[Rarebooks] fs: Holocaust "Gold Train" auctions...

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

The Auctions of Holocaust Victims Property
  from the Infamous "Gold Train"-

"Jewelry and Precious Stones..." [and] "Continental Silver, Porcelain and 
Glass, Gold & Other Ornaments..." [and] "Precious Stone and Gold 
Jewelry..." [and] "Continental Silver, Porcelain and Glass, Gold & Enamel 
Watches, Oriental Rugs... To Be Sold for the Resettlement and 
Rehabilitation of Victims of Nazi Action by the Preparatory Commission, 
International Refugee Organization of the United Nations"

New York; Parke Bernet Galleries: June 21-22, June 23-25, September 14-15, 
September 16-18, 1948. Sales 983, 984, 985, 986.

A stark reminder of a very controversial episode during the Allies disposal 
and dispersal of property looted by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

In May of 1945 a group of Pro-Nazi Hungarian officials loaded a freight 
train with art, jewelry and other valuables stolen from the Hungarian 
Jewish community and steamed west, trying to outrun the oncoming Soviet 
Army. They succeeded in that, but the train was seized by American troops 
in Werfen Austria. In the ensuing months it became known as the "Gold 
Train", and the fate of its contents remains controversial. Some of the 
valuables were apparently simply appropriated by high-ranking military 
officials, and some were looted by troops. Some were even sold at the US 
Army's PX store. Much of it was labeled "unidentifiable" as to ownership.

The Hungarian Jewish community fought long and hard to have the valuables 
returned to Hungary, pointing out that there had actually been very little 
attempt to identify ownership of the property in question, and that 
dispersing it would make any future attempts impossible. After a 
months-long legal battle they lost, and the goods were crated up and sent 
to the UN in New York for auction.

A New York Times story described the scene in a warehouse at Pier 57 when 
the material was unloaded-

"Laid out on tables were dozens of tinted and cut glass goblets and liqueur 
glasses, decorative porcelain vases, Bohemian cut sapphire blue and ruby 
glassware, Meissen, Dresden, Herend, Rosenthal, and Vienna porcelain 
statuettes and figure groups, eighteenth and nineteenth century Continental 
pewter flagons and tureens... an estimated 22 tons is on hand, marked and 
unmarked, used and unused, plain and ornate, consisting of every 
conceivable shape of platter, tureen, tray and dish, and great quantity of 
candlesticks, vases and dishes, single and sets."

Why was all this being auctioned? These catalogs include a copy of a letter 
from W. Hallam Tuck of the UN, explaining-

"In Germany and Austria the Allied armies recovered a vast quantity of 
miscellaneous personal property which had been confiscated by the Nazis 
from their victims. The disposition of...property which could not be 
identified either as to individual ownership or national origin was 
provided for under Article 8 of Part 1 of the Final Act of the Paris 
Conference on Reparation... (directing) that the...unidentifiable looted 
property...be liquidated and the proceeds used for the rehabilitation and 
resettlement of non-repatriable victims of German action -persons who 
suffered heavily at the hands of the Nazis but who were unable to claim the 
assistance of any Government receiving reparation from Germany...Successful 
sale of this property will contribute materially to mitigate the suffering 
of innocent men, women and children victims of the Hitler holocaust, and 
offer them hope for a happier future".

Although the money was being raised for a good cause, and some of it was 
used in the settlement of Jewish refugees in Israel, the fact remains that 
little or no attempt was ever made to identify the rightful owners or their 
families. A report issued by the Presidential Advisory Commission on 
Holocaust Assets formed by President Clinton in 1998 notes- "The 1945 "Gold 
Train" episode...shows in concrete terms some of the effects of inadequate 
personnel, inadequate security and a lack of command sensitivity to the 
restitution of victims' assets". The "Gold Train" episode and the auctions 
that resulted remain an example of how good intentions can go wrong.

4 volumes. Softcovers. 6.5"x9.5", 48 pages, 232 lots; 127 pages, 828 lots; 
76 pages, 461 lots; 125 pages, 834 lots; all with b/w illustrations. Light 
wear, a little soil, each copy has several institutional 
stamps.  [06929]  $175.00

Picture-
<http://www.joslinhall.com/images03/th-06929.jpg>



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