The value of the collection, which includes a rare poster for the film «Belokurov Venus» with Marlene Dietrich, is estimated at 4.5 million euro

Recently, 71-year-old Peter Zahs (Peter Sachs), residing in the U.S. state of Florida, sued the German Historical Museum, demanding the return of the posters, selected by his father, the Nazis. Zahsu was only one year, when his father, Hans (Hans Sachs), the dentist's Jewish origin, was sent to a concentration camp. Propaganda minister Josef Goebbels (Joseph Goebbels) has ordered to confiscate his collection of posters, which he collected over forty years. The collection amounted to 12 and a half thousand of rare posters and included the work of such famous authors as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec) and Shere Jules (Jules Ch é ret). Zahsu-over, his wife and son managed to escape to the United States, but the posters were left in Germany. In 1990, more than four thousand posters from the collection of Hans Zahsa included in the collection of the German Historical Museum. Their cost is estimated at 4.4 million euro.

Peter Zahs возмущается that most posters from the collection of his father «vegetate» in vast repositories, and the museum are exhibited only rarely. Representatives of the museum are responsible, that these posters are an integral part of the museum's collections, numbering 80 thousand items. According to them, even the posters that are in storage, not all are forgotten - they are exploring the scientific staff. Zahsa But these explanations do not satisfy.

Several years ago, has already tried to conquer Zahs posters at the museum, but a government commission headed by former judge of the Constitutional Court Yuttoy Limbach (Jutta Limbach) rejected his claim. The main argument of the Commission was that in 1961, Hans Zahs received from the Government of West Germany in compensation for 225 thousand marks (about 50 thousand dollars for the then exchange rate). In his letter to his friend, he noted that it was quite adequate compensation. But counsel for his son, Gary Ozen (Gary Osen), argues that getting the money, the collector thought that all of his collection was stolen or destroyed during the war. Besides, were precedents when museums give the heirs of the work for which has already been paid - in exchange for its return.

Hans Zahs was born in 1881. His collection, he began to collect more in school. In the early twentieth century it was considered the main poster collector in Germany. He founded a magazine called Das Plakat, arranged exhibitions, and lectured. Zahs collected posters of exhibitions, films, cabaret, as well as promotional posters and advertising of different products - a very rare prints, produced a small number. The jewel of his collection was a poster for the film «Belokurov Venus», in which the glittering Marlene Dietrich (Marlene Dietrich). 9 November, 1938, when sadly famous «Kristallnacht», Hans Zahs was arrested. He was sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, north of Berlin. But, fortunately, he was there only two weeks - his wife to get British visas, and the collector has been released. Soon he and his wife and 14-month son went to the United States. There Zahs dentists began to work again.

In 1966 Zahs know that some posters from his collection are in a museum in eastern Germany. He has been treated there with a letter, asked him to show posters or bring them to an exhibition in the United States, but the authorities continued refusal to meet him. Collector died in 1974, never seeing their treasures. And in 2005 his son, trying to find «survived» issues of Das Plakat, covershenno accidentally discovered that the posters included in the collection of the German Historical Museum.

When Peter Zahs appealed to the court for the first time, he demanded from the museum to return it with all the posters from the father. The second lawsuit, filed in March last year, was mentioned by only one - to the poster «Belokurov Venus». But representatives of the museum stated that the poster did not include in their collection. Then Zahs said he wants to return the poster to the satirical magazine Simplissimus, who created a famous artist Thomas Theodor Hein (Thomas Theodor Heine). Gary Ozen said that to win at least one poster, it was necessary to set a precedent: if the back one, then over time you can win back, and others. But the museum decided that if you fight, then for all the assembly that has finally been put in this case, the point of the «i». According to the Berlin lawyer Zahsa Druby Matthias (Matthias Druba), the museum did so because the German court costs and attorneys' fees depend on the value of the right to possession by the plaintiffs challenged in court. Thus, at his client was to pressure - if he loses, he would have to pay a huge amount.

On Tuesday 20 January, Judge Norbert Shtobbe (Norbert Stobbe) admitted that Peter Zahs is the legitimate owner of the collection. A February 10, the court ordered the museum to return his poster to the magazine Simplissimus. Restitution of the other works - this is just a matter of time.

Zahs still does not know what to do with the meeting. His dream - to find the museum, which agreed to include them in the permanent exhibition.

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Sources: google.com , bloomberg.com , artinvestment.ru

P.S. About restitution can also be read:

How the Nazis looted Europe
heirs of victims of the Nazis against the Federal Republic of Germany
Minneapolis Institute of Arts to part with the Nazis confiscated the picture Leger
exhibition of works of art stolen Nazi
In Germany, an agency that is exploring provenans works in public collections
« Pink Wall »Matisse: confiscation - restitution - inheritance - for sale
Klimt: regular restitution
Influential figures of British art-world debate about the restitution
heirs El Lisitsky wife did not want to give a picture of Paul Klee
New York Museums do not have to give restitution to the painting of Picasso