Looted Nazi art row lays bare Ireland's war record
Roberto (aka bfb)
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Allegations surrounding looted Nazi art and espionage
have thrown an unwelcome spotlight on neutral Ireland's wartime record.
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a U.S.-based Jewish rights group, said that
links between the founders of one of the country's top museums with the
Nazis and dealers in art stolen from Holocaust victims raised questions
about the origins of material in the museum.
The Hunt Museum in Limerick, southwest Ireland, has called in outside
experts to conduct an inquiry into the charge that John and Gertrude Hunt
could have acquired some of its works through dubious means.
Museum director Virginia Teehan said that the inquiry would be entirely
independent, but added that there was no evidence at all to support the
allegations.
While it would be impossible to be certain of the origins of every single
item in the art collection, John Hunt, son of the founders, said that
anything proved to have been stolen would be returned to its rightful
owners.
"I do not want anything in that museum that has the slightest question mark
over it," he pledged on RTE state television.
According to the Wiesenthal Centre, the Hunts enjoyed close relations in the
1940s with Adolf Mahr, an Austrian Nazi who was director of the National
Museum of Ireland. It also says their arrival in Ireland in 1940 was "one
step ahead of British suspicions of their alleged espionage" on behalf of
the Nazi regime.
The centre's international liaison director, Shimon Samuels, called for the
Limerick museum's recent "Irish Museum of the Year Award" to be suspended
until the inquiry was over.
PICASSO AND RENOIR
"To do otherwise would impugn the good name of this prestigious award and
deny justice, after 60 years, to eventual Holocaust survivor heirs, before
it is too late," he said.
The Hunts, leading art dealers and antique experts of their day, amassed a
collection worth millions.
When they died, their children John and Trudy donated the Hunt art
collection, ranging from paintings, artefacts, medieval crucifixes and 18th
century decorative art, to the state. These include works by Pablo Picasso,
Auguste Renoir and Henry Moore.
The two deny their parents were guilty of any wrongdoing, and have released
letters showing their involvement in a group that helped Jewish families
escape Nazi Germany as proof.
"The documented activity of John and Gertrude Hunt in helping Jewish
families getting out of Germany is hardly consistent with the notion of them
being accused of supporting the Nazis themselves," said son John.
Samuels said Ireland should use the opportunity afforded by the probe to
examine its controversial neutrality during World War Two.
Allied convoys under attack from German U-boats were denied access to Irish
ports under this policy of neutrality, to Winston Churchill's great
annoyance.
At one stage, Britain's wartime leader even drew up contingency plans to
invade the Irish Republic, fearing that the presence of the German and
Japanese legations in Dublin could compromise intelligence.
On being informed of the death of Adolf Hitler, then Irish prime minister
Eamonn De Valera even paid a visit to the German Embassy to sign the book of
condolences, a gesture dubbed "neutrality gone mad" by the New York Herald
Tribune.
As the current president of the European Union, Samuels said Ireland had a
duty to challenge bigotry and prejudice on the world stage.
WAR CRIMINAL
"As 10 countries prepare to join the EU later this year, Ireland should be
doing more to combat the very acute conditions of racism in some of them,
such as against the Roma community," he said in a telephone interview.
This isn't the first time the Wiesenthal Centre has turned its attention to
Ireland.
In the 1970s, it helped expose notorious Dutch war criminal Pieter Menten,
after survivors recognised Jewish victims' paintings in his art collection.
But in this case, the letters page of the Irish Times newspaper has shown
considerable support for the museum and the Hunts.
"If the Hunts ever unwittingly bought a looted treasure for their collection
you may be sure the vendor never mentioned its provenance," wrote Etienne
Rynne, a professor of archaeology in Galway.
"I personally believe that Dr Samuels and the Wiesenthal Centre will end up
with egg on their faces -- just as did George W. Bush and Tony Blair who
went to war for something that just wasn't there," she added.
-
Bob
Whitewolf
>By Stephen Cunningham
>
>DUBLIN (Reuters) - Allegations surrounding looted Nazi art and espionage
>have thrown an unwelcome spotlight on neutral Ireland's wartime record.
>The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a U.S.-based Jewish rights group, said that
>links between the founders of one of the country's top museums with the
>Nazis and dealers in art stolen from Holocaust victims raised questions
>about the origins of material in the museum.
>The Hunt Museum in Limerick, southwest Ireland,
Limerick is in the Mid-West, not the Southwest...
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to
have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin
Email: ray-AT-eirefirst.com
Website: http://www.eirefirst.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Des Higgins
"Whitewolf" <r...@eirefirst.com> wrote in message
news:orhb50h09nehi5fod...@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 23:50:11 -0500, "Roberto \(aka bfb\)" <_@-._> wrote:
>
> >By Stephen Cunningham
> >
> >DUBLIN (Reuters) - Allegations surrounding looted Nazi art and espionage
> >have thrown an unwelcome spotlight on neutral Ireland's wartime record.
> >The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a U.S.-based Jewish rights group, said that
> >links between the founders of one of the country's top museums with the
> >Nazis and dealers in art stolen from Holocaust victims raised questions
> >about the origins of material in the museum.
> >The Hunt Museum in Limerick, southwest Ireland,
>
>
> Limerick is in the Mid-West, not the Southwest...
Ireland does not have a mid-west; you are confused with the US.
Southwest is reasonably accurate.
