Max Emden

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Max Emden
MaxEmden.JPG
Max James Emden, ca. 1928
Born(1874-10-28)October 28, 1874
Hamburg
DiedJune 26, 1940(1940-06-26) (aged 65)
Muralto
NationalityGerman
OccupationArt collector, businessman
Known forArt collection, retail magnate

Max James Emden (October 28,1874 in Hamburg – June 26, 1940 in Muralto, Switzerland) was a German Jewish businessman, philanthropist and art collector whose properties, including valuable paintings, have been the object of Nazi era restitution claims. The manner in which his legacy has been handled has sparked a debate in Germany about the erasure of information concerning the Nazi era[1] and inspired films about his life.[2]

Life[]

Villa Emden, Brissago-Inseln, Schweiz

Born into a long-established Jewish merchant family from Hamburg to Jakob Emden and his wife Mathilde (née Kann), Emden he attended Wilhelm-Gymnasium, in Hamburg, graduating on September 7, 1893. He studied chemistry and mineralogy in Heidelberg, Genf, Zürich and Leipzig, earning a doctorate in 1898. He married Concordia Gertrud Helene (née Sternberg) and served in the Leib-Husaren-Regiment in Danzig.

In 1906 Emden had the Hamburger Architect Wilhelm Fränkel build a home in Klein Flottbek for 200.000 mark. On this spot today is a 26.000 m² private school.

Emden worked in family textile trading company M. J. Emden Söhne becoming a partner in1904 and later sole owner. Founded in Hamburg in 1823, the company expanded internationally under Emden becoming a major department store chain. For the stores, Emden acquired land throughout Europe, in Berlin, Potsdam, Chemnitz, Plauen, Stockholm, Munich and Budapest. Well known department stores he was involved in include KaDeWe, with the main shareholder Adolf Jandorf, the Corvin department store in Budapest, the Allas department store in Stockholm, the Oberpollinger department store in Munich, the Poetsch department store in Hamburg and the Petersen department store in Wandsbek.[3]

In Ascona, Emden was a guest of Eduard von der Heydt on Monte Verità. In 1927 he acquired the Isole di Brissago[4] in Lake Maggiore from owner Antoinette de Saint Léger, initially together with the cellist Bronisław Huberman, who soon withdrew.

He had the gardens renewed, the existing buildings largely removed and a palace-like villa built in the classicist style by the Berlin architect Alfred Breslauer. The 33 meter long Roman bath was decorated with the statue The Bathers by the sculptor Georg Wrba. The present botanical garden there is essentially his work. The female nude by the sculptor Werner Müller comes from the time of Emden. The Javanese by the sculptor Remo Rossi was added in 1950

Emden's philanthropy built and funded many of Hamburg’s cultural institutions, as well as the city’s polo club, whose fields he owned.[5]

Arbeitszimmer Max Emden, Villa Emden, Brissago-Inseln, Schweiz

The Nazi era[]

Of Jewish origins, Emden had converted to Christianity in his youth, but the Nazis persecuted him as a Jew.[6] Interviewed in The Times of Israel, Juan Carlos Emden described Emden's situation: "The Nazis financially ruined him, forcing him to sell his stores and real estate. By 1937 he had run out of money and started selling his art collection” [7]

After Emden's sudden death in June 1940, his only son, Hans Erich Emden, who as a Jew had been arrested by the Gestapo, fled to Chile on a Haitian passport in 1941.

After the Second World War, Hans Erich returned to the Brissago Islands but discovered that some of the furniture had been stolen and a number of the works of art were missing.[8]

Hans Erich sold the Island in 1949 for around 600,000 francs to the canton of Ticino and the surrounding communities. The canton made the islands publicly accessible in 1950. The German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer was on the islands in the 1950s and found the view of Ascona “one of the most beautiful in Europe”.

