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If you’re a student of history, you’re likely aware that the Nazi Party was responsible for stealing and destroying hundreds of thousands of pieces of art across Europe. That includes many pilfered paintings that have never been recovered, but it would appear one has been found more than 80 years after it was taken with the help of a real estate listing in Argentina.
The Nazis spent more than a decade orchestrating the reign of terror that saw more than 11 million people (and around six million Jews) die as a result of being systematically exterminated during the Holocaust before the regime was toppled as a result of World War II.
That loss of life is justifiably the primary focus when it comes to examining the atrocities that were perpetrated by the Nazis. However, the party also carried out a cultural genocide that revolved around a concerted looting campaign by stealing gold, silver, and other valuables to increase its wealth at the expense of the victims who were left with nothing.
The looting also led to the seizure of an estimated 650,000 pieces of art that were among the more than 5 million objects of “cultural significance” that were stolen by the Nazis. Multiple international agencies have worked in tandem in an attempt to recover those pieces (and, when possible, return them to the families they were stolen from) over the decades, but as of 2024, only a tiny percentage had been tracked down.
However, it looks like one more has been accounted for.
A portrait that had been missing since the 1940s was spotted in a real estate listing for a house owned by the daughter of a Nazi officer who fled to Argentina
Argentina was already home to a sizable German population prior to the start of World War II, and it continued to grow after the conflict came to an end with the help of Juan Perón, the president who had a role in facilitating the arrival of hundreds of Nazi officials (including Josef Mengele and Adolf Eichmann) who fled Europe to avoid prosecution for the actions during the Holocaust.
That included Friedrich Kadgien, an SS officer who served under Hermann Göring, who arrived in Argentina by way of Switzerland and Brazil and resided there for decades before dying in 1979. He left behind two daughters, who resided in the home in Buenos Aires that was recently put up for sale in a listing posted with the real estate company Robles Casas & Campos, which featured multiple pictures showcasing the property.
According to the BBC, that included one photograph showcasing a painting of a woman that would appear to be “Portrait of a Lady” by Fra Vittore Galgario, the name adopted by the Italian artist who was born Giuseppe Ghislandi.
Robles Casas & Campos
That piece was among the more than 1,100 works that were stolen from Jacques Goudstikker, a Jewish art dealer based in Amsterdam who died while attempting to flee the Netherlands in 1940. The pieces in his collection were sold by the Nazis in the wake of his death, and while hundreds of them were eventually recovered, “Portrait of a Lady” was one of the many that had not been tracked down.
AD, the Dutch newspaper that broke the news, contacted one of the daughters for comment before she pleaded ignorance, saying, “I don’t know what information you want from me and I don’t know what painting you are talking about.” However, an attorney representing Goudstikker’s estate says they intend to take legal action to attempt to reclaim the piece.