An Austrian museum specializing in art by persecuted artists has formally returned a stolen painting to the French government in an unusual restitution ceremony held Thursday in Salzburg. The Museum of the Lost Generation returned "The Internees of Saint Sauveur," a work created by Polish-Jewish painter Jecheskiel David Kirszenbaum while imprisoned in a French internment camp during World War II.
Unlike typical Nazi-era art theft cases, this painting disappeared decades later from the French Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, during the 1990s. The artwork surfaced again in 2022 when it was offered at a Paris art auction, where museum founder Heinz Böhme successfully bid for the piece. The auction house had previously acquired the painting from a private seller with no knowledge of its stolen status.
Kirszenbaum painted "The Internees of Saint Sauveur" in 1941 while detained at the Saint Sauveur internment camp in Bellac, southwestern France. The painting serves as a rare testament to life in French labor camps during the German Wehrmacht occupation. France had originally sold the artwork shortly after World War II ended, but later determined through official review in 2024 that it rightfully belonged to the French state.
The artist's life exemplified the persecution faced by Jewish intellectuals and artists during the Nazi era. Kirszenbaum studied at the renowned Bauhaus school in Weimar, Germany, learning under masters Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Lyonel Feininger before moving to Berlin and joining avant-garde artistic circles. After witnessing the destruction of most of his Berlin works, he fled Nazi persecution in 1933 with his wife Helma, seeking refuge in Paris.
In Paris, Kirszenbaum gained significant artistic recognition and participated in numerous exhibitions. However, his sanctuary proved temporary when German forces occupied France. His studio was ransacked again, resulting in the disappearance of more than 600 works. Tragically, his wife Helma was murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, while Kirszenbaum himself was interned in several French labor camps, including Saint Sauveur where he created the disputed painting.
Under the terms of Thursday's restitution agreement, the painting will remain on display at the Salzburg museum for five years before its final destination is determined. The Museum of the Lost Generation, located in Salzburg's historic old town, specializes in showcasing works by artists who were ostracized or persecuted during the Nazi period. Museum officials stated that future arrangements for the artwork beyond the five-year loan period have not yet been decided.
Kirszenbaum died in Paris in 1954 at age 54, having survived the camps but losing his wife and the majority of his artistic output to Nazi persecution. His surviving works, like "The Internees of Saint Sauveur," provide invaluable documentation of the experiences of Jewish artists and intellectuals during one of history's darkest periods. The painting's return to French custody represents both a restoration of cultural patrimony and recognition of the ongoing impact of wartime cultural losses.
