Klimt's art (Archive photo)
צילום רפרודוקציה לציור של Klimt: רויטרס
Austrian who helped recover Nazi-looted art dies
Austrian journalist Hubertus Czernin, whose research helped recover five multimillion-dollar Gustav Klimt paintings looted by Nazis, dies Saturday
Austrian journalist Hubertus Czernin, whose research was critical in helping a Beverly Hills woman recover five multimillion-dollar Gustav Klimt paintings that Nazis looted from her family during World War II, has died. He was 50.
Czernin died Saturday in Vienna of complications from a rare cell disorder known as mastocytosis, said Randol Schoenberg, a Los Angeles attorney who represented the Beverly Hills woman, Maria Altmann, in the art restitution case.
"Hubertus Czernin was a hero to me," Schoenberg said. "He committed his life to exposing unspoken truths about Austria and its Nazi past. Without his efforts, none of the recent art restitution would have taken place and certainly the five famous Klimt paintings would never have been returned to Maria Altmann."
Czernin's reporting about stolen art led to the passage of Austria's Art Restitution Law, which opened museum archives and helped families reclaim works that were stolen by the Nazis or seized by the Austrian government after the war.
Altmann had been told that her aunt had given the Klimt paintings to the Austrian gallery in 1925. Czernin's research proved that claim was false and paved the way for Altmann's legal efforts to gain custody of the works. In January, an Austrian Arbitration Court ordered the government to turn over the paintings to Altmann.
Journalistic achievements
Czernin came to Los Angeles in April, when the Klimt paintings went on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He was applauded during opening ceremonies for his role in the return of the paintings, which remain on view until June 30.
Czernin also helped expose the Nazi past of former U.N. Secretary-General and Austrian President Kurt Waldheim, and sexual abuses by Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, the former leader of Austria's Roman Catholic Church.
Czernin is survived by his wife, Valerie; three daughters, Sophie, Johanna and Antonia; and a brother, Dr. Johannes Czernin of Los Angeles.
