From Raubkunst to Repatriation
The confiscation of Jewish property was one of the largest thefts in history. The looting of artwork ('Raubkunst' in German) was an integral part of this coordinated robbery. Explore the story of one looted work that finally, 80 years later, was repatriated.
Lithyalin glass flacon
This small stoppered bottle was once part of the extensive Lithyalin collection of Wilhelm Perlhoefter, a Jewish merchant from Breslau (Wrocław). Lithyalin glass was developed in Bohemia by Friedrich Egermann, famous for its opaque, marbled surface resembling semiprecious stone.
Looted artwork Wilhelm & Helene 1916 BreslauSydney Jewish Museum
The Perlhoefter Collection
Wilhelm Perlhoefter, born 1879, started collecting at the age of 12. In 1907 he married Helene Schaefer and together they continued to develop the collection, which grew to include 1,000 pieces of antique Venetian and Bohemian glass, 400 of which were Lithyalin pieces.
The Perlhoefter collection was renowned; museum directors and antique dealers often came to view it, and a number of artefacts featured in museum exhibitions.
Looted artwork Perlhoefter apartment 1928Sydney Jewish Museum
Postcard of the Perlhoefter family apartment, 1928
The family apartment was the showcase of the collection. Its rooms were adorned with artworks, antique furniture and display cabinets of glass and porcelain.
“As a child, my mother [Renate Logan (Perlhoefter)] had always felt embarrassed about inviting any friends home because the family apartment looked like a museum, with the many display cabinets full of glass art objects.” Donor David Logan
Wilhelm Perlhoefter, his wife Helene, and their three children feature in the image on bottom right. Their youngest child, Renate, the donor’s mother, is seated on the far right, aged 8.
Arrest on Kristallnacht
When the National Socialists came to power in 1933, the Perlhoefter family was subject to all restrictions imposed on Jews. Following Kristallnacht, the pogrom unleashed in Germany and Austria in November 1938, Wilhelm was arrested and deported to Buchenwald concentration camp.
He was released after four weeks and instructed to leave the country. They immediately made plans to escape the Nazi terror.
‘Aryanisations’
Formal permission was required from the Nazi authorities to take belongings out of Germany, which essentially allowed the government to claim what they liked and profit from forced immigration. Thus, before Jews were expelled or murdered, they were also robbed.
Looted artwork Four looted items in the Görlitz MuseumSydney Jewish Museum
Museum directors from Breslau, Görlitz and the surrounding areas were ‘invited’ to choose any items from Perlhoefter’s collection they wished to have for their museums. It is unknown how many pieces from the Perlhoefter collection were looted.
Four Lithyalin glass items belonging to the family were recently identified in the Görlitz Museum of Cultural History in Germany. The Museum was staging an exhibition of 11 pieces of ‘Nazi Raubkunst’, art theft, from 1939, and sought to trace the heirs of these pieces.
Almost serendipitously, they were contacted by Wilhelm Perlhoefter’s grandchildren.
The Görlitz Museum came to a mutually agreeable arrangement with the family, whereby three of the Lithyalin vessels remained in Germany while the fourth would be repatriated to a grandchild in Sydney, who generously offered to donate it to the Sydney Jewish Museum.
“Handing over the beautiful little object to the Sydney Jewish Museum, I was not prepared for the level of emotion that it stirred up. Its repatriation by the Görlitz Museum represents acknowledgement of the historical crimes and injustices that my family had suffered.”
David Logan, grandson, February 2021
The Nazi art confiscation program has been called the greatest displacement of art in human history. Looting in wartime is common, but this was a targeted, organised, official policy for the nation’s financial and cultural gain. Millions of works of art, books, manuscripts and other cultural artefacts were seized, whose value one estimate has put at 320 billion US dollars.
The stolen works now appear in public and private collections around the word. There is growing recognition in international law for the return of cultural property that was wrongfully acquired. However, it is a complicated and flawed process.
The repatriation of this beautiful glass bottle by the Görlitz Museum is a commendable example that acknowledges the perpetration of historical crimes and injustices. As the current Görlitz Museum Director said of the return, “We think very much that it is our historic duty to do so!”
Historian: Prof Konrad Kwiet
Curator: Roslyn Sugarman
With thanks to David Logan, Anita Pollard and the Perlhoefter family.
