Yad Vashem declines donation from Christie’s for Horten jewels auction
Prestigious British auction house Christie’s offered to donate large sums of money to Jewish and Israeli organizations that focus on the Holocaust, after drawing criticism due to sales with ties to Nazis.
Last Monday, Christie’s sold jewelry that belonged to the late Heidi Horten, an Austrian art collector whose husband, Helmut Horten, was a Nazi Party member and who made his fortune by buying department stores from Jews at a very low price during the Holocaust. The items fetched a total of $202 million, making the auction the largest jewelry sale in history.
The Jerusalem Post has learned that a number of Jewish organizations around the world as well as in Israel received an offer for a donation from Christie’s commission of this sale, as part of their recognition of the fact that Horen’s funds benefited from the Holocaust. Among the organizations are Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and the Claims Conference, an organization that represents Jews in negotiating for compensation and restitution for
victims of Nazi persecution and their heirs. The Post has reached out to the Claims Conference and hasn’t yet received a response.
A senior source at Yad Vashem told The Post yesterday that they were approached by Christie’s about three weeks ago regarding a possible donation on their behalf. Yad Vashem said it declined to accept any donation due to the sourcing. A different Jewish organization was offered a donation of $100,000, but has also declined to accept the funds for the same reason, according to a source close to the organization.
Christie’s site said that it has committed to donate “a significant portion of its commission [from this sale] to organizations that contribute to vitally important Holocaust research and education. It will be up to these organizations, if they so wish, to communicate about these donations.”
Associations representing Jews and Holocaust survivors had criticized the auction because of the origin of the wealth that paid for the jewelry. David Schaecter, president of Holocaust Survivors’ Foundation USA, said the auction continues “a disgraceful
pattern of whitewashing Holocaust profiteers,” according to The Times.
Christie’s also drew fire for not initially including any mention of the Jewish businesses in its marketing materials for the auction. Its website now includes a brief note stating that the provenance of Horten’s wealth is “a matter of public record. The business practices of Mr. Horten during the Nazi era, when he purchased Jewish businesses sold under duress, are well documented.”
Christie’s has declined comment.