Paul Jakob Eisner - »Besitzen Sie Gemälde,...?«

Black‑and‑white photograph of a destroyed residential building, with further ruins on the left. The building in the foreground has no windows and no roof — Photograph of the building Große Querallee 2, the former home of Paul Jakob Eisner and his family, destroyed during the war, 1950. Landesarchiv Berlin, B Rep. 202 (photos) no. 94‑03839; photographer: Möbius & Willmanowski

"Wiedergutmachung" (restitution)

In the 1950s, Paul Jakob Eisner submitted applications for “Wiedergutmachung” (restitutionReturn of confiscated property to its rightful owners or their heirs.) and Entschädigung (compensation) from Buenos Aires. He also travelled to Germany to advocate personally for the swift processing of these proceedings.

The Wiedergutmachungsbehörden (RestitutionReturn of confiscated property to its rightful owners or their heirs. Authorities) attempted to identify individuals who, according to the record of the auction of Eisner’s property on 2 April 1941, had acquired objects. However, the persons located by the office stated that they could not remember anything, had not purchased any objects at the auction, or that the items had been lost due to wartime circumstances. As a result, no restitutionsReturn of confiscated property to its rightful owners or their heirs. were made. Efforts to trace the auction held by Hans W. Lange on 19 May 1941 were likewise unsuccessful.

Paul Jakob Eisner died on 29 July 1965 during a stay in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. He did not live to see the conclusion of either his “Wiedergutmachung” or his Entschädigung process, which continued into the late 1960s. Following his death, his sister Berta took over the proceedings until her own death on 5 November 1965, after which her children continued these efforts until a settlement was reached.

Locating a painting

Research into a single painting from Paul Jakob Eisner’s possessions illustrates the paths such an object could take after its seizure. The case of Paul Jakob Eisner also shows what possibilities arise today as museums and other public institutions increasingly make their collections available online. This allows interested individuals and researchers worldwide to engage with this cultural heritage. It also more transparently conveys how this heritage entered these institutions. For provenance researchProvenance research (from Latin provenire: to come from) investigates the origin of objects, their changes of ownership, and the paths they have taken. and the effort to fulfil legitimate restitutionReturn of confiscated property to its rightful owners or their heirs. claims, this represents a major step forward.

From the Potsdam files, the OFP researchers could not determine who had acquired the still life by Ludwig Adam Kunz at Hans W. Lange’s auction. However, research in databases such as that of the Deutsches Historisches Museum (DHM) allowed them to establish that the painting had been entered in 1941 into the inventory of the "Sonderauftrag Linz" (Special Commission Linz) under Linz number 1951. The DHM data also shows that the art dealer Maria Almas‑Dietrich had acquired the painting. As part of the "Sonderauftrag Linz", Almas‑Dietrich regularly purchased artworks at auctions for inclusion in a planned "Führermuseum" in Linz.

The further path of the painting could also be traced in the DHM database: after the war, the Western AlliesThe alliance formed to wage military action against National Socialist Germany and its allies. More found the painting in the storage siteSecure location where valuable cultural assets are stored during natural disasters, crises, and armed conflicts to protect them from destruction. More at the Altaussee salt mine and transported it to the Central Collecting PointCollection points set up by the US armed forces after 1945 in the western occupation zones, where works of art from discovered depots containing looted art were registered, documented, and preserved. More in Munich, where it was registered, photographed, and assigned Munich numberRegistration number assigned to works of art recorded at the Central Collecting Point (CCP) in Munich after the Second World War. More 11772 on 24 October 1945.

At the time of registration at the Central Collecting PointCollection points set up by the US armed forces after 1945 in the western occupation zones, where works of art from discovered depots containing looted art were registered, documented, and preserved. More, the rightful owner – Paul Jakob Eisner – could not be identified by the staff on site. The painting was therefore transferred to the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JRSO)Its task was to pursue the restitution of heirless property belonging to private individuals who had been persecuted and murdered as Jews in the American occupation zone and in the American sector of Berlin. More in Nuremberg on 7 June 1949.

Black‑and‑white photograph of a painting. The artwork depicts dead birds, a lobster, and fruit. — Reproduction of a still life by Ludwig Adam Kunz, produced at the Central Collecting Point, 24 October 1945. Federal Art Administration, Berlin, Registry, Photographic Archive of the Central Collecting Point, Munich, Ref. no. 11772

Property Card for the still life by Ludwig Adam Kunz, 24 October 1945. BArch, B 323/666, fol. 267
Reverse side of the property card for the still life by Ludwig Adam Kunz, 24 October 1945. BArch, B 323/666, fol. 267v

Screenshot from the Lost Art database showing the entry for the still life by Ludwig Adam Kunz — Record of the discovery of Ludwig Adam Kunz’s still life in the Lost Art database of the German Centre for Lost Cultural Property, as at 13 March 2026

Provenance researchProvenance research (from Latin provenire: to come from) investigates the origin of objects, their changes of ownership, and the paths they have taken. successful

It was only in the early 2020s, almost sixty years after Eisner’s death, that specialised provenance researchProvenance research (from Latin provenire: to come from) investigates the origin of objects, their changes of ownership, and the paths they have taken. databases made it possible to locate the painting. A search entry in the Lost Art databaseThe database of the German Lost Art Foundation is a central German online database documenting cultural property that was relocated, confiscated, or stolen during the Nazi era and is still considered missing today. More provided information on the provenanceIn the context of art history: origin of art and cultural assets. More and whereabouts of the work: the still life by Ludwig Adam Kunz had been transferred by the JRSOIts task was to pursue the restitution of heirless property belonging to private individuals who had been persecuted and murdered as Jews in the American occupation zone and in the American sector of Berlin. More to the Bezalel National Museum, predecessor of today’s Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The provenanceIn the context of art history: origin of art and cultural assets. More researchers in the OFP(Senior Finance President) Until 1937, Landesfinanzämter (regional finance offices). OFPs were the highest regional authorities responsible for the Reich’s financial administration. From the end of 1941, they were tasked with planning and carrying out the theft of property from deported Jews. More project informed the museum, and shortly afterwards, with the help of the Commission for Looted Art in EuropeAn international organisation founded in 1999 that campaigns for the return of cultural assets looted during the Nazi era. More, an heir of the Eisner family was identified.

The museum restitutedReturn of confiscated property to its rightful owners or their heirs. the painting by Ludwig Adam Kunz to the heirs in 2023. Thus, eighty-three years after its seizure by the National Socialists, the painting was able to return to the ownership of the family.

Here you can find out more about the case of Paul Jakob Eisner