Nazi art trove discovered in Munich

A Munich apartment of a son of a Nazi art dealer is groaning with paintings, sculptures, woodcuts and engravings - all of which appears to have disappeared during the Second World War. And for some reason, German authorities have said nothing about this until now. Today we look at plundered paintings and guarded secrets.
 

"Hitler's Garden Chalet. A far blackened wreck. Rubble marks the exteriors memory from his favourite window. And in the room where he plotted to enslave the world. In a mountain cave near the garden Goering's secret treasure trove discovered by American soldiers. In this Aladdin's cave of stolen art treasures everything that glitters is gold. The fat crook pretended he paid for everything including sacred pictures looted from churches. 50 million pounds worth of Europe's treasure gathered by an overfed bully who once blurted out: "When I hear the word "culture" I reach for my gun. "

The 1945 newsreel announcer doesn't conceal his contempt for Nazi art thieves. But even Goering's enormous appetite for loot accounts for a tiny portion of the paintings and sculptures that went missing during World War Two.

Just this week, an enormous trove of stolen art was found in an Munich apartment. It was the home of a man whose father sold art for the Nazis. German officials say little about what was actually found - but there are reportedly more than 14-hundred works ... some by masters such as Chagall, Matisse and Picasso.

For families working to retrieve their art, this is an encouraging find.

Chris Marinello is a lawyer who specializes in stolen and looted artwork. He's the director of Art Recovery International. He's about to file a claim on behalf of the Rosenberg family which had hundreds of works stolen. Chris Marinello was in New York City.

This country plays a big role in the process of recovering lost art. Canada is currently the chair if the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance -- and this week Concordia University hosts a conference called Plundered Cultures, Stolen Heritage.

Clarence Epstein is the head of the Max Stern Art Restitution Project at Concordia University and he was in Montreal.

Uwe Hartmann is the director of the German government agency established to help determine the provenance of looted items in German collections. Today he is in Montreal for the Plundered Cultures, Stolen Heritage conference.

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This segment was produced by The Current's Shannon Higgins, Liz Hoath and Karin Marley.