Family Loewy
The last traces that can be found of Hugo Loewy are entries in various bureaucratic documents: his name on a transport list to the Theresienstadt ghettoThe Theresienstadt “Altersghetto” (ghetto for the elderly) was established in the old garrison town in what is today Terezín (Czech Republic) as the largest concentration camp (KZ) in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. More dated 2 September 1942, as well as the transport card for that deportationForced removal of people by state authorities from their place of residence or origin to another state territory or to remote regions where they are detained. More. The 80‑year‑old Hugo Loewy was presumably murdered immediately after his arrival at the Treblinka extermination campTreblinka II was one of the largest extermination camps built by the National Socialists, constructed from May 1942 onwards. More in September 1942 – older people were not selected for forced labour there.
His son Fritz Loewy had fled to Oslo in August 1940, believing he would be safe there. However, National Socialist troops occupied Norway in the spring of 1940. Loewy was captured and deported to AuschwitzAuschwitz is the name of the largest and best‑known National Socialist concentration and extermination camp. More on 26 November 1942. Like his father, he was murdered.
Hugo Loewy’s daughter‑in‑law, Sylvia Loewy‑Garai, survived only because of her American citizenship. After her husband’s deportationForced removal of people by state authorities from their place of residence or origin to another state territory or to remote regions where they are detained. More, she persistently searched for him, long after he had been murdered, as evidenced by numerous postcards she wrote to him at addresses where he might possibly be found.
Hugo Loewy’s daughter, Käthe Löwenstein, survived in exile together with her husband Hans Löwenstein.
The restitution procedure
Hugo Loewy’s daughter‑in‑law, Sylvia Loewy‑Garai, submitted an application for “Rückerstattung” (restitutionReturn of confiscated property to its rightful owners or their heirs.) to the Berlin Wiedergutmachungsämter (RestitutionReturn of confiscated property to its rightful owners or their heirs. Offices) in 1953. She was supported by Loewy’s daughter, Käthe Löwenstein. Both acted as heirs of Hugo Loewy.
Both Sylvia Loewy‑Garai and Käthe Löwenstein were still living abroad after fleeing National Socialist persecution when they submitted the restitutionReturn of confiscated property to its rightful owners or their heirs. application. As was customary, they appointed a representative in Germany to act on their behalf during the proceedings.
Artworks and other property
Sylvia Loewy‑Garai gave a statement at a Wiedergutmachungsamt (RestitutionReturn of confiscated property to its rightful owners or their heirs. Office) detailing the furnishings of her father‑in‑law’s apartment, supplemented with a list of the confiscatedBy confiscating assets, government officials initially deprived owners of the authority to dispose of their bank accounts, household furnishings, securities, etc., which were placed under state administration. More and sold items. These also included the paintings. They are listed on the back of the letter, each with details regarding dimensions and frame type.
The Wiedergutmachungsämter attempted to contact some of the former buyers, such as Käthe Malzbender, the wife of the auditor Ludwig Malzbender, and SS‑Obersturmführer Johannes Schertl. Their efforts, however, were unsuccessful.
After the restitutionReturn of confiscated property to its rightful owners or their heirs. and compensation procedures were concluded, the offices made payments to the heirs. The artworks, however, have not been recovered to this day. They are presumably still in private ownership.
An online search produced a possible lead: in 2012, the auction house Ketterer sold a painting by Franz Skarbina titled Durchgang in der Fischerstrasse (Berlin) (Passageway in Fischerstrasse, Berlin), whose date and dimensions match the painting from the property of Hugo Loewy. Whether it is indeed the missing work cannot be said with certainty. After the auction, the painting again entered private ownership.
Sylvia Loewy‑Garai died in 1977 in Oslo, almost thirty-five years after her husband.