During World War II, Nazis looted hundreds of thousands of works of art from Jewish families.
Many have ended up in museums, and restitution for families can be rare.
That's what makes the case of Maria Altmann so special.
Nazis stole six paintings by the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt from Altmann's family home in 1938.
Decades later, she asked a family friend to help her recover them. And after a years-long legal battle against the Austrian government, E. Randol Schoenberg did just that.
On Sept. 27, he'll talk about the case in the inaugural Nancy & David Wolf Lectureship at Union Terminal, presented by the Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law in partnership with the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center.
On Sept. 28, an early screeningof Fioretta, a new documentary about Schoenberg's passion for genealogy, will play at 7 p.m. at the Mariemont Theater.
On Cincinnati Edition, we discuss the fight to recover the stolen Klimt paintings and the implications for the legal and art worlds.
Guests:
- E. Randol Schoenberg, lawyer and genealogist
- Peter Bell, Ph.D., curator of European paintings, sculpture and drawings at the Cincinnati Art Museum
- Jennifer Kreder, professor of law, Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law, counsel, Rottenberg Lipman Rich in New York
The Cincinnati Art Museum and Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center are financial supporters of Cincinnati Public Radio.
Ways to listen to this show:
- Tune in live at noon ET M-F. Call 513-419-7100 or email talk@wvxu.org to have your voice heard on today’s topic.
- Catch the replay on 91.7 WVXU and 88.5 WMUB at 8 p.m. ET M-F.
- Listen on-demand. Audio for this segment will be uploaded to this page by 4 p.m. ET., or subscribe to our podcast.