Germany restitutes 18th-century statue stolen by Nazi regime

Germany’s Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (known as SPK) has returned an early 18th-century sculpture to its rightful heirs after determining it was sold under Nazi persecution, the organization says.

The carved statuette of “Christ at the Column” once belonged to journalist and publisher Albin von Prybram-Gladona, SPK explained in a statement this week. Although his parents had converted from Judaism before his birth, he was persecuted by the Nazi regime, which repossessed his publishing house in Munich in 1935. Unemployed, he faced severe financial hardship and began selling parts of his art collection.

In November 1935, he offered the sculpture to the Berlin museum, now known as the Bode-Museum, which purchased it for 400 Reichsmarks. Given the timing and the price, the sale must be classified as a loss of assets due to persecution, and restored to its original owner, SPK says.

“Once the origin was clear, we contacted the heirs of [Albin’s late wife] Charlotte Prybram-Gladona, and I am very pleased that a work can now be returned to its rightful owners,” says SPK president Marion Ackermann. “With this restitution, we hope to try to make amends, at least in part, for the injustice suffered.”