Germany returns Nazi-looted sculpture to heirs of persecuted Jewish publisher

Germany’s Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) has returned an early 18th-century sculpture to the heirs of its former owner after concluding it was sold under Nazi persecution, the foundation announced this week.

The carved statuette, titled “Christ at the Column,” once belonged to journalist and publisher Albin von Prybram-Gladona. According to SPK, although his parents had converted from Judaism before his birth, he was persecuted under the Nazi regime, which confiscated his Munich publishing house in 1935, The Times of Israel writes. 

Left unemployed and facing severe financial hardship, von Prybram-Gladona began selling parts of his art collection. In November 1935, he offered the sculpture to a Berlin museum now known as the Bode-Museum, which purchased the piece for 400 Reichsmarks.

Given the circumstances of the sale — including its timing and price — the transaction must be classified as a loss of assets due to persecution, SPK said, warranting restitution to the rightful heirs.

“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.”

By Sabina Mammadli