Lezing & gesprek | Simon Goodman
The Search for my Family’s Art Treasures Stolen by the Nazis
| Veranstaltung des Duitsland Instituut Amsterdam |
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| Datum: | Montag 11 September 2023 um 18:00 Uhr |
| Ort: | Crossing Border, Kerkstraat 11, Den Haag |
| Information: | Voertaal: Engels |
| Zugang: | Gratis. Aanmelden via e-mail aan secretariaat@genootschapnld.nl |
Simon Goodman gaat de wereld over om de door de nazi's gestolen kunstschatten van zijn familie op te speuren en terug te krijgen. Hij initieerde de eerste rechtszaak over nazi-roofkunst, die in de Verenigde Staten heeft plaatsgevonden. Zijn familie bereikte de eerste grote restitutie in Nederland sinds de oorlog en heeft bijgedragen aan veranderingen in het officiële beleid. Op 11 september spreekt Goodman met historicus Lorena De Vita over zijn zoektocht.
Simon Goodman is the grandson of Fritz Gutmann, a descendant of a rich German-Jewish banking family, who operated the Amsterdam branch of the Dresdner bank on the prestigious Gouden Bocht before the Second World War. When Goodman's father, Fritz's son, dies in 1994, it turns out that he spent much of his life tracking down his family's art collection stolen by the Nazis. Since then, Goodman has also devoted his time to recovering hundreds of artworks from the renowned "Gutmann" collection, dispersed over many countries. On 11 September, he will be talking to historian Lorena De Vita about his quest.
Simon Goodman was born in London shortly after WWII and received his education at the French Lycée in London, followed by Munich University. Goodman initiated the first Nazi looting case to be settled in the United States. His family also brought about the first major restitution in The Netherlands since the post-war era, helping to change official policy around looted art. In addition to claims in Switzerland, Italy, France, the UK and the US Goodman recovered, thanks to painstaking research, two magnificent gold renaissance clocks in Germany. Since the publication of his book The Orpheus Clock he has lectured across the US and in several European cities, as well as testifying before the US Senate Judiciary Committee in support of the Holocaust Art Recovery Act.
Lorena De Vita is Assistant Professor in the History of International Relations at Utrecht University, where she is leading the research project: Holocaust Diplomacy: The Global Politics of Memory and Forgetting. She is the author of several publications, including the book Israelpolitik: German-Israeli Relations, 1949-1969 (Manchester University Press). She received her PhD at Aberystwyth University (UK), after having studied politics, history and international affairs in Rome (Roma Tre University) and London (London School of Economics and Political Science). She was, among others, a DAAD Visiting Fellow at the Jena Center Geschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts and, most recently, a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University. Her public pieces have appeared in, among others, Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte and The Washington Post.
Please register by email to secretariaat@genootschapnld.nl.
This event is hosted by Genootschap Nederland Duitsland, Crossing Border and DIA.