The painting of the woman who fled the Nazis returned to her family: "Connects us to life before the loss"
A painting titled "Evening Sounds" that belonged to Sophie Heilbronner, who fled Nazi Germany in 1938, was returned to her descendants after an eight-year legal process. The painting, stored in Bavarian state warehouses for decades, was handed over to Paul Laporte, Sophie's great-grandson, in a ceremony at the German Embassy in Washington. Laporte says the painting connects him to the life that existed before the loss.
A painting titled "Evening Sounds" that belonged to Sophie Heilbronner, who fled Nazi Germany in 1938 together with her sons, was returned to her descendants after an eight-year legal process. Sophie, who lived in Germany before the war and owned an impressive art collection, fled to the United States weeks before Kristallnacht. Most of her property was confiscated and sold at Nazi auctions, but some artworks were transferred to a local gallery to fund the escape. The painting, measuring about 1.2 by 1.8 meters, was kept in various warehouses for decades, and in 1955 it was transferred to the painting collections of the State of Bavaria. Paul Laporte, Sophie's great-grandson, worked for nearly a decade with the New York State Holocaust Claims Processing Office to prove ownership of the painting. On Tuesday, a restitution ceremony was held in their honor at the German Embassy in Washington. Laporte says the painting, valued between $2,000 and $10,000, connects him to the life that existed before the loss, and he invites people to his home to tell the family's story.