own way, so they can complete the restitution process their predecessors left in abeyance after the war." As for artworks with no clear title, Mr. Eizenstadt urged the claimants to be conciliatory. "Art claims do not have to be winner-take-all propositions, which produce prolonged struggles in the courts, and drain the resources of both parties. In an atmosphere of good will, a wide range of solutions can be found."

In a case involving a disputed ownership of a painting by Degas, for example, the family received partial payment and the post-war owner donated the work to the Art Institute of Chicago. There, the public can enjoy it and simultaneously read a label acknowledging both parties.

Elisabeth Gehrer initiated the new restitution law especially with the new generation in mind. "With this act, we want to set an example for young people: that it is important to revise ethical standards with a view to those who have been wronged." In schools, she also instituted a program that invites survivors to come and speak to students. "We are now stressing political education in the schools. But in addition to teaching them the facts, we also want to appeal to students on an emotional level." Sixty years after the Anschluss, these efforts have been a long time coming.