The Orpheus Clock: The Search for My Family's Art Treasures Stolen by the Nazis
Simon Goodman
Language: English
Pages: 368
ISBN: 1451697643
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
“An extraordinary piece of history...a fresh and lively read” (The Christian Science Monitor)—the passionate, gripping, true story of one man’s single-minded quest to reclaim his family’s art collection, stolen by the Nazis in World War II.
Simon Goodman’s grandparents came from German-Jewish banking dynasties and perished in concentration camps. And that’s almost all he knew about them—his father rarely spoke of their family history or heritage. But when his father passed away, and Simon received his old papers, a story began to emerge.
The Gutmanns, as they were known then, rose from a small Bohemian hamlet to become one of Germany’s most powerful banking families. They also amassed a magnificent, world-class art collection that included works by Degas, Renoir, Botticelli, Guardi, and many, many more. But the Nazi regime snatched from them everything they had worked to build: their remarkable art, their immense wealth, their prominent social standing, and their very lives. Only after his father’s death did Simon begin to piece together the clues about the Gutmanns’ stolen legacy and the Nazi looting machine. With painstaking detective work across two continents, Simon has been able to prove that many works belonged to his family and successfully secure their return.
“Fascinating...splendid and tragic” (The Wall Street Journal), “Goodman’s story is alternately wrenching and inspiring...An emotional tale of unspeakable horrors, family devotion, and art as a symbol of hope” (Kirkus Reviews). It is not only the account of a twenty-year detective hunt for family treasure, but an unforgettable tale of redemption and restoration.
Help of the local population. In this case a Bavarian State policeman called Georg Denzel was put in charge of moving the 225 pieces to the Munich Central Collecting Point. Denzel continued working for the US occupation forces until 1948, when he was finally let go. Ultimately Breitenbach’s investigation proved inconclusive. Denzel, Sauermann, and Böhler all had opportunity and motive. However, I found a statement by Dr. Hoffmann, an associate of Böhler’s, where he admitted, much later in 1953,.
Sigmund, 141 Fribourg, Jules, 222 Fribourg, Lucienne, 222 Fribourg, Michel, 222 Fribourg Foundation Inc., 222 Frick, Wilhelm, 260 Friedländer, Max, 185, 280, 283, 284, 285 Friedman, Rebecca, 286 Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden, 40 Frye, William E., 294, 295 Fuad, King of Egypt, 93 Fugger, Jakob the Rich, 307 Furmanski, Philip, 290 Fürstenberg, Carl, 29 Fütterer, General Kuno-Heribert, 278 Gainsborough, Thomas, portrait of a young woman, 86, 173, 192 Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris,.
The Nazis and Dutch “Jew hunters” came looking. In her famous diary, Anne described watching from her attic hiding place in Amsterdam as “night after night, green and gray military vehicles cruise the streets. They knock on every door, asking whether any Jews live there. If so, the whole family is taken away . . . . They often go around with lists, knocking only on those doors where they know there’s a big haul to be made. They frequently offer a bounty, so much per head.” Twenty-five thousand.
Fritz’s business partner and friend. They never did see him again. Maisels perished in Auschwitz soon after Fritz wrote his letter. From the same smuggled letter: “Reni and Egon [two of Lili’s childhood friends] have disappeared without a trace, supposedly they are safe, but I do not know . . . . Your nice professor from Leiden [one of Lili’s high school teachers] is being held as a hostage, of whom five have already been shot . . . and so many, many more that had to leave, never to return. It.
Though he was a resident in Switzerland, he was forbidden to sell art on the Swiss market (a privilege reserved for Swiss citizens) because he was a German citizen. Therefore, his brother-in-law, Hans Fankhauser, did not have “good title” to give. What Emile Wolf knew or did not know is hard to say. All we know is that the Degas was not seen again until 1965, when a painting with the designation “Degas Landscape 11.5 x 16.5 in. lent by Evelyne Wolf-Walborsky” was displayed for over ten weeks in.