Post date: Nov 05, 2013 2:25:52 PM
The discovery of Nazi-looted art found in a Munich flat "was very emotional," says the German art historian evaluating works by Picasso, Chagall and others while refusing to say how much the trove could be worth.
AUGSBURG, GERMANY (NOVEMBER 05, 2013) (REUTERS) - An art historian assigned to evaluate a trove of Nazi-looted art found in a Munich flat said was "very emotional" when she first saw the works dating from the 16th century to the modern period from artists such as Canaletto, Courbet, Picasso, Chagall and Toulouse-Lautrec.
German customs officials discovered the roughly 1,400 art works during a search of the flat in 2011, according to Munich's customs investigation office.
"Of course it was very emotional for me to see all the works of art and to recognise that they exist," saidMeike Hoffmann, art historian from Berlin's Free University.
Hoffmann, an expert on art the Nazis branded un-German or "degenerate" and removed from show in state museums, refused to "comment on the value of the collection" which was estimated by German news magazine Focus to be up to one billion euros.
Augsburg state prosecutor Reinhard Nemetz who handles the case said media reports that authorities had failed to disclose the find for two years were wide of the mark and there had been no undue delay.
"We did not keep something secret with some immoral or improper intention" in mind, Nemetz told reporters during a news conference.
"The reasons were purely practical ones which forced us not to make this public. In addition, there are legal reasons too."
"I repeatedly said that at the outset, there was a tax evasion probe. For tax evasion probes, the fiscal secret takes effect," said Nemetz.
A Jewish group had accused Germany on Monday (November 04) of moral complicity in concealment of stolen paintings after initial reports of the delay in disclosing the discovery of the huge trove of art.
The case poses a legal and moral minefield for authorities.
The Nazi regime systematically plundered hundreds of thousands of art works from museums and individuals across Europe.
An unknown number of works is still missing, and museums worldwide have held investigations into the origins of their exhibits.
Germany has faced criticism that the restitution process is too complicated and lacks sufficient funding.
Nemetz said there were no plans to publish a list of the works online.
Instead, he said the authorities would welcome it if people who suspected the trove may contain paintings that rightfully belonged to their ancestors came forward.