THE HAGUE, 28 May 2019 – In a binding opinion issued on 16 April 2019 the Restitutions Committee decided that Amsterdam City Archives should restitute the drawing Jewish Quarter in Amsterdam by Max Liebermann to the heirs of the original owners.

The drawing belonged to the Jewish couple Dr Gustav and Clara Kirstein, who during the nineteen-thirties became victims of anti-Jewish measures taken by the Nazi regime in Germany. In the Committee’s opinion it has emerged sufficiently clearly that possession of the drawing was lost as a result of circumstances directly linked to the Nazi regime.

After the binding opinion was issued, the City Archives and the heirs of Dr Gustav and Clara Kirstein  agreed that the City Archives would repurchase the drawing from the heirs.

About the Restitutions Committee

The Advisory Committee on the Assessment of Restitution Applications for Items of Cultural Value and the Second World War advises about claims to items of cultural value lost during the Nazi period, also referred to as looted art. Since the Restitutions Committee was established in 2002 it has issued 158 recommendations and opinions and has had 180 claims submitted to it. The Committee is chaired by Fred Hammerstein.

Relevant binding opinion: Drawing Jewish Quarter in Amsterdam by Max Liebermann