The daughter of a Nazi who stole a painting from the home of a Jewish man during the Holocaust was charged on Thursday with concealing the artwork and “theft in the context of genocide,” by a court in Argentina.
Patricia Kadgien and her husband had been placed under house arrest earlier this week as authorities probed whether they had obstructed the effort to locate the 18th-century painting looted 80 years ago.
Kadgien, whose late father, Friedrich Kadgien, was a key aide to Adolf Hitler’s evil Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering, and her husband were charged with aggravated concealment of property over their possession of the painting “Portrait of a Lady,” Argentinian outlet InfoBrias reported.
The portrait of Contessa Colleoni by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi was spotted last month in a real estate listing in Argentina. Robles Casas & Campos
Police show items recovered in the Argentina home. Policia Federal Argentina.“The crimes being covered up are serious, linked to crimes of genocide, theft in the context of genocide, and are related to a systematic plan to appropriate works of art and jewelry perpetrated by the Nazi regime,” local prosecutor Carlos Martinez said.
The 1743 portrait of Contessa Colleoni by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi suddenly reappeared after it was spotted in a real estate photo for Kadgien’s Mar del Plata home last month.
It was stolen from Jacques Goudstikker, a Jewish art collector, in Amsterdam back in 1940 then taken to South America by Kadgien’s father after he fled Europe at the end of the Second World War..
Eagle-eyed Dutch reporters tipped off authorities after spotting the masterpiece on full display in a living room in the listing while investigating Kadgien’s ties to Argentina.
The painting unexpectedly exploded back into public view when senior Nazi official Friedrich Kadgien’s daughter listed her villa for sale last month.
Kadgien, who avoided punishment for his involvement in the Nazi regime, died in 1979.
Argentine cops last week raided the villa but weren’t immediately able to locate the painting, after it was allegedly swapped out with a tapestry by Kadgien and her husband.
“We had indications that the painting might be in this residence,” Martinez said earlier after the raid.
“The painting wasn’t in the house, but we seized some documents related to engravings and drawings that might provide context.”
Argentine cops last week raided the villa — which is currently owned by Kadgien’s daughter, Patricia Kadgien, and her husband — but weren’t able to locate the artwork. AFP via Getty ImagesThe couple’s lawyer later handed the iconic painting over to the prosecutor’s office.
Goudstikker’s family have urged the courts and police to return the painting to them.
With Post wires
