Provenance Research and Restitution at the MAK
Restitutions made since 1998
Since 1998, the Restitution Advisory Board has advocated, on the basis of provenance research dossiers provided by the MAK, the return of objects from the following collections:
- Samuel and Gittel BAUER
- Ferdinand BLOCH-BAUER
- Siegfried FUCHS
- Erny and Richard GOMBRICH
- Cistercian Abbey of HEILIGENKREUZ-NEUKLOSTER Priory
- Friederike and Siegfried HERZEL
- Emil IWNICKI
- Anna KUTSCHER
- Elise and Dr. Erich MÜLLER
- Wilhelm MÜLLER-HOFMANN
- Ernst POLLAK
- Siegfried RADIN
- Anton REDLICH
- Heinrich ROTHBERGER
- Alphonse und Clarice ROTHSCHILD
- Louis ROTHSCHILD
- Emma SCHIFF-SUVERO
- Hermine SCHÜTZ
- Isak WUNDERLICH
- Jacques ZIEGLER
In the following, the name “MAK” is understood to also cover all previous designations of the museum (“Austrian Museum of Art and Industry”, “State Arts and Crafts Museum in Vienna", "Austrian Museum of Applied Arts")
Samuel and Gittel BAUER
Between 1941 and 1943, the MAK purchased a number of silver art objects from the Dorotheum auction house, including two candelabra. The only indication of their origin was the invoice number. The Austrian State Archives hold a card file which contains records about a large section of the so-called “§14 sales”, named after § 14 of the Ordinance regarding the Utilization of Jewish Assets of December 3, 1938, under which people persecuted as Jews by the NS Regime were forced between 1939 and 1940 to sell objects made of precious metals, pearls and jewels to state purchasing agencies for ridiculously low prices. In September 2007, a joint project for the digitalization of this card file was completed by the Dorotheum and the Holocaust Victims’ Information and Support Center of the Vienna Jewish Community. From the invoice number, it could be ascertained that the two candelabra had until 1939 been the property Samuel and Gittel Bauer from Vienna, which was also confirmed by subsequent research.
On March 7, 2008, the Advisory Board recommended the restitution of the two candelabra to the heirs of Samuel and Gittel Bauer. The heirs are currently being traced.
Ferdinand BLOCH-BAUER
In 1941, the porcelain collection of Ferdinand and Adele Bloch-Bauer was put up for auction because of alleged tax debts. Dr. Richard Ernst, then director of the MAK, who had published an illustrated study on the collection in 1925, had a great interest in the items for sale and wanted to secure selected objects for the museum. For 31,320 Reichsmarks, the MAK purchased 36 objects from the Bloch-Bauer collection with an estimated value of 72,700 Reichsmarks. The 36 objects were entered into the collection under 46 inventory numbers in June 1941. Efforts made by the lawyer of the Bloch-Bauer family for restitution of the objects resulted in a compensation settlement in 1949. 22 objects remained in the MAK collection as a donation, and, in exchange for 14 other objects, the family received duplicate copies from the MAK repository.
On 28 June 1999, the Advisory Board voted against restitution of the exchange objects but recommended the restitution of objects which had remained in the MAK as a donation. These were returned on 18 November 1999.
Siegfried FUCHS
In looking through a portfolio of 25 design drawings for glasses, which had been allocated to the MAK by the Nazi Central Bureau for Monument Preservation in June 1940, provenance researchers came across the name and address of Dr. Siegfried Fuchs. In cooperation with Wien Museum and the Austrian National Library, evidence could be produced that Dr. Siegfried Fuchs had been forced to give away his collection in the Nazi era.
On 28 June 2006, the Advisory Board advocated the restitution of the 25 drawings. Currently, the legal prerequisites for restitution are being clarified by the responsible ministry.
Erny and Richard GOMBRICH
Between 1941 and 1943, the MAK purchased a number of silver artifacts from the Dorotheum, including two candelabra. The only cue regarding their provenance was the number given on the invoice.
