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A woman related to a Nazi officer who took a painting from a Jewish person during WWII has been brought before a judge and accused of concealing the artwork.
Patricia Kadgien has been under house arrest since earlier this week in her home in the seaside town of Mar del Plata, Argentina.
She is the daughter of Friedrich Kadgien, a prominent assistant to Adolf Hitler’s notorious Luftwaffe leader Hermann Goering, who escaped to South America post-war.
Patricia, also known by her middle name Monica, and her husband Juan Carlos Cortegoso faced charges on Thursday for aggravated concealment of property regarding the ‘Portrait of a Lady’ painting, as reported by the Argentine outlet InfoBrias.
Prosecutor Carlos Martinez stated that ‘the crimes being concealed are significant, associated with genocide crimes, theft amid genocide, and pertain to a systematic scheme to acquire art and jewelry orchestrated by the Nazi regime.’
Police raided Patricia’s home last week looking for the painting, but found a tapestry had been put in its place.
Argentine Patricia Kadgien, daughter of the Nazi financial consultant Friedrich Kadgien, appeared at a hearing post-arrest. Authorities in Argentina retrieved an 18th-century painting stolen by Nazis from a Dutch Jewish art collector at Kadgien’s residence in Mar del Plata, near Buenos Aires.
Last night, Argentine officials finally retrieved Portrait of a Lady, presenting it to the press for the first time since its seizure from Amsterdam dealer Jacques Goudstikker over eight decades ago. Above: Portrait of a Lady, with art expert Ariel Bassano addressing the media.
On Tuesday, the 65-year-old heiress finally admitted to having the long sought-after portrait and hiding it from investigators.
The 1743 canvass by Italian artist Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi was owned by Jewish Dutch art dealer Jacques Goudstikker during World War II.
The painting was reported looted and is on the official Dutch registry for valuables pilfered by the Nazis, with the discovery sparking an international investigation and headlines around the world.
The family of Goudstikker are urging courts and police to return the painting to them.
Meanwhile, when Patricia was forced to turn over the painting this week, she asked a local court to declare her the official owner, according to newspaper La Nacion.
Through her lawyer, the Nazi daughter and yoga teacher admitted to being possession of the painting, and said she was surrendering it to a civil court so that she could be named its official owner by inheritance.
However, the civil judge recused herself in the case, leaving the matter of its ownership to the federal courts.
Meanwhile, the current location of the work of art is not being disclosed, however, the local prosecutor requested that it be housed at the Holocaust Museum for safe keeping.
Patricia Kadgien, daughter of a former Nazi official, and her husband, Juan Carlos Cortegoso attend a Thursday hearing on charges of concealment and obstruction of justice, after authorities recovered a portrait by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi in her home in Mar del Plata, Argentina
Juan Carlos Cortegoso, husband of Patricia Kadgien, daughter of a former Nazi official, attends a hearing on charges of concealment and obstruction of justice Thursday in Mar del Plata
Argentine Federal Police escort Patricia Kadgien, daughter of a former Nazi official, to a hearing on charges of concealment and obstruction of justice, after authorities recovered a portrait of Contessa Colleoni by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi from her home in Argentina
Kadgien’s husband, Juan Carlos Cortegoso, has also been charged.
The couple refused to testify during Thursday’s hearing and were set free.
However, authorities asked them to surrender their passports and prohibited any type of travel.
Police cautioned they are examining other valuables and painting found in the Kadgien home and did not rule out more charges pending the outcome of their investigation.
Kadgien has kept a low profile, as speculation her family had the stolen painting followed her for years.
Dutch journalists have tried to interview her since the painting was linked to her dad.
Attempts to reach her, and her sister Alicia Marie Kadgien, have proved unsuccessful.
In fact, a Dutch reporter found what appeared to be the original painting hanging over a sofa in a real estate listing by Kadgien’s daughter to sell a property.
The journalist traveled to the home in Argentina to try to interview her.
Kadgien once served as a financial advisor to top Nazi Herman Goering (pictured)
Friedrich Kadgien was described as a ‘snake of the lowest sort’ by American interrogators
It once belonged to Dutch Jewish collector Jacques Goudstikker, a successful art dealer in Amsterdam who helped his fellow Jews flee the Nazis before he died at sea while trying to escape to Britain aboard a cargo ship
When she refused to answer the door, the reporter noticed a for sale sign on the property and went to the website of the real estate company.
There he discovered a photo of the living showing the artwork hanging over the sofa.
After his newspaper published the story, the story of the stolen painting made headlines all over the world.
Meanwhile, it appears that the real estate listing the Kadgien home has been taken down.
The city where the painting has been concealed for over 80 years is a well-known Nazi enclave, with many former SS officials making their way there post-WWII.
In fact, Fredrich Kadgien is buried in the town’s German cemetery.
Kadgien, who once served as top Nazi official Herman Goering’s financial adviser, funded Third Reich war efforts through the theft of art and diamonds from Jewish dealers in the Netherlands.
Following the war, Kadgien fled Europe with the pilfered portrait, authorities believe.
This is the daughter of a fugitive Nazi who took a painting stolen from a Jewish art dealer. Above: Patricia Kadgien, now 59, poses with a glass of wine in 2014 in an image unearthed by the Daily Mail
Patricia Kadgien with her husband, Juan Carlos Cortegoso, at an ‘Octubrefest’ event in the town of Bariloche, which became notorious as a place of refuge for Nazi war criminals. The photo was taken in 2017 on the 35th anniversary of the couple’s relationship
Patricia Kadgien, 59, is seen in 2015 with her husband Juan Carlos Cortegoso, 61, outside their home in the resort city of Mar del Plata, Argentina
‘Portrait of a Lady,’ a portrait of Contessa Colleoni created by Vittore Ghislandi in 1743 (right), was pictured hanging over a sofa in a real estate listing posted by Robles Casas & Campos (left)
He first went to Brazil, where he set up a company and then moved to Argentina, where he died in 1979.
‘Portrait of a Lady’ is among at least 800 pieces owned by Goudstikker that were seized or bought under duress by the Nazis.
The successful Amsterdam art dealer died at sea while trying to escape to Britain onboard a cargo ship.
Before his own unsuccessful escape from Europe, Goudstikker helped fellow Jews flee the Nazis.
Details of Goudstikker’s art collection were kept in a little black book which he took with him on his fateful journey to Britain in May 1940, as the Netherlands fell under Nazi occupation.
The booklet was eventually discovered by his surviving wife, Desi, and their only son, Edo, who made it safely to the United States.
Marei von Saher, an heir of Goudstikker, says she now plans to file a claim and launch a legal action to have the painting returned to her family.
‘My search for the artworks owned by my father-in-law Jacques Goudstikker started at the end of the 90s, and I won’t give up,’ von Saher, who is now 81 years old, told the Dutch newspaper.
‘My family aims to bring back every single artwork robbed from Jacques’ collection and restore his legacy,’ she said.
