Jewish art collectors in Breslau

In 1923, Karl Scheffler emphasized their importance for Germany, writing:Die Breslauer Sammlungen sind der Stadt, und unmittelbar dem Reich nicht wichtig, weil sie ein Besitz sind, der sich ziffernmäßig ausdrücken läßt, sondern weil sie geistige Spannungen erzeugen und dadurch zu Bewahrern dessen werden, woran uns heute mehr als an allem andern liegen muß.According to Winzeler, Breslau counted "an astonishing number of representatives of the up-and-coming Jewish bourgeoisie" in the Wroclaw art and cultural scene, such as the "Silesian Society for Patriotic Culture," in which Jewish members had held "prominent positions" since the 1850s [2] and which played a key role in the creation of the Wroclaw Museum of Fine Arts.

[3] Marius Winzeler describes that Jewish collectors and patrons played "the most important role" for Wroclaw's art collections.

All had different personalities but their main interests was modern art such as Impressionism and Expressionism.Marius Winzeler also names Toni and Albert Neisser, Max Pinkus, and Otto Ollendorff as "protagonists of Jewish collectorship and patronage in Breslau".

According to Winzeler, the list of Jewish art collections and collectors of Jewish origin remains incomplete.Leider können bislang zu vielen überlieferten Namen aus der jüdischen Kultur- und Kunstzene im Breslau der Zwischenkriegszeit keine näheren Aussagen und Angaben gemacht werden, weshalb eine umfassende Darstellung des Sammlerwesens und Mäzenatentums noch nicht möglich ist In the case of the Neisser couple, the creation of Villa Neisser as a "cultural center[...]"' was at the center of their activities, as well as the "establishment of a cultural memorial".

:Die Breslauer Sammlungen sind der Stadt, und unmittelbar dem Reich nicht wichtig, weil sie ein Besitz sind, der sich ziffernmäßig ausdrücken läßt, sondern weil sie geistige Spannungen erzeugen und dadurch zu Bewahrern dessen werden, woran uns heute mehr als an allem andern liegen mußWhen the Nazis come to power, Jewish art collectors were forced from their positions, plundered and murdered.

[13] Erich Wiese - Heinz Braune's successor as museum director - was a representative of modern art and was therefore dismissed by the National Socialists on June 23, 1933.

"Cornelius Müller Hofstede and his colleague Sigfried Asche took possession of many Jewish art assets, with the objective of integrating them into two most important Silesian museums in Breslau and Görlitz.

The Aryanization Commissioner, Regierungsrat von Natzmer, expressed his desire to purchase a small bronze from the Jewish art collection to the museum director, Müller Hofstede.

The family approached Professor Hertel (head of the Kunstkammer for Silesia) as part of the household liquidation and hoped to obtain an export license for the art collection.

Today's National Museum in Wrocław ([Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu) has little to indicate donations and the "Jewish patronage of the interwar period.

In the depots of the Warsaw Museum are stored works that were taken over by Müller Hofstede from the expropriated remaining collections Kaim, Sachs, Silberberg and Schmoschewer.

Artworks formerly owned by Jewish Breslau collectors have appeared in museums and private collections in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Israel and the USA Aber all dies Wissen ermöglicht doch nur eine schwache Vorstellung von der Fülle und Qualität, die den hohen Rang der Breslauer Sammlungen ausmachten.

[19] The Municipal Collections in Görlitz restituted seven works of art to the heirs of the former owners Sachs, Smoschever and Ollendorff (Woman with Lilies in a Greenhouse).

The remaining paintings, sculptures and works of fine art, which were proven to be Jewish property, had not been returned in the post-war period from their storage locations, which had become Polish in the meantime.