An 1847 painting made by a not-so-popular artist wouldn’t have much historical or monetary value for most. The 1847 watercolour miniature, about 3 inches tall and 2 inches wide, showed a nobleman who was an officer in the Austrian Empire’s army and was stolen from the house of Sondell’s relative Eduard Epstein in Vienna, Austria, by the Nazis, as per a report by The Minnesota Star Tribune. But to Jackie Sondell, whose three grandparents died in the Holocaust, it’s a priceless family heirloom. The Austrian deputy consul general in the Twin Cities, from his posting in New York, lifted the top off a cardboard box and pulled out a tiny piece of art.
And how the Holocaust formed a part in her family’s history, where she lost three grandparents to it: one in Dachau, two at the Sobibor extermination camp in Poland.
“I see it as a symbol of hope,” Sondell said. “Austria took a while to accept responsibility for its role in the crimes and atrocities committed by the Nazi regime,” Gassner said. “May their memories be a blessing,” Sondell said. “No matter what size the picture is, at least they are making the effort of returning it,” Sondell said.
It was painted by Albert Theer, an Austrian painter not much famed in history. For years, the miniature had been overlooked at the Museum of Military History in Vienna. Then, the Austrian diplomat handed over the painting to its rightful heir, Jackie Sondell, a retired real estate agent who lived in Wayzata. “Of course you cannot undo what happened, and you cannot restore the lives of all those who were murdered. It’s never too late to accept responsibility. ” As the diplomat travelled to Minnesota to return the painting, Sondell felt emotional. She thought about how her aunt Helen would have felt if she were alive. Sondell’s mother escaped to London before making her way to the United States, but the Holocaust was never far from her mother’s mind. “You have to give somebody a second chance. If you stop and forgive, maybe the world will see things a different way. Maybe there is hope for peace in the world.”
But nevertheless today’s restitution is an important gesture in the context of Austria’s efforts to live up to its historical responsibility.