Dead drop, p.17
Dead Drop, page 17
‘The brooch looks like a Hapsburg brooch and the painting? Well, we’ll have to get someone to evaluate it, but I suspect it might also be an original.’
I don’t need experts to analyse these works, but why would he believe me? I have to remember that they’re now in police custody and my hands and apartment are free of anything incriminating. I feel an unexpected sadness, a loss of not being able to unroll a painting and admire it over a late night drink. But I’m sure I’ve done something right, giving Maya Neuberg back her grandmother’s painting. I try to imagine how Peter would feel about my handing him in so quickly, but until everything is brought into the right hands, no loss can be properly restored.
‘You know about the restitution laws?’ he asks.
‘Of course. I follow the art world and the legal aspects closely.’
‘Then you’ll know how significant this find will be for us and for the owners. If you’re right.’
I nod and the meeting closes. The tape stops.
‘Liesl, I should use this tape but it will incriminate you. If you can write down the Billrothstrasse address and the address in Berlin, I can let you go with no further questions.’ He is risking his job. He hands me his pen and a piece of paper. I write down the details from memory and hand him the information with the knowledge that my parents’ lives are an exchange for my release. He doesn’t mention their names again. Instead, he thanks me with a look of understanding that I find almost alien, and shows me out of the room.
I exit the police station and head towards Stadtpark where I gave Sundown to Maya. I will no longer be able to contact her, or Maria or Hans. My life has to begin again, as though I never existed. I reach the park and find a bench. I sit and watch children running in circles though leaves that spiral from the trees, and I contemplate the idea of packing up my apartment and moving abroad. There won’t be much to gather together, and the rental contract has a release clause, allowing me to terminate it without notice if I leave Austria.
A week passes between leaving the police station and sitting here, waiting for a flight out of Vienna to New York City. I pick up the paper I bought earlier this morning, without any cigarettes. The headline reads:
Europe’s Largest Collection of Looted Art Found in the Vienna Home of One of the Most Prolific Hidden Collectors.
The subheading reads:
Link Found to Dealer in Berlin.
I scan the article and am relieved not to see my name. I’ve learned not to take what people say at face value. There are details of Schneider’s arrest over the murder of his brother and images of the paintings stacked in what look like the upper rooms of this home. There’s some information about his connections in Germany and an image of Peter Knaus. He looks peaceful. It would have been taken before they reached him. The journalist, a young man named Karl Goring, goes into detail about the links between the two, but I’m relieved to find out that Knaus has not been implicated, or arrested, and that he has agreed to help an organisation in Cologne with further restitution cases. I imagine he will feel a sense of relief that his life and his collection are no longer hidden and he has people to help return the works. I couldn’t have fulfilled his wishes alone, but I’m glad we met. The memory of our meal in the café in Berlin will remain with me.
The sense of release comes as a surprise. I look across the aisle and watch a mother playing with her little girl. I’m grateful that Oma gave me the years she had left. It was enough to carry me through. I fold the paper and look out of the window, accepting a black coffee and a snack from the flight attendant. I have a job in New York as a gallery curator. It was found for me by some unknown source, but I know that Maria has contacts in the city. I believe she’ll be relieved the truth is now public and she can move on. I’ll send her a card from the gallery when my first day begins, a landscape or, more appropriately, a portrait of a girl, monochrome. On it, I will simply write the words, Thank you, L.
Acknowledgements
With enormous gratitude to my editor, Lynn Michell, whose keen eye for detail and passion for words has shaped this story into something better than I had anticipated. Her skill, intellect and thoughtfulness have been invaluable. She approached the manuscript with vigour and humour, making the task of editing much more pleasurable. Never have track changes been so entertaining! For believing in my writing and this story, thank you. To all at Linen Press, my heartfelt thanks for your time and energy in bringing this all together: to Bek, Rawaa, Kate, Laura and Ella.
My thanks go to the Dorotheum auction house, where a Canaletto painting with an estimated worth of ten million pounds sparked the beginnings of this story, and to ORF for organising Lange Nacht Der Musee (Long Night of Museums) in Vienna each year where the seeds were sown. To the Leopold, Albertina and Belvedere museums, for organising some wonderful art exhibitions. These have been inspirational and I have enjoyed many hours of wandering and observing varied styles of art in the most striking of settings.
During the eight years that I lived in the city, there were so many friendships that formed and have endured, leaving me with an ever-increasing love of the place. There are too many to name, but I want to thank Roswitha, Beata, Miri and fellow writer, Sylvia. Your friendship and support has been a valuable part of my journey. To the people of Vienna, those who have passed through and those who remain, viele Segnungen.
Sources
O’Donnell, T. 2011. ‘The Restitution of Holocaust Looted Art and Transitional Justice: The Perfect Storm or the Raft of the Medusa?’ European Journal of International Law, 22(1), 49–80.
‘Art Restitution in Austria,’ Federal Ministry, Republic of Austria: Arts and Culture. https://www.bmkoes.gv.at/en/Topics/arts-and-culture/culture/art-restitution-in-austria.html
‘Arts Council Collection Loans Policy & Procedure.’ https://artscouncilcollection.org.uk/sites/default/files/1_Loans_0.pdf
‘Borrowing from the National Gallery: Loan Conditions (UK).’ https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/partnering -with-the-national-gallery/borrowing-from-the-national-gallery-a-guide?viewPage=2
‘Entartete Kunst’: The Nazis’ inventory of ‘degenerate art,’ V&A Museum. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/entartete-kunst-the-nazis-inventory-of-degenerate-art
‘Transnational Organized Crime.’ Federal Bureau of Investigation. https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/organized-crime
Oskar Kokoschka, Guggenheim Collection Online. https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/oskar-kokoschka
F.C. Malby, Dead Drop