The Austrian State Archives’ holdings comprise a card index recording a large part of the so-called § 14 transfers. This file concerns all those objects of precious metal as well as pearls and jewels which persons persecuted by the Nazi regime as Jews were forced to hand over in 1939/1940.
In September 2007, the Dorotheum and the contact department of the IKG Vienna finished the project dedicated to the digitalization of this card index. Subsequently, the invoice number concerning the candelabra could be attributed to Erny and Richard Gombrich from Vienna. Further research confirmed that the two candelabra had been in their possession until 1939.
On 7 March 2008, the Advisory Board recommended to restitute the two candelabra to the heirs-at-law of Erny and Richard Gombrich, which was effected on February 26, 2009.
Cistercian Abbey of HEILIGENKREUZ-NEUKLOSTER Priory
1939 the MAK had brought a wrought-iron candelabrum from the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz; in spring 1940, the museum also purchased, for a lump sum of 40,500 Reichsmarks, ten stained glass paintings from the Abbey’s priory Neukloster in Wiener Neustadt. After the end of World War II, the Abbey of Heiligenkreuz filed for cancelation of all sales of artworks and real estate from its possession under the NS regime on grounds that these had been forced by the regime with the threat of a closure of the Abbey. This was granted, with the Abbey returning the purchases prices paid. However, the Romanesque candelabrum was not restituted as it had been lost somewhere around the Sonnerg depot shelter in the final days of the war. The Abbey did not file for restitution of the ten glass paintings from Neukloster. Apparently, the entire transaction had fallen into oblivion after both the abbot of Heiligenkreuz and the prior of Neukloster had died in 1945.
From 1998, the history of this purchase was traced back under the provenance research program.
In its meeting on January 23, 2009, the Restitution Advisory Board recommended the restitution of the ten glass paintings. Nine glass paintings were handed over to a representative of the heirs on 1 April 2009, the tenth glass painting was returned on 19 November 2009.
Friederike and Siegfried HERZEL
The examination of the entry “22.8.39 through State Buildings Administration from 18. Sternwartestraße 59“ in the MAK inventory showed that the address was that of a private residence that had belonged to Friederike Herzel, the jeweller Siegfried Herzel’s wife. The Herzel family had escaped to the USA in 1938, the villa being Aryanized by a Nazi official. After inspection of the villa’s furniture by members of the MAK staff, five pieces were assigned to the museum. One of the objects was lost during the last days of the war.
On 1 June 2007, the Commission recommended to restitute the remaining four objects. The objects were returned on 11 August 2008.
Emil IWNICKI
Between 1941 and ’43, the MAK bought from the Dorotheum auction house a number of silver art objects, including two candelabra. The only indication of their origin was a number on the invoice. In the Austrian State Archives, there is a card file in which a large section of the so-called § 14 deliveries are registered. These refer to objects of precious metal, pearls, and jewels which people persecuted as Jews by the Nazi regime valuables were forced to sell to state purchasing agencies for ludicrous prices. In September 2007, a joint project for the digitalization of this card file was completed by the Dorotheum and the Holocaust Victims’ Information and
Support Center of the Vienna Jewish Community. Subsequently, the invoice number made it possible to identify Emil Iwnicki from
Vienna as seller of the candelabra.
On March 19, 2010, Art Restitution Advisory Board recommended the restitution of the two candelabra to the heirs of Emil Iwnicki. Heir research is currently being conducted.
Anna KUTSCHER
Between 1941 and ’43, the MAK bought from the Dorotheum auction house a number of silver art objects, including two candelabra. The only indication of their origin was a number on the invoice. In the Austrian State Archives, there is a card file in which a large section of the so-called § 14 deliveries are registered. These refer to objects of precious metal, pearls, and jewels which people persecuted as Jews by the Nazi regime valuables were forced to sell to state purchasing agencies for ludicrous prices. In September 2007, a joint project for the digitalization of this card file was completed by the Dorotheum and the Holocaust Victims’ Information and
Support Center of the Vienna Jewish Community. Subsequently, the invoice number made it possible to identify Anna Kutscher from
Vienna as seller of the candelabra.
