Restitution of Nazi-looted property in Mainz

In February, the City of Mainz and Landesmuseum Mainz of the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate returned to the descendants of Stephanie Gebhardt-Lorch three paintings and two chairs which formerly belonged to her.

Through a project funded by the German Lost Art Foundation, the objects were identified by provenance researcher Dr. Emily Löffler as having been seized as a result of Nazi persecution. The works entered the holdings of the former Gemäldegalerie Mainz in September 1943 in connection with a transfer from the head of the Hesse regional finance authority in Darmstadt. The consignment comprised paintings, prints, decorative art and furniture belonging to Jewish families that the tax offices in Mainz, Darmstadt and Gießen had confiscated in connection with the deportations from the People’s State of Hesse in 1942 and 1943.

Extensive research enabled the identification of Mainz resident Stephanie Gebhardt, née Lorch (1869–1944), as the original owner of the restituted objects. She was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp on 27 September 1942 and murdered there on 3 October 1944.

At the family’s request, the handover took place in private.

To the funded project Investigation of Provenance and Conditions of Ownership of Paintings Illegally Confiscated from Jewish Owners