English
New research has linked a Nazi-looted painting from Adolf Hitler’s residence to Dutch Jewish collector Bob Nijkerk. Dutch newspaper Het Parool reported the findings, revealing new details about Nazi art theft during World War II.
The discovery also highlights the lasting impact of Nazi persecution on Jewish families and their cultural heritage.
A Painting With a Dark History
German artist Carl Gottlieb Peschel created Joseph Sold by His Brothers in 1831. The painting portrays the biblical story of Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery in Egypt.
In 1941, Nijkerk received the artwork as a gift from his brother-in-law.
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Nijkerk belonged to a wealthy Dutch Jewish family. During the 19th century, the family built its fortune through the iron and scrap-metal trade.
He later assembled an impressive collection of rare books, Dutch typography, and paintings.
When German forces occupied Amsterdam in 1940, Nijkerk managed the family business. However, Nazi authorities seized the company the following year.
Survival Against the Odds
Beginning in 1942, Nazi authorities deported more than 100,000 Dutch Jews to killing centres.
Initially, Nijkerk, his wife, and their three children escaped deportation.
Willem Sandberg, a curator at Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum, helped protect the family. Nijkerk had previously loaned and donated artworks to the museum.
Through his intervention, Sandberg secured their inclusion on an exception list covering approximately 700 Jews.
Nevertheless, Nazi authorities later transferred the family to De Schaffelaar Castle near Amsterdam.
They subsequently sent them to Westerbork transit camp and then to Theresienstadt, in present-day Czechia.
Despite these hardships, all five family members survived the Holocaust.
In 1945, a prisoner-release arrangement allowed the family to travel by train from Theresienstadt to Switzerland.
Research Reveals the Painting’s History
Diederik Oostdijk, a professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, uncovered the family’s connection to the Peschel painting.
His new book, Overlevingskunst (The Art of Survival), explores the experiences of three Jewish families.
The book examines how their art collections partly contributed to their survival during the Holocaust.
Furthermore, Oostdijk’s investigation reveals previously unknown details about the Nijkerk family’s valuable collection.
From Hitler’s Residence to a German Museum
Oostdijk discovered that the Peschel painting once hung inside Hitler’s Berlin residence.
Nazi authorities later transferred the artwork to a storage facility in Munich. There, they collected valuable pieces for Hitler’s planned Führermuseum.
However, researchers still cannot determine exactly how the painting left Nijkerk’s possession.
He may have sold it in late 1941 or early 1942. Alternatively, German forces or Dutch collaborators may have confiscated it during raids on Jewish homes.
After the war, Nijkerk recovered many of his books. Yet he never discussed the Peschel painting, according to his grandson Willem Nijkerk.
Willem learned about the artwork and his grandfather’s collection through Oostdijk’s investigation.
The research also offered him a new understanding of his family’s comfortable prewar lifestyle.
No Restitution Claim Filed
Nijkerk’s seven descendants have not submitted a formal restitution claim for the Peschel painting.
Likewise, they have not sought the return of three other artworks linked to the family collection.
These include two portraits attributed to Caspar Netscher and a 1673 painting by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout.
Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum currently holds those three works.
Meanwhile, the Martin von Wagner Museum in Würzburg, Germany, houses Joseph Sold by His Brothers.
Willem explained that the family would probably sell the paintings if they recovered them.
However, the artwork’s connection to Hitler’s residence deeply disturbed him.
He described the thought of Hitler possessing his grandparents’ painting as bizarre. Moreover, he said he would not necessarily want the artwork hanging
