Leo Bendel (born 1868 in Strezwo, Poland, then Galicia, Austria-Hungary; died 30 March 1940 in

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

concentration camp) was an Austrian-born German Jewish tobacco dealer and art collector. Bendel came to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

from Galicia around 1900 and became a tobacco dealer there. He was considered to be well-off, lived in Berlin-Dahlem and acquired several paintings and graphics over the years.

Nazi persecution

After the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

came to power in 1933, Bendel was persecuted because of his Jewish origins. In 1935 he was dismissed from the position of general agent for the Job Cigarette Papers company because he was Jewish. Together with his wife Else Bendel, he fled Nazi Germany, and between 1935 and 1937 he sold his art collection to finance his escape. In the summer of 1937 Leo and Else Bendel went to Vienna. After the annexation of Austria in 1938, Bendel was arrested at the beginning of September 1939 and deported to the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

near

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

. He died there in the spring of 1940. Else Bendel survived as a non-Jew under poor conditions in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. After the war she made claims for compensation in Berlin; her application had not yet been decided when she died in September 1957. However, it was posthumously rejected.

The art collection and claims for restitution

Leo Bendel's collection consisted of paintings, drawings, watercolors and etchings by

Carl Spitzweg Carl Spitzweg (February 5, 1808 – September 23, 1885) was a German romantic painter, especially of genre subjects. He is considered to be one of the most important artists of the Biedermeier era. Life and career Spitzweg was born in Mun ...

Wilhelm Trübner Wilhelm Trübner (February 3, 1851 – December 21, 1917) was a German Realism (visual arts), realist Painting, painter of the circle of Wilhelm Leibl. Biography Trübner was born in Heidelberg. He was the third son of a silver- and goldsmit ...

, Walter Leistikow and Hans Thoma. To this day, two of the paintings by Carl Spitzweg are best known: * Carl Spitzweg, ''The Eye of the Law (Justitia) ("Das Auge des Gesetzes")'', 1857, oil on canvas : Leo Bendel sold the painting under duress to the Heinemann Gallery in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in 1937 for RM 16,000. In 1938 the notorious Nazi art dealer Maria Almas Dietrich bought it for the planned Führer Museum in

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

for RM 25,000. In October 1945, after being seized by Allied troops, it was taken to the Central Collecting Point in Munich. In August 1961 it was given to the Federal President's Office via the Foreign Office's trust company and became the permanent interior of Villa Hammerschmidt in Bonn. It decorated the office of eight German presidents. In May 2006, the heirs Leo and Else Bendel applied for restitution in accordance with the Washington Declaration. The Federal Office for Central Services and Unresolved Property Issues examined the matter, determined the "loss due to persecution" and proposed the return, which took place in 2007 . * Carl Spitzweg, '' The Warlock'' (''Der Hexenmeister''), 1875 / 1880, oil on canvas : Leo Bendel also sold this painting in 1937 to the Heinemann Gallery in Munich for RM 18,000; in August 1937 it was acquired by Caroline Oetker from Bielefeld, wife of the baking powder manufacturer and Nazi

August Oetker August Oetker (; January 6, 1862 – January 10, 1918) was a German inventor, food scientist and business person. He is known as the creator of baking powder as a ready-to-use product, and also as the founder of the Dr. Oetker company. He was t ...

, and passed on to her grandson

Rudolf August Oetker Rudolf August Oetker (20 September 1916 – 16 January 2007) colloquially also R.A. Oetker was a German industrialist, businessman, ship owner and philanthropist. Most notably he turned Dr. Oetker, founded by his grandfather August Oetker, int ...

. :In June 2006, the Bendel heirs contacted the

GmbH art collection, which owns the painting, and initiated a discussion to negotiate a fair and equitable solution in accordance with the Washington Declaration. However, the Oetker Kunstsammlung GmbH refused any discussion. In October 2016, the Oetker Group announced that the art collection was being examined for any looted art. In November 2019, the Rudolf-August Oetker GmbH art collection returned the painting to the descendants of the Jewish collector Leo Bendel. The restitution was preceded by a long international search for the rightful heirs of the original owner who had been murdered by the National Socialists.

Literature

* Monika Tatzkow: ''Leo Bendel (1868–1940) Berlin''; in: Melissa Müller, Monika Tatzkow: ''Verlorene Bilder, verlorene Leben. Jüdische Sammler und was aus ihren Kunstwerken wurde,'' München 2009, ISBN 978-3-938045-30-5 * Gunnar Schnabel, Monika Tatzkow: ''Nazi Looted Art. Handbuch. Kunstrestitution weltweit'', Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-00-019368-2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bendel, Leo Jewish art collectors 1868 births 1940 deaths German Jews who died in the Holocaust Nazi-looted art German people who died in Buchenwald concentration camp Subjects of Nazi art appropriations Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to Germany

Nazi persecution

The art collection and claims for restitution

Literature

See also

References