Uffizi demands Germany to return the picture stolen by the Nazis Automatic translate

FLORENCE. Italian gallery Uffizi on the first day of the coming year, urged Germany to return the still life of the Dutch master Jan van Huysum . The painting was appropriated by the retreating Nazi forces during World War II.

“Germany has a moral duty to return this painting to our museum,” said Uffizi chief Eike Schmidt, who himself is an ethnic German. “This story does not allow the wounds inflicted by the Second World War and the horrors of Nazism to heal.”

The painting "Vase of Flowers" is estimated at several million dollars, originally exhibited in Florence in 1824. Before that, it was bought by the Grand Duke Leopoldo II for his collection of works of art.

After the outbreak of World War II, the canvas hung in the city palace of Pitti. In 1940, the Palazzo Pitti art collection was evacuated to a neighboring village. Three years later, the picture was captured by German troops. After the reunification of Germany in 1991, the painting was seen in one of the family collections.

Uffizi refuses the services of intermediaries requiring payment for a return. All attempts to return a work of art through legal channels have failed. German authorities say they cannot intervene because of the statute of limitations, which hinders the prosecution of alleged crimes committed more than 30 years ago.

“Germany should not apply a statute of limitations to works of art stolen during the war,” said Schmidt, who posted a black and white photograph of the missing canvas at the Pitti Palace Museum on January 1. The word "stolen", written in Italian, English and German, is noticeably printed on the photograph and this photograph is also published in the official twitter of the Uffizi .