Art collection: claims, lawsuits and restitutions[]

The fate of property that belonged to Emden before the rise of the Nazis, including paintings from his collection that ended up in German museums, has been the subject of debate in Germany.[9] The German weekly Der Spiegel questioned in a 2017 article about Max Emden "whether people in this country have ever really taken the commitment to reparation and also to the establishment of the truth seriously".[10]

Several claims for Nazi looted art and forced sales have been filed.[11] Artists concerned include Bellotto[12][13] Canaletto and Claude Monet among others.[14]

On March 26, 2019 Germany's Advisory Commission on the Return of Cultural Property Seized as a Result of Nazi Persecution announced that, in the case of Dr. Max James Emden vs. the Federal Republic of Germany, it recommended that the paintings “The Zwinger Moat in Dresden” and “The Karlskirche in Vienna” (both by Bernardo Bellotto, also called Canaletto) be restituted to the heirs of Dr. Max James Emden. The two artworks were in currently owned by the German government.[15] In its decision, the Commission stated: "The systematic destruction of people’s economic livelihoods by the Third Reich as a tool of National Socialist racial policy (and precursor to the Final Solution) thus also applied in the case of Max Emden.".[15]

Another painting from the Emden collection, Le Palais Ducal (1908) by Claude Monet valued at more than $30m, was alleged by Emden's heir to have been sold under duress to Swiss dealers during the Second World War. [16]

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has been investigating whether the painting, Lady with a Fan, by Gerard ter Borch was also from the Emden collection.[17]

Publications[]

  • Über die Reduktionsprodukte der Phenylglyoxyldicarbonsäure. Inaugural-Dissertation der Hohen Philosophischen Fakultät der Universität Leipzig zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde. Druck von Metzger & Wittig, Leipzig 1898 (nicht im Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek enthalten).
  • Hamburger Baukunst. Hamburg, November 1909 (nicht im Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek enthalten). (Digitalisat Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg)
  • Der natürliche Arbeitstag : eine Rechenaufgabe. (Digitalisat Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg)

Film[]

On April 10, 2019, the documentary film Life is an Art - The Max Emden Case was premiered in Hamburg. The film works on the story of Max Emden and depicts the heirs' lavish struggle for restitution and justice against the authorities and private art collectors. Numerous experts comment on the subject of looted art and the works of art that were in the possession of Max Emden.[18][19]

Literature[]

  • Ulrich Brömmling: Max Emden. Hamburger Kaufmann, Kaufhauserfinder, Ästhet und Mäzen. (Reihe: Mäzene für Wissenschaft, Neue Folge; Bd. 1). Wallstein, Göttingen 2020, ISBN 978-3-8353-3751-0.
  • Ulrike Knöfel: Für ein Opfer zu mondän. In: Der Spiegel 38, 2017; online unter dem Titel Das Schicksal des Kaufhauskönigs Emden (noch nicht verlinkbar).
  • Robert Landmann: Ascona – Monte Verità. Auf der Suche nach dem Paradies. Schultz, Berlin 1930; Huber, Frauenfeld 2000, ISBN 3-7193-1219-4.
  • Ulrich Luckhardt, Uwe M. Schneede: Private Schätze. Über das Sammeln von Kunst in Hamburg bis 1933. Ausstellungskatalog. Hamburg 2001.
  • Giuseppe Mondada: Die Brissago-Inseln in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Dadò, Brissago 1975.
  • Eberhard Mros: Die Brissago-Inseln und ihre Umgebung im launischen Spiel der Zeiten. E. Mros, Ascona 2011, ISBN 978-3-9523402-1-9.
  • Curt Riess: Ascona. Geschichte des seltsamsten Dorfes der Welt. Europa Verlag, Zürich 1964.
  • Birgit Schwarz: Hitlers Museum. Böhlau, Wien 2004, ISBN 3-205-77054-4.
  • Michael Sontheimer, Andreas Wassermann: Moral und Millionen. In: Der Spiegel. Nr. 45, 2006 (online – über die Kunstsammlung Emden). 
  • Carlo Speziali: 1885 – 1950 – 1985. Le isole di Brissago. Brissago 1985, speziell S. 48 ff.
  • Francesco Welti: Der Kaufhaus-König und die Schöne im Tessin. Max Emden und die Brissago-Inseln. Huber, Frauenfeld 2010, ISBN 978-3-7193-1551-1.
  • Ursula von Wiese: Vogel Phönix. Stationen meines Lebens. Klio, Bern 1994, ISBN 3-906635-02-3. (Autobiographie).
  • Die Sammlung Dr. Max Emden. Auktion bei Ball-Graupe, Berlin, 9. Juni 1931 (Auktionskatalog); Universität Heidelberg (Digitalisat).

