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Art and antiques dealers

Whether through direct salesIn the context of the “Verwertung” (liquidation) of assets looted during the Nazi era: sale of seized or confiscated items directly to buyers outside of a public auction. More or auctions, art and antiques dealers acquired the looted objects in various ways.

Due to the abundance of items, they often benefited from low prices at which they could purchase the objects and then resell them at a profit.

Maschinenschriftliches Dokument: tabellarisch strukturierte Liste von neunzehn Positionen an Objekten mit Erwerber*innen

One page of the auction record for the estate of Oskar Skaller, 16 January 1942. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 36160, fol. 24v

Erfahre hier mehr zu Oskar Skaller

Typewritten document: tabular list with stamp; handwritten notes. — In 1944, antique dealer Rudolf Sobczyk acquired two oil paintings from Robert Weinberg’s estate. In addition to “BombengeschädigteIn National Socialist terminology, the term “Bombengeschädigte” (bomb victims) or “Fliegergeschädigte” (air raid victims) referred to people whose flats, houses, or property had been destroyed or damaged by Allied air raids. More” (bomb victimsIn National Socialist terminology, the term “Bombengeschädigte” (bomb victims) or “Fliegergeschädigte” (air raid victims) referred to people whose flats, houses, or property had been destroyed or damaged by Allied air raids. More) and members of the Wehrmacht, he purchased directly from the Vermögensverwertungsstelle, 6 June 1944. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 39326, fol. 117v

Antique dealer Otto Möhrke acquired three oil paintings from the stolen property of brothers Georg and Martin Tietz, 17 February 1943. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 39326, fol. 108
Antique dealer Otto Möhrke acquired three oil paintings from the stolen property of brothers Georg and Martin Tietz, 17 February 1943. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 39326, fol. 108v

Berliner Gebrauchtwarenhandel

The Berliner Gebrauchtwarenhandel (Berlin’s second-hand goods trade) was the biggest commercial beneficiary of the expropriation of deportees’ property by the Vermögensverwertungsstelle at the OFP Berlin-Brandenburg. Certain retailers were granted exclusive access to the deportees’ household furnishings in contracts with the Wirtschaftsgruppe Einzelhandel. While “hochwertige” (high-quality) art and cultural assets were sold by selected auctioneers, “minderwertige Erzeugnisse” (inferior products) found their way into Berlin households via the shops of second-hand dealers.

Typewritten document with address list; handwritten deletions. — First page of the list of Berlin retailers proposed by the Wirtschaftsgruppe Einzelhandel for trading in stolen household furnishings, 1942. LAB A PrBr Rep 030 no. 21830 fol. 46v

Retail

Until December 1942, the majority of the confiscated household furnishings belonging to Jews deported from Berlin were handed over to the Berliner Gebrauchtwarenhandel (Berlin’s second-hand goods trade) for resale.

Contracts with the Wirtschaftsgruppe Einzelhandel – Zweckgemeinschaft Gebrauchtwarenhandel (Retail Trade Economic Group – Special Association for the Used‑Goods Trade) regulated the formalities. The dealers were able to purchase the furnishings at fixed prices and resell them. Furniture, household goods, and textiles thus indirectly found their way into the households of non-Jewish Berliners. From the end of 1942, the distribution of the stolen goods to the Berlin population was taken over by the Hauptwirtschaftsamt of the city of Berlin.

Excerpt of a document: printed letterhead. — Address of the Reich Office of the Wirtschaftsgruppe Einzelhandel – Zweckgemeinschaft Gebrauchtwarenhandel on a form issued by the Vermögensverwertungsstelle. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 26893, fol. 56v