NEW YORK – World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder criticizes the decision of the German city of Düsseldorf to cancel the long-planned Max Stern exhibit and urges the city’s Mayor to reconsider the decision and let the exhibit move forward.
“I was deeply disturbed to learn about the cancellation of the Max Stern exhibit set to take place in early 2018. Many members of both the worldwide art community, as well as local Jewish communities, were very much looking forward to viewing the exhibition.”
In response to the city’s reasoning behind the decision to cancel the exhibit Lauder remarked, “The city’s official justification to cancel the exhibit -- because victims of Nazi-looted art and their heirs are still looking for their property -- is absurd.”
“The Gurlitt exhibit (“Bestandsaufnahme Gurlitt”) currently on display in Bonn, roughly 75 kilometers away from Düsseldorf, demonstrates that it is possible to launch an exhibit while victims and their heirs continue searching for their rightful property.”
“As with the Gurlitt exhibit, the Max Stern exhibit should be displayed to increase transparency and educate the public about Nazi-era art theft and provenance research.”
“Considering the fact that the current German government has made tremendous progress in regard to provenance research, cancelling this exhibit would be a major setback, especially for the victims of the Holocaust and their heirs.”
“I very much hope that the City of Düsseldorf and its Mayor Thomas Geisel reconsider their decision in the interest of the victims of Nazi looted art, their heirs, the international art Community.”
