The Miraculous Journey to Reclaim Nazi-Looted Art: One Family's Inspiring Battle

In 2010, Claire Gimpel's world was turned upside down by an unexpected phone call from an American attorney named Laurence Eisenstein. Eisenstein, who specializes in reclaiming artwork stolen by the Nazis, revealed that he had been in contact with a British scholar. This scholar had stumbled upon the name René Gimpel in the archives of art collectors. René, Claire's grandfather, was a French Jewish resistance fighter who tragically lost his life in a German concentration camp.

Eisenstein and Ian Locke, a researcher who has extensively studied and written about post-war restitutions, informed Claire that her grandfather had a significant art collection that was stolen by the Nazis. The Gimpels were unaware of the full extent of René's collection, despite knowing that he was a renowned art dealer prior to World War II. Claire expressed her surprise at this revelation, stating that her family had never been informed about her grandfather's robbery and that he was considered a hero for his involvement in the French resistance.

For Claire, a French woman now in her 70s residing in Paris, this marked the commencement of a 13-year campaign to recover her grandfathers' pilfered artwork, which encompassed invaluable paintings by the renowned 19th-century Fauvist artist André Derain and another creation by the Impressionist maestro Claude Monet.

Thousands of objects lost or looted

As a renowned gallerist during his time, René Gimpel had an extensive network of connections. He was closely associated with the Vuitton family, as his mother, Clarisse Vuitton, was Louis Vuitton's niece. René frequently socialized with prominent artists like Monet, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. Additionally, he formed a deep bond with acclaimed writer Marcel Proust, as they both shared a passion for the work of artist Johannes Vermeer.

A portrait of René Gimpel taken in the garden of his home in Paris.

Gimpel Estate

René mysteriously closed his Paris gallery in 1938. When the Germans occupied Paris on June 14, 1940, René, who was considered "of Jewish race" under Vichy France law, fled to Cannes and later Monte Carlo with his wife. He left his housekeeper, Odile Firer, in charge of his affairs in Paris.

Despite the dangers involved, René made the brave decision to join the Resistance. He was arrested twice, first by the Vichy regime, who ultimately released him, and later by the German Gestapo, who took him as a political prisoner. René was then deported to Neuengamme, a concentration camp near Hamburg, where he tragically passed away in 1945.

During Claire's 2010 conversation with Eisenstein, the attorney disclosed that René's extensive portfolio had been distributed, sold at auctions, dispersed among private collections, and even exhibited in museums across Europe. In 1938, a Jewish family who fled from the Nazis sold a Picasso painting, and now their descendants are seeking its return.

"We were completely unaware," Claire recollected, recounting how Locke painstakingly curated a meticulously organized compilation of evidence from online family archives, which included journals, letters, and photographs (notably, René had an extensive collection of journals). Through this rigorous process, Locke was able to produce a comprehensive spreadsheet consisting of 1,000 lines, outlining various items that he suspected had been looted from Claire's family. In certain instances, a single line on the spreadsheet denoted not just one solitary object, but an entire trove of multiple artifacts, like an ensemble of engravings encompassing pieces dating back from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. "This implies that tens of thousands of valuable art objects have vanished," Claire emphasized.

The interior of Hôtel Doucet on rue Spontini, René Gimpel's home in the early 1930s.

René Gimpel Archives

The list marked the commencement of the Gimpel heirs' endeavor to reclaim their grandfather's collection. For Claire, this undertaking carried a unique sense of urgency. "I am growing old," she expressed, apprehensive about the inevitable day when there will be no one left to recall her grandfather. "We must expedite this process because individuals like me will eventually perish. Once we are gone, there will hardly be any remaining to pursue the retrieval and restoration of the property for the families."

Finding stolen artworks, decades later

The fate of René's artworks during the war remains uncertain. According to court records, his Paris apartment located at 6 Place du Palais Bourbon was confiscated and looted by the German embassy in 1942. Additionally, 82 crates of his artworks that he had kept in storage were also taken. In 1944, the Gestapo seized more of his belongings from a bank safe in Nice.

The Gimpel heirs believe that their grandfather was compelled to sell some of his art pieces in order to survive after the Nazis took control of France. Family archives further support this claim. A decree issued on April 26, 1941, prohibited Jews from working in the commercial sector. Many Jews, including René, were stateless, hiding, and without access to bank accounts. Selling art would have been the only means for René to financially support his family or contribute to the resistance network.

Early on in their quest, the Gimpels discovered from their family archives that René acquired six captivating André Derain artworks at an auction in 1921. Through the invaluable assistance of Locke and Eisenstein, they successfully traced and recognized three of those remarkable masterpieces proudly exhibited in renowned French museums.

Two of André Derain paintings owned by René Gimpel, "Paysage a Cassis" (L) and "Pinede, Cassis" (R).

Christie's

The paintings "Paysage à Cassis" and "La Chapelle-sous-Crécy" were found in a public museum in Troyes, northeastern France, while another painting titled "Pinède, Cassis" was discovered in a museum in Marseille. These paintings had been exhibited for a long time. According to court documents viewed by CNN, the Gimpel heirs filed a claim to the Ministry of Culture in 2013, seeking restitution of the three Derain paintings.

The French Ministry of Culture admitted in an email to CNN that René's assets were taken, forcibly sold, or seized during the war, and stated that the family has been compensated for some of their lost possessions. The family has confirmed that they filed for and received compensation from the German and French governments through a joint restitution program, but they chose not to disclose the exact amount. In a significant development, seven personal artworks by Egon Schiele, which were looted by the Nazis from a Jewish art collector, have now been returned to the rightful heirs.