On March 19, 2010, Art Restitution Advisory Board recommended the restitution of the two candelabra to the heirs of Anna Kutscher, which was effected on December 6, 2010.
Elise and Dr. Erich MÜLLER
Between 1941 and 1943, the MAK purchased a number of silver artifacts from the Dorotheum, including two pots. The only cue regarding their provenance was the number given on the invoice.
The Austrian State Archives’ holdings comprise a card index recording a large part of the so-called § 14 transfers. This file concerns all those objects of precious metal as well as pearls and jewels which persons persecuted by the Nazi regime as Jews were forced to hand over in 1939/1940.
In September 2007, the Dorotheum and the contact department of the IKG Vienna finished the project dedicated to the digitalization of this card index. Subsequently, the invoice number concerning the pots could be attributed to Elise and Dr. Erich Müller from Vienna. Further research confirmed that the two pots had been in their possession until 1939.
On March 7, 2008, the Advisory Board recommended to restitute the two pots to the heirs-at-law of Elise and Dr. Erich Mülle, which was effected on Mach 9, 2011.
Wilhelm MÜLLER-HOFMANN
The Müller-Hofmann family was affected by the NS regime’s sanctions imposed in Austria from March 1938 on in various ways. As a politically undesirable person, Prof. Wilhelm Müller-Hofmann lost his teaching post at the Vienna Arts and Crafts College; his wife and his sons were persecuted as Jews. In this situation, the family was in urgent need of financial means to compensate at least partly for Wilhelm Müller-Hofmann’s lost earnings and to support the sons’ escape to Sweden and their life in exile. Faced with this predicament, Prof. Wilhelm Müller-Hofmann sold seven Ukiyo-e prints to the MAK.
On September 28, 2007, the Advisory Board recommended the restitution of the prints which were handed over to a representative of the heirs on January 22, 2009.
Ernst POLLAK
In the second half of 1942, the MAK made an inquiry to the Dorotheum auction house about the estimated prices of objects from the collection of Ernst Pollak. In 1943, the museum purchased 42 objects from the collection from the Vugesta (“Verwertungsstelle für jüdisches Umzugsgut der Gestapo,” the Gestapo Office for the Disposal of the Property of Jewish Emigrants) with the help of the Dorotheum. After prices had changed, 13 objects had to be returned to the Vugesta in May 1943. 2 objects were lost in a fire at Immendorf Castle, Lower Austria, where they had been put in shelter, in May 1945. The heirs of Gisela Pollack agreed to a restitution settlement in 1949, according to which 20 objects were restituted in exchange for a donation of 9 ceramic objects.
Siegfried RADIN
In May 1932, Siegfried Radin handed over two porcelain platters to the MAK on a loan basis. In 1939, a confidant of the Radin couple, who, at that time, had already fled from Vienna, turned to the MAK with a request for return of the two loans. The museum suggested a purchase of the objects, which the confidante agreed to as the Radins were in urgent need of money. However, the agreed price was not paid out to the Radins but remitted to the tax office on grounds of alleged tax arrears of the Radins. According to current research, it can be considered certain that these back taxes resulted from confiscatory taxation imposed by the Nazi regime on people defined as Jews.
In its session held on 8 November 2006, the Advisory Board recommended the restitution of the two porcelain platters to the heir of Siegfried Radin. The objects were returned on 11 August 2008.
