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Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK, says: "There is no doubt that Jakob Goldschmidt was already a victim of individual persecution at the very beginning of the Nazi era. I am therefore very pleased that we can now return the statuette of a Maria Lactans to Jakob Goldschmidt's heirs."

"On behalf of the heirs, I would like to thank them for the restitution of the statuette and the compensation they have received for the injustice done to their grandfather during the Nazi era. We very much welcome the fact that the SPK has taken a comprehensive look at the special circumstances of this complex case and recognised them in the appropriate manner," said Sabine Rudolph, lawyer for Goldschmidt's heirs.

Jakob Goldschmidt (1882-1955) was an important banker and entrepreneur of the Weimar Republic who was persecuted for racial and political reasons and because of his Jewish faith. Due to his prominent role in the economic life of the time, he was exposed to Nazi reprisals at an early stage. In April 1933, Goldschmidt first fled to Switzerland and from there to New York in 1936. He also suffered considerable financial disadvantages. In 1940, his German citizenship was revoked and a year later his remaining assets in Germany were confiscated by the Nazis. Although not to the same extent as in Germany, Goldschmidt managed to rebuild his career in the USA during the final years of the Second World War and to support numerous cultural institutions. He died in New York in 1955.

Jakob Goldschmidt had built up an extensive art collection since the First World War. After his emigration, he was able to export some of it via the Netherlands, such as works by Impressionists and the porcelain collection. However, a large part of the collection, which was also used as collateral for loans in the meantime, remained in Berlin and was sold at various auctions. The statuette of Maria Lactans was located in Goldschmidt's city villa at Matthäikirchstraße 31 (today: Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße) in Berlin's Tiergarten district, which was furnished with numerous Renaissance works. The house was sold in July 1933 and the works of art were moved to his office.

On 23 June 1936, around 300 works from Goldschmidt's collection were auctioned off anonymously at the Hugo Helbing auction house. The Maria Lactans was called up as lot no. 41. The art dealer Johannes Hinrichsen, who acquired the statuette at the auction for 8,000 RM, sold it to the Skulpturensammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin in the same year.

This auction is to be categorised as a loss of property due to persecution in accordance with the Washington Principles. Even if it is no longer possible to fully reconstruct all the circumstances, it is clear that Jakob Goldschmidt was subjected to persecution measures that caused him considerable financial disadvantages. Dresdner Bank in particular was increasingly uncooperative towards him and thus prevented an amicable settlement of his financial circumstances. As a result of this development, Jakob Goldschmidt was forced to accept the realisation of a large part of his art collection, including the Maria Lactans. Against this background, the SPK has now restituted the statuette.

Press photo: www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/newsroom/presse/pressebilder.html