However, the ministry stated in the email that they lacked sufficient information regarding the whereabouts of the artworks and proof that they were stolen from René Gimpel, and thus could not return the three Derain paintings.

Facing a dead end, the Gimpel family sought assistance from Corinne Hershkovitch, a highly experienced French lawyer who has helped numerous families recover their stolen artworks. She managed to successfully retrieve five looted paintings from the Louvre in 1999, setting a precedent in France. This particular case holds great significance for her, as it serves as a reminder of the extensive looting that occurred during the war. "Restitution prevents us from forgetting," Hershkovitch emphasized.

Finding evidence for restitution

In 2019, the Gimpel heirs went to court to recoup the Derain paintings. But proving that the artworks had been stolen by the Nazis nearly 80 years earlier posed a challenge.

French lawyer Corinne Hershkovitch has decades of experience helping families reunite with possessions looted by the Nazis.

According to Margaux Dumas, an art provenance researcher and PhD candidate at University Paris-Diderot and Technical University Berlin, the process resembles a police or journalistic investigation, but without the ability to interview witnesses. Dumas collaborated with the family in their pursuit of restitution.

Proving the later theft of the artworks, however, presented a much greater challenge.

The five Gimpel heirs strongly believed that the Derain paintings were sold against René's will due to the financial strain caused by the Vichy regime's antisemitic policies. However, the French Ministry of Culture and the two museums argued that the lack of an invoice or legal document made this evidence inadequate. "Since these sales were conducted secretly, it is evident that a deed of sale cannot be obtained," Claire explained.

In August 2019, the French government and the museums received a favorable ruling from the Paris Criminal Court, which stated that there was no conclusive evidence to establish that the three paintings were forcefully sold or confiscated.

However, a year later, the French Court of Appeals overturned this decision. CNN has obtained a letter dating back to 1941 from the family archives, wherein René instructed his housekeeper Odile Firer to take care of his friend Derain, emphasizing the importance of not disappointing him. The court interpreted this as a request to sell the paintings, stating its significance.

René Gimpel and his family, in a photograph taken between 1891 and 1895. René is the child seen standing and wearing a striped shirt.

The appeals court stated that there are strong and consistent indications suggesting that the Derain paintings were obtained unlawfully or obtained through coercion, thereby rendering their sale invalid.

France is preparing to restore justice by returning a Klimt masterpiece and other precious artworks stolen by the Nazis to their rightful Jewish owners. Notably, this marks the groundbreaking occasion where a court has recognized that families seeking restitution should not be burdened with providing evidence that is excessively challenging to obtain, taking into account the circumstances under which these invaluable pieces were unlawfully taken.

In 2020, after a seven-year fight, the Gimpel heirs were finally reunited with the three Derain paintings. When questioned by CNN about the delay in returning the artworks, the Troyes museum stated that, due to their status as part of national collections, a court ruling was necessary for them to be returned to the Gimpel heirs. The city of Marseille mentioned that the return of the Derain works was one of the initial actions taken by Mayor Benoît Payan at the beginning of his term in 2020, although it was done under the compulsion of a court ruling.

Despite the lengthy legal battle, Dumas stated that the Gimpel heirs were fortunate as they had extensive family archives and because artworks in museums are more easily traceable. Dumas highlighted that this is often not the case for Jewish families attempting to recover their ancestors' stolen art.

A battle, not a dialogue

The Nazis systematically emptied the houses of Jewish people who had fled or been deported, meaning the scale of looting goes far beyond art.

Dumas explained that there are testimonies indicating that they stole everything, including the electrical outlets and wallpaper. She believes that as many as 38,000 apartments were emptied in Paris alone. Hershkovitch has also dealt with cases involving furniture, books, musical instruments, and monetary losses.

In January 2021, Marseille's mayor, Benoit Payan, delivered a speech alongside an artwork by André Derain titled "Pinede, Cassis." The occasion was a ceremony held to officially return the painting to the family of René Gimpel.

Between July 1940 and August 1944, an estimated 40,000 works of art were seized from over 200 Jewish collectors and dealers in France and Belgium, according to the French Ministry of Culture. The ministry further reports that the Artistic Recovery Commission, active from November 1944 to December 1949 to aid in the retrieval of lost pieces, received around 100,000 claims for "works and works of art," with approximately 45,000 of them being successfully returned to their rightful owners between 1944 and 1950.

Hershkovitch explained that it's crucial to grasp that this is not a mere conversation, but rather a fierce conflict. Her endeavor to reunite families with their stolen belongings has been aided by the shifting public sentiment and the Gimpel court ruling from three years ago. The French government declared in 2019 its unwavering commitment to returning cultural artifacts that were stolen, forcefully sold, or confiscated between 1933 and 1945, irrespective of whether they were looted within France or presently reside in the country.

The complex restitution process in France was simplified through the adoption of a new law by the French parliament in July.

Claire noted the significant changes by stating, "In the past, it would take us four years to obtain photos of the backs of paintings, which are usually one of the initial places to search for identifying labels, tags, or marks when verifying their provenance. However, now if we request a photo of the back of a painting, we receive it within six months."

Today, the five Gimpel heirs have successfully located and reclaimed six valuable paintings from various French museums and private collectors, including an additional work by Derain and a remarkable piece by Monet.

Their relentless efforts persist as they strive to obtain hundreds of additional artworks that they strongly believe to have been stolen. Despite acknowledging the slim possibility of recovering everything, Claire finds solace in their ongoing progress. "Society's mindset is gradually changing," she expressed. "Admittedly, it has taken us 80 years since the conclusion of World War II, but it is better to take action now than never."