Anton REDLICH
After the MAK had requested the seizure of the collection of Anton Redlich with the Bureau for Monument Preservation in August 1939 and informed the “Vermögensverkehrsstelle” (Property Transfer Office, the Austrian Nazi agency charged with dealing with Jewish-owned property) of its intent of buying a number of objects from the collection, the museum eventually purchased 28 porcelain objects from the Redlich collection for 11,670 Reichsmarks in August 1940. In 1947, a restitution settlement was made between the MAK and the lawyer of Anton Redlich, according to which Redlich had to pay 11,670 Schillings to the museum, instead of paying back the purchasing price of 11,670 Reichsmarks, with 7 objects remaining at the museum as a donation. The Advisory Board recommended restitution of these seven objects from the Anton Redlich collection on 23 January 2001. The objects were returned on 5 June 2001.
Heinrich ROTHBERGER
In August 1938, 3 objects from the Rothberger collection were donated to the MAK, two by Hans W. Lange, Berlin, and one by Heinrich Rothberger himself. The museum also purchased 11 porcelain objects from the Rothberger collection for 17,600 Reichsmarks from the auction house of Adolf Weinmüller in May 1939 and another one for 1,500 Reichsmarks in October. Another 38 objects were bought for 24,050 Reichsmarks through negotiation by the lawyer of Heinrich Rothberger. When Rothberger’s lawyer filed an application for restitution in September 1947, the museum requested an exportation ban to be issued for objects from its collections. In October 1947, a settlement was reached between Heinrich Rothberger and the MAK, which comprised all objects purchased between 1939 and 1940, but not the three donations of August 1938. It was agreed that Heinrich Rothberger was entitled to full restitution, that 18 objects were to remain at the museum as donations, and that Heinrich Rothberger had the right of duty-free exportation as movables of the objects assigned to him. The settlement was followed by a barter deal in which Heinrich Rothberger traded in 2 bowls with Schwarzlot painting, which were prohibited to export, for 6 duplicate pieces of Chinese porcelain.
In reviewing the objects bought by the MAK from the Vienna auction house of Adolf Weinmüller in the Nazi era, two further objects from the Rothberger collection could be identified.
On 26 June 2000, the Advisory Board advocated the restitution of 18 objects which were returned on 24 October 2003. The Board decided against restitution of the two exchange objects.
On 20 November 2003, the Board recommended restitution of three further objects; these were returned on 22 July 2004.
Regarding the two objects bought from the Weinmüller auction house, the Board advocated restitution on 14 December 2005; the objects were returned on 2 August 2006.
Alphonse und Clarice ROTHSCHILD
In January 1938, Alphonse Rothschild made a donation to the MAK on the occasion of the issuing of an export permit for different art objects. The export never came off, nor was the donation ever handed over to the museum. Throughout the Nazi period, Director Ernst kept trying to get hold of the donated and other objects for the museum. In 1943, finally, a number of objects were allocated to the institution. After the end of the war and the Nazi regime, Clarice Rothschild, widow of the meanwhile deceased Alphonse Rothschild, declared that the donation would be maintained. A settlement agreement was made about which objects would remain at the museum and which would be handed over to Clarice Rothschild. In 1948/49, Clarice Rothschild’s lawyer pointed out that his client was under no obligation to offer replacement for lost objects lost from the donation, nor was liable for the state of the objects. Moreover, it was agreed that no donated object was to be sold or bartered and that all objects included in the donation were to be marked as such.
On 11 February 1999, the Advisory Board recommended the restitution of 91 objects, which were returned on 11 March of the same year.
Louis ROTHSCHILD
Three objects from the Nazi-confiscated collection of Louis Rothschild came into the possession of the MAK. Two objects were returned in 1949 already; for the third, a carpet, restitution was recommended by the Advisory Board on 11 February 1999, which eventually took place on 11 March 1999.
Provenance research about MAK purchases after 1945 showed that a gambling table which, in the Nazi era, was supposed to go to the then-planned museum in
Linz and was handed over to the museum by the Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments in 1963 had been in the collection of Louis Rothschild until 1938.