References[]

  1. ^ SPIEGEL, Ulrike Knöfel, DER. "Nazi-Deutschland: Das Schicksal des Kaufhauskönigs Emden". www.spiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  2. ^ admin. "Explosive Documentaire: "la Vie est un Art – Le Cas de Max Emden" | AllInfo". Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  3. ^ SPIEGEL, Ulrike Knöfel, DER. "Nazi-Deutschland: Das Schicksal des Kaufhauskönigs Emden". www.spiegel.de (in German). Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  4. ^ "Max Emden and the Brissago Islands: the story continues | Ascona-Locarno". www.ascona-locarno.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  5. ^ "Heirs battle estate over $30m Monet painting from Emden collection sold during Nazi era". www.lootedart.com. The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  6. ^ "Heirs battle estate over $30m Monet painting from Emden collection sold during Nazi era". www.theartnewspaper.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  7. ^ Amanda Borschel-Dan. "Will victims of the greatest Nazi theft finally get a fair hearing?". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  8. ^ "Max Emden and the Brissago Islands: the story continues | Ascona-Locarno". www.ascona-locarno.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  9. ^ "Why the origins of artworks are so important". www.lootedart.com. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  10. ^ SPIEGEL, Ulrike Knöfel, DER. "Nazi-Deutschland: Das Schicksal des Kaufhauskönigs Emden". www.spiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-02-26. Die heutigen Emdens kämpfen schließlich noch gegen das Vergessen an, sie wollen Aufklärung darüber, was war. Maeva Emden, 43, sagt, sie fürchte mittlerweile, dass noch die nächste Generation in der Familie damit zu tun haben werde. Das Geschehene lässt sich auch deshalb nicht von der Gegenwart abkoppeln, weil viel von dem, was Max Emden besaß, ja noch vorhanden ist. Da wären die Immobilien, die nun anderen gehören, auch die teuren Bilder, von denen sich einige immerhin in Museen nachweisen lassen. Und vielleicht lösen zwei der Bilder schon bald eine Debatte darüber aus, ob man es in diesem Land mit dem Bekenntnis zur Wiedergutmachung und auch zur Wahrheitsfindung jemals wirklich ernst gemeint hat.
  11. ^ Advisory Commission on the return of cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution, especially Jewish property. "Explanatory statement on the recommendation of the Advisory Commission in the case of Dr. Max James Emden vs. The Federal Republic of Germany" (PDF).
  12. ^ "Panel urges return of Hitler's Bellotto paintings to heirs of Jewish retail magnate". www.theartnewspaper.com. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  13. ^ Correspondent, David Sanderson, Arts. "Descendants of Jewish bon viveur Max Emden win right to sell art stolen by Nazis". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  14. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Why the origins of artworks are so important | DW | 11.04.2019". DW.COM. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b "Advisory Commission on the return of cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution, especially Jewish property Office: German Lost Art Foundation, Humboldtstraße 12, 39112 Magdeburg, Germany Explanatory statement on the recommendation of the Advisory Commission in the case of Dr. Max James Emden vs. The Federal Republic of Germany" (PDF).
  16. ^ D'Arcy, David. "Heirs battle estate over $30m Monet painting from Emden collection sold during Nazi era". www.lootedart.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  17. ^ "Gallery under fire over Nazi loot". www.abc.net.au. 2007-07-08. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  18. ^ Woeller, Marcus (2019-04-24). ""Der Fall Max Emden" ist ein Film über Deutschlands Schande". DIE WELT. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  19. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Brisanter Dokumentarfilm: "Auch Leben ist eine Kunst - Der Fall Max Emden" | DW | 10.04.2019". DW.COM (in German). Retrieved 2021-02-01.

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