Galerie Helbing – Auctions for the World

Especially the Munich art market became an easy target for such anti-Semitic slogans. Although the exact number of Jewish art dealers in Munich is still not clear until today, this map explicitly shows that around 1930 a large number of art shops in Munich was led by Jewish families, amongst which were some of the most important galleries, auction houses and art and antiques traders.

Highlighted in red color: Galerie Helbing at Liebigstraße 21 / Wagmüllerstraße 15

Most of the Jewish art and antiques dealers were located at Maximiliansplatz and on Brienner Straße.

Moreover, Helbing tried more than once to sign over his business to his authorized signatory Adolf Alt. On 23 November 1938, this request was rejected by the Government of Upper Bavaria. Hugo Helbing himself never received this notice; during the “Reichspogromnacht” (“Crystal Night”) he was arrested and beaten down. On 30 November 1938, at the age of 75, he died as a result of his severe injuries.

Two days after Helbing’s death, on 2 December 1938, the Reichspropagandaamt (Reich Ministry of Propaganda), district Munich-Upper Bavaria, summoned an “Abwickler” (liquidator) to deal with Galerie Helbing. Max Heiß (1891-1962), “Secretary of the Reich’s Chamber of Fine Arts”, was already present at the reading of the will on 12 December 1938, along with Ludwina Helbing (1884-1962), Helbing’s widow, and the authorized signatory Adolf Alt. Heiß functioned as “provisional manager to the estate’s liability”.

Even though some art works from Hebing’s private collection could obviously be brought to a safe place, a large part, in particular a collection of drawings by Spitzweg and also significant objects from the depot, were among the items annexed by Heiß. The whole depot and a number of items on consignment – including an extensive stock of art works from “non-Aryan” possession that was stored at Liebigstrasse at the time when Max Heiß took over the business – remain missing to this day.

Scheidwimmer, who took all goods from Max Heiß in 1941, provided only vague statements about those objects of art when questioned during the restitution procedures. The lists made available by him also only contained barely sufficient descriptions, thus making it rather difficult or even impossible to determine and identify the lost objects to this day. Finally, Ludwina Helbing and the community of heirs received a compensation of capital which could hardly offset the loss of Galerie Helbing.

In addition to his branch in Berlin, in 1919 Hugo Helbing had established another branch office of his successful auction house in Frankfurt am Main. This branch was located in rented spaces on the ground floor of a mansion on Bockenheimer Landstrasse 8, that had been built by Consul General Charles Oppenheimer (1836-1900) in 1883. In 1917, the villa had been acquired by Max von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (1843-1940). Helbing employed art historian Dr. Arthur Kauffmann (1887-1983) as his authorized signatory who soon became the office’s director and was promoted to equal partnership in 1923. When Helbing was forced to withdraw from his Munich gallery, he likewise gave up his branch in Frankfurt in October 1923, thus making Kauffmann the sole proprietor.

In spring 1935, all art dealers in Frankfurt had to submit an application at the municipal administration in order to renew their auctioneering licence. Due to Kauffmann’s Jewish ancestry, he was denied such a licence. The Frankfurt tourist office took this as a cause to send a complaint to the Lord Mayor on 6 May 1935: “Art auctions in Frankfurt am Main have a worldwide reputation – especially those at Helbing’s. Every year, they used to draw art traders from all over the world to Frankfurt a. M., thereby contributing to the city’s economic stimulation.” Kauffmann was indeed still able to hold seven auctions until 1937. In 1938, he and his family emigrated to London and never returned. The Frankfurt branch of Helbing’s auction house was not “Aryanized” after Kauffmann was gone, however, the premises were “utilized”: Since February 1935, the National Socialist Culture Community had been looking for an exhibition space “to satisfy the art scene in Frankfurt and its related artists”. Max von Goldschmidt-Rothschild was massively pressured to sell the property at Bockenheimer Landstraße 8 to the city of Frankfurt, and a costly reconstruction took place. In May 1939, the media reported about the grand opening, and in the summer of 1939, the traveling exhibition “Degenerate Art” was hosted there.