On September 11, 2009, the Advisory Board recommended the restitution of the object. On March 2, 2010, the gambling table was returned to the heirs of Louis Rothschild, who then donated it back to the MAK.
Emma SCHIFF-SUVERO
On 1 March 1939, the MAK requested the seizure of the Schiff-Suvero collection, suggesting at the same time to hand over the collection to the museum on a short-term basis for inventorying purposes. Following the inspection of the objects, which were stored at the St. Lucas Gallery in Vienna, the museum entered into purchasing negotiations with the lawyer of Erwin Freiherr von Reitzes, heir-at-law of the deceased collector, Emma von Schiff-Suvero; these were concluded at a very favorable total price of 12,000 Reichsmarks. 120 objects purchased comprised selected items from the large textile collection of Emma von Schiff-Suvero. In addition, the MAK also acquired 32 glass and porcelain objects from the Schiff-Suvero collection for 6,000 Reichsmarks in August 1939. The MAK files contain no indication of any request made for restitution of the objects from the Schiff-Suvero collection after 1945.
On 10 April 2002, the Advisory Board recommended the restitution of 212 objects which were kept at the MAK. The ceramic and glass objects were returned on 10 April 2003, the textile objects on 8 September of the same year.
Hermine SCHÜTZ
Between 1941 and 1943, the MAK purchased a number of silver artifacts from the Dorotheum, including a samovar. The only cue regarding its provenance was the number given on the invoice.
The Austrian State Archives’ holdings comprise a card index recording a large part of the so-called § 14 transfers. This file concerns all those objects of precious metal as well as pearls and jewels which persons persecuted by the Nazi regime as Jews were forced to hand over in 1939/1940.
In September 2007, the Dorotheum and the contact department of the IKG Vienna finished the project dedicated to the digitalization of this card index. Subsequently, the invoice number concerning the samovar could be attributed to Hermine Schütz from Vienna. Further research confirmed that the samovar had been in her possession until 1939.
On 7 March 2008, the Advisory Board recommended the restitution of the samovar to the heirs-at-law of Hermine Schütz, which was effected on July 21, 2010.
Isak WUNDERLICH
Between 1941 and '43, the MAK bought from the Dorotheum auction house a number of silver art objects, including two candelabra. The only indication of their origin was a number on the invoice. In the Austrian State Archives, there is a card file in which a large section of the so-called
§ 14 deliveries are registered. These refer to objects of precious metal, pearls, and jewels which people persecuted as Jews by the Nazi regime valuables were forced to sell to state purchasing agencies for ludicrous prices. In September 2007, a joint project for the digitalization of this card file was completed by the Dorotheum and the Holocaust Victims' Information and Support Center of the Vienna Jewish Community. Subsequently, the invoice number made it possible to identify Isak Wunderlich from Vienna as seller of the candelabra.
On March 19, 2010, Art Restitution Advisory Board recommended the restitution of the two candelabra to the heirs of Isak Wunderlich. Heir research is currently being conducted.
Jacques ZIEGLER
In 1939, Jacques Ziegler, persecuted by the NS regime as a Jew, was forced to sell his extensive silverware collection in the Dorotheum for a fraction of its actual value.
In 1961, Antoinette Ziegler tried to locate the 66 silver objects from Jacques Ziegler’s possessions. The Dorotheum informed her that the main portion of the objects had been auctioned off, but that 9 items were missing. She was advised to turn to the MAK, where the objects in question might possibly be kept. Only after repeated inquiries, Antoinette Ziegler was informed by the MAK in 1962 that two objects had indeed been purchased from the Dorotheum consignment: a lidded jar and a large lidded tankard; the latter had been bartered away again in 1943. The museum claimed to have no information about any of the other items. In 1963, Antoinette Ziegler again contacted the MAK, but did not receive any further information.
In the course of the current provenance research, two objects could be identified as belonging to the Ziegler collection. On 3 December 2002, the Advisory Board recommended the restitution of these objects; they were returned on 16 September 2003.