MMcC
<fath...@eircom.net> wrote:
>
>"Whitewolf" <r...@eirefirst.com> wrote in message
>news:orhb50h09nehi5fod...@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 23:50:11 -0500, "Roberto \(aka bfb\)" <_@-._> wrote:
>>
>> >By Stephen Cunningham
>> >
>> >DUBLIN (Reuters) - Allegations surrounding looted Nazi art and espionage
>> >have thrown an unwelcome spotlight on neutral Ireland's wartime record.
>> >The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a U.S.-based Jewish rights group, said that
>> >links between the founders of one of the country's top museums with the
>> >Nazis and dealers in art stolen from Holocaust victims raised questions
>> >about the origins of material in the museum.
>> >The Hunt Museum in Limerick, southwest Ireland,
>>
>>
>> Limerick is in the Mid-West, not the Southwest...
>
>Ireland does not have a mid-west;
You should notify the Mid-Western Health Board then.
>you are confused with the US.
Me thinks it is you who are the one who is confused. I grew in the
Mid-West (a few miles up the road from Limerick) and terms Mid-west
and Midwestern were quite often used.
At least the term is accurate in the Irish geographical sense as it
refers to Mid way up the West coast. Unlike in the USA where for some
bizarre reasons it refers to the north central part of that country.
>Southwest is reasonably accurate.
Southwest to me, and I'm sure many others, means Kerry, West Limerick
and West Cork (or possibly all of Cork if you want to go that far, but
personally I consider from Cork city east to be south coast).
Whitewolf
>On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 20:12:10 -0000, "Des Higgins"
><fath...@eircom.net> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Whitewolf" <r...@eirefirst.com> wrote in message
>>news:orhb50h09nehi5fod...@4ax.com...
>>> On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 23:50:11 -0500, "Roberto \(aka bfb\)" <_@-._> wrote:
>>>
>>> >By Stephen Cunningham
>>> >
>>> >DUBLIN (Reuters) - Allegations surrounding looted Nazi art and espionage
>>> >have thrown an unwelcome spotlight on neutral Ireland's wartime record.
>>> >The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a U.S.-based Jewish rights group, said that
>>> >links between the founders of one of the country's top museums with the
>>> >Nazis and dealers in art stolen from Holocaust victims raised questions
>>> >about the origins of material in the museum.
>>> >The Hunt Museum in Limerick, southwest Ireland,
>>>
>>>
>>> Limerick is in the Mid-West, not the Southwest...
>>
>>Ireland does not have a mid-west;
>
>You should notify the Mid-Western Health Board then.
>
Damn you beat me to the punch!
>>you are confused with the US.
>
>Me thinks it is you who are the one who is confused. I grew in the
>Mid-West (a few miles up the road from Limerick) and terms Mid-west
>and Midwestern were quite often used.
>
Where did you grow up?
>At least the term is accurate in the Irish geographical sense as it
>refers to Mid way up the West coast. Unlike in the USA where for some
>bizarre reasons it refers to the north central part of that country.
>
I think the term "mid-west" came about in the US when there wasn fuck all
west of it.. except indian terratory and "badlands"... You do notice as you
move further East in the US that there is more heritage and culture... LA
has little or no culture worth noticing... Unless you like blond surf dudes
and the bimbos that idolise them that is...
>>Southwest is reasonably accurate.
>
>Southwest to me, and I'm sure many others, means Kerry, West Limerick
>and West Cork (or possibly all of Cork if you want to go that far, but
>personally I consider from Cork city east to be south coast).
Same here...
Ray
michael adams
"Des Higgins" <fath...@eircom.net> wrote in message
news:_7J5c.1204$qP2....@news.indigo.ie...
>
> "Whitewolf" <r...@eirefirst.com> wrote in message
> news:orhb50h09nehi5fod...@4ax.com...
> > On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 23:50:11 -0500, "Roberto \(aka bfb\)" <_@-._>
wrote:
> >
> > >By Stephen Cunningham
> > >
> > >DUBLIN (Reuters) - Allegations surrounding looted Nazi art and
espionage
> > >have thrown an unwelcome spotlight on neutral Ireland's wartime
record.
> > >The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a U.S.-based Jewish rights group, said
that
> > >links between the founders of one of the country's top museums with
the
> > >Nazis and dealers in art stolen from Holocaust victims raised
questions
> > >about the origins of material in the museum.
> > >The Hunt Museum in Limerick, southwest Ireland,
> >
> >
> > Limerick is in the Mid-West, not the Southwest...
>
> Ireland does not have a mid-west; you are confused with the US.
> Southwest is reasonably accurate.
>
...
Come on Des, fess up.
You still haven't got over the shock of finding out
Limerick has a proper Museum.
With paintings on the walls, on the inside of the building !
michael adams
...
MMcC
>On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 14:17:17 -0600, MMcC <in...@earthlings.com> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 20:12:10 -0000, "Des Higgins"
>><fath...@eircom.net> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Me thinks it is you who are the one who is confused. I grew in the
>>Mid-West (a few miles up the road from Limerick) and terms Mid-west
>>and Midwestern were quite often used.
>>
>
>Where did you grow up?
Inis Cluain Ramh Fhada.
Des Higgins
Des "from the Middle East"
"MMcC" <in...@earthlings.com> wrote in message
news:rene50lfno1o7l6e6...@4ax.com...
Whitewolf
Where is that in relation to Limerick?