[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2229]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING WILLY AND THEKLA (STEIN) NORDWIND OF KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. FRED UPTON

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 15, 2000

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to the attention of the House 
of Representatives a very momentous event which occurred on September 
25, 2000 and involved two constituents of mine: Willy and Thekla 
(Stein) Nordwind of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
  After more than five decades of denials, avoidance and legal 
maneuvering, Germany--for the first time--returned to the rightful 
heirs, a major work of art previously confiscated by the Third Reich. 
On September 25, the Lovis Corinth painting, Walchensee, Johannisnacht 
(The Walchensee on Saint John's Eve) was returned to the heirs of 
Gustav and Clara Stein Kirstein in a ceremony which took place in the 
shadow of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Thekla (Stein) Nordwind, 
niece of the Kirstein's, is the representative of the rightful heirs to 
whom the art was returned. Both Thekla (Stein) Nordwind and her 
husband, Willy Nordwind, were in Berlin for the ceremony.
  As a result of this event, Ronald S. Lauder, Chairman of the World 
Jewish Congress' Commission for Art Recovery, stated, ``After one year 
of negotiations, we hope this first step will correct some past 
injustices and that all works of art belonging to families of Holocaust 
victims will be returned. We will never forget the millions of lives 
that were broken or lost. We honor that memory by contributing to 
closing one of the darkest chapters in 20th-century cultural history.''
  Thekla (Stein) Nordwind said she accepted the painting, ``Not only on 
behalf of the heirs of her aunt and uncle, but on behalf of so many 
others who want and need some acknowledgement and recognition of the 
devastation suffered by their families. Although no one can restore 
what was truly lost to so many families, the return of this painting is 
a symbol of the wish of the German Government to atone for the sins of 
the past.''
  I commend Willy and Thelka (Stein) Nordwind for their pursuit of 
justice and their perseverance, and I wish them all the best in the 
future.

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