Swiss raid bank safe belonging to late Nazi art thief
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Paintings from a Swiss bank safe linked to a notorious Nazi art thief have been confiscated as part of an investigation into whether the heir of a Jewish art collector was blackmailed, authorities said Friday.
The Zurich prosecutor's office said it raided the safe as part of a three-nation probe of a German art dealer accused of conspiring with an American art historian to withhold a painting by French impressionist Camille Pissarro from its rightful owner unless she paid a finder's fee equal to 18 percent of its value.
Prosecutor Ivo Hoppler said the safe was rented by a trust based in the neighboring principality of Liechtenstein and was accessed by Bruno Lohse, who spirited away art from all over Europe during World War II on behalf of Hermann Goering, Hitler's top aide.
Lohse died two months ago in Munich.
Confirming reports in the Swiss weekly «Cash» and German daily «Sueddeutsche Zeitung,» Hoppler said Zurich officials were acting on a judicial assistance request from Munich prosecutors, who are investigating how the unidentified art dealer obtained Pissarro's «Le Quai Malaquais, Printemps.»
The painting was stolen from Jewish publisher Samuel Fischer in 1938. The investigation began on a complaint from his niece, who was not identified.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung estimated the value of the painting at ¤5 million (US$6.7 million). That would put the fee demanded by the men at ¤900,000 (US$1.2 million).
The paper said the German dealer claimed to have acquired the painting from Lohse in good faith in the 1950s.
Munich chief prosecutor Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld said the dealer contested the blackmail accusation and argued that requesting a finder's fee was normal in such cases.
Schmidt-Sommerfeld said the investigation does not extend to the art historian because he is an American citizen and his alleged crimes would have been committed outside Germany.
Hoppler said he could not yet confirm whether the Pissarro piece was among those found in the safe kept at the Zuercher Kantonalbank. He said he would inform prosecutors in Munich and Liechtenstein of his findings by early next week.
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Paintings from a Swiss bank safe linked to a notorious Nazi art thief have been confiscated as part of an investigation into whether the heir of a Jewish art collector was blackmailed, authorities said Friday.
The Zurich prosecutor's office said it raided the safe as part of a three-nation probe of a German art dealer accused of conspiring with an American art historian to withhold a painting by French impressionist Camille Pissarro from its rightful owner unless she paid a finder's fee equal to 18 percent of its value.
Prosecutor Ivo Hoppler said the safe was rented by a trust based in the neighboring principality of Liechtenstein and was accessed by Bruno Lohse, who spirited away art from all over Europe during World War II on behalf of Hermann Goering, Hitler's top aide.
Lohse died two months ago in Munich.
Confirming reports in the Swiss weekly «Cash» and German daily «Sueddeutsche Zeitung,» Hoppler said Zurich officials were acting on a judicial assistance request from Munich prosecutors, who are investigating how the unidentified art dealer obtained Pissarro's «Le Quai Malaquais, Printemps.»
The painting was stolen from Jewish publisher Samuel Fischer in 1938. The investigation began on a complaint from his niece, who was not identified.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung estimated the value of the painting at ¤5 million (US$6.7 million). That would put the fee demanded by the men at ¤900,000 (US$1.2 million).
The paper said the German dealer claimed to have acquired the painting from Lohse in good faith in the 1950s.
Munich chief prosecutor Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld said the dealer contested the blackmail accusation and argued that requesting a finder's fee was normal in such cases.
Schmidt-Sommerfeld said the investigation does not extend to the art historian because he is an American citizen and his alleged crimes would have been committed outside Germany.
Hoppler said he could not yet confirm whether the Pissarro piece was among those found in the safe kept at the Zuercher Kantonalbank. He said he would inform prosecutors in Munich and Liechtenstein of his findings by early next week.
Art Hostage comments;
Funny how when a criminal art handlers are caught red-handed with stolen art, they always say they bought it in good faith.
This case is one of Blackmail, holding the heirs of Jewish art collecting citizens hostage.
If these men and woman had come clean with the looted art then they may have had a reasonable claim for a finders fee, however, Julian Radcliffe did use the decitful tactics with Bawlkin with positive results to the tune of $1.8 million ransom on the Cezanne recovery. How did he get away with it, Juilan Radcliffe approached Mr Bawlkin and signed him up to the Art Loss Register, having previously discovered the whereabouts of his stolen Cezanne.
If Julian Radcliffe had come clean with Mr Bawlkin, the Art Loss Register would not have been entitled to collect the fee of $1.8 million. Although not blackmail, it does leave a bad taste in the mouth, especially as Julian Radcliffe likes to portray himself as a White Knight, rather than the shady spiv he is in reality.
Waiting until they have been caught with their grubby hands, dripping in the blood of Innocent murdered Jewish citizens from the Holocaust, confirms that the Germanic "Sonderweg" is alive and kicking, even if endorsed by Non-German citizens.
It must be said however, that not all Germans are Nazi sympathisers or have criminal intent.
I am certain, having met many Germans who are ashamed of their countries Nazi past, that there are millions of Germans who are decent, law abiding, honest citizens who would, given the chance, gladly help in the recovery of Nazi looted art.
This case aside, and regarding the cases of murdered Jewish art collectors, Germany, I beg you to do the right thing by showing humanity, the world is watching, and the screams from Heaven are from the millions of innocent slaughtered victims of the most murderous regime in the history of the twentieth century,the sub-human Nazi's, in my opinion.
By giving the benefit of any doubt to the heirs of innocent Jewish victims of Germanic sub-human Nazi doctrines, Germany can lead by example.
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