German Jewish businessman and art collector (1875–1950)
Richard Semmel (September 15, 1875 – December 2, 1950) was a German entrepreneur and art collector who was persecuted by the Nazis because of his Jewish heritage. His heirs have filed restitution claims for artworks.
Life.
Richard Semmel was the owner of the textile company Arthur Samulon in Berlin. He was married to Clara Cäcilie, née Brück. They had no children. Semmel began building an art collection in the 1920s and had a large art collection by the early 1930s.
Nazi persecution and flight.
When the Nazis came to power in Germany on January 30, 1933, Semmel was persecuted as a Jew. He fled Germany for the Netherlands in 1933, selling some of his art collection at the Dutch auction house Frederik Muller &amp; Cie. in Amsterdam on 21 November 1933. When Nazi German occupied Holland, he fled again, arriving in New York in 1941. His business, Arthur Samulon, was transferred to a non-Jew (Aryanized) in 1934 and liquidated in 1939.
During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Semmel's brother died in the Dutch transit camp Westerbork. Semmel lived in impoverished conditions in New York and depended on the support of friends. He died there in 1950, declaring Grete Gross-Eisenstädt, a longtime family friend, as his heir.
Their grandchildren tried several times to achieve the restitution of artworks from the Richard Semmel collection.
In the future, a memorial stele in front of the former residence at Pacelliallee 19/21 in Berlin will commemorate his fate.
The Art Collection of Richard Semmel.
The exact size of Richard Semmel's art collection is not known. According to estimates, there were more than 120 paintings in the collection. On November 21, 1933, 71 paintings from the collection were auctioned off at the Amsterdam auction house Frederik Muller &amp; Cie. Some of Semmel's artworks were auctioned later in Switzerland while others remained in the Netherlands where they were confiscated in 1942 during the Nazi occupation. Semmel's collection featured Dutch Old Master paintings and works by French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists.
Postwar claims for restitution.
After the defeat of Nazi Germany, numerous attempts were made to recover artworks looted from Semmel or sold under duress. Artworks that were objects of restitution claims include: