The story details how her husband, Helmut Horten, built his company by buying Jewish businesses during the Nazi persecution.
Christie's is to auction the jewellery of the late Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten this week. It is said to be the largest and most valuable private jewellery collection ever to be auctioned.
However, a New York Times article about the origins of Horten and her husband's wealth clouds the glow of the sale.
Helmut Horten was the late German billionaire behind the now closed Horten's department store chain.
Heidi met Helmut, who was over three decades older than her, at the age of 19. They married in 1966 and he died in 1987, leaving her nearly $1 billion.
The Times article details how he built his company. It states that he bought businesses from Jewish owners that the Nazis forced them to sell.
“He laid the foundations of his wealth during the Third Reich. He acquired businesses cheaply at sell-out prices from Jewish business owners under pressure.” That's what David de Jong, author of Nazi Billionaires: the Dark History of Germany's Wealthiest Dynasties, told the Times.
After buying a department store in 1936 from Jewish owners at an allegedly lower price, Helmut is said to have published in a Nazi Party newspaper that the store was now under “Aryan ownership”.
Heidi reportedly hired historian Peter Hoeres last year to investigate her husband's past.
In his report, he concluded that while Helmut benefited from buying businesses from Jewish owners, to say that he built his wealth in this way is an exaggeration.
Some objected to the conclusion of the report. That Helmut was just a clever businessman who took advantage of the situation. But not that he was someone who supported Nazi ideology.
Stephanie Stephan, is a journalist and writer based in Munich. She told the Times that her father, Reinhold Stephan, was a board member of a Jewish company that was forced to sell her to Horten. She claimed that they threatened one of the owners with deportation to a concentration camp if he refused to sell.
Historian Hoeres refuted the accuracy of this claim, citing the lack of records to support it.
In a statement, Christie's chief executive Guillaume Cerutti said Mr Horenders had nothing to do with the case. “It was never Christie's intention to withhold information about Mr Horten's well-documented history. We added relevant information to our sales materials and our website. So to ensure that the facts are clear to everyone.”.
In the original marketing material surrounding the sale there was no mention of Helmut's Nazi ties.
Cerutti adds that Christie's will donate a “significant” portion of the final proceeds from the sale to an organization promoting Holocaust research and education.
Anthea Peers, president of Christie's Europe, Middle East and Africa, told the Times that Christie's was aware of the “harrowing story.” But she weighed that against “various factors,” and noted that the proceeds would be donated to charity.
The auction house estimates that the sale of “The World of Heidi Horten” will bring in $150 million.
It will surpass the auction record set by the sale of Elizabeth Taylor's private collection in 2011 ($137.2 million).
The sale of Horten jewellery will benefit the Heidi Horten Foundation. The foundation supports her art museum, the Heidi Horten Collen in Vienna, and other causes.
“Please be advised that we have engaged in careful and constructive discussions with those who have approached us to openly address their concerns.” Peers said this in a statement to National Jeweler.
“At the same time, we appreciate the honesty of our clients and colleagues about the way Christie's is handling the auction. As well as their support for our efforts to enhance transparency.”
Mark Schonwetter, former owner of the Lieberfarb bridal jewelry company and co-founder of the Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation, told National Jeweler.
“These jewels were acquired with funds obtained both by force and by coercion during the Nazi regime, which I think was very wrong,” he said.
While he understands that the money from the sale will go to charity, he said more than a portion of the proceeds should benefit Holocaust research and education.
“Christie's should dedicate this money to organizations to educate people. Not just about the horrors of the Holocaust, but to learn from the past. So that this not only never happens again, but so that we can live in a better world today.
“Let's use the money that was eventually acquired at the expense of the persecuted to educate others.”.
Source: nationaljeweler.com
