Alexander Lewin (August 18, 1879 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

– 1942 in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

) was a German Jewish entrepreneur and art collector who was persecuted and plundered by the Nazis.

Early life

Alexander Lewin, who was born in Vienna, studied law and obtained a doctorate. He joined the family business, the Berlin-Gubener Hutfabrik AG, vorm. A. Cohn, a. His father Hermann Lewin and his uncle Apelius Cohn founded their first hat factory in Berlin in 1859, to which a branch in Guben was added in 1876. After the death of his father Hermann Lewin in 1920, Alexander Lewin took over the management of the company as general director and board member. By 1922 the company was the largest hat manufacturer in Germany by 1922, employing more than 4,000 people in 1928. Lewin also served as honorary consul for Portugal and member of the foreign trade committee of the Reich Association of German Industry. From1928 he was President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Lower Lusatia in Cottbus.

Nazi persecution

After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, the Lewin family was persecuted because of its Jewish origins. Despite being unanimously re-elected on March 6, 1933 chairman of the

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exten ...

Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lewin had to give up this post a month later due to pressure from the Nazis. In September 1938 he resigned from his position on the board of the Berlin-Gubener Hutfabrik AG. In March 1939, all of his assets in Germany were blocked and on August 4, 1941, the Reich Minister of the Interior revoked his German citizenship and his property was confiscated. Alexander Lewin died as a refugee in Switzerland in 1942 at the age of 63.

Art collection

Alexander Lewin built an important art collection, which included 19th century German art and works of French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Lewin was forced to leave them behind in Guben to be confiscated by Nazi authorities. Two artworks were transferred to the collection of Hitler's planned

Führermuseum The ''Führermuseum'' or ''Fuhrer-Museum'' (English: Leader's Museum), also referred to as the Linz art gallery, was an unrealized art museum within a cultural complex planned by Adolf Hitler for his hometown, the Austrian city of Linz, near ...

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

and came into the possession of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

after the war. Artwork from Lewin's collection ended up in different museums and private collections throughout the world. Some examples of where they ended up (and which specific artworks) include: * Switzerland, in the collection of the arms dealer Emil Bührle (now the Foundation EG Bührle Collection, Zurich): ** ''Smokers and Absinthe Drinkers'' by

Honoré Daumier Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808February 10, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the second N ...

** Self-portrait by

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

* In Los Angeles, at the

Armand Hammer Museum of Art The Hammer Museum, which is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur- ...

: ** '' Alice Legouvé in the Armchair'' by

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born ...

* In Copenhagen, at the

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek ("ny" means "new" in Danish; "Glyptotek" comes from the Greek root ''glyphein'', to carve, and ''theke'', storing place), commonly known simply as Glyptoteket, is an art museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. The collection ...

: ** Portrait d'homme, bathing women by

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

* In Germany, in the

Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe The Staatliche Kunsthalle (State Art Gallery) is an art museum in Karlsruhe, Germany. The museum, created by architect Heinrich Hübsch, opened in 1846 after nine years of work in a neoclassical building next to the Karlsruhe Castle and the ...

: ** A view of the Sea at l'Estaque by

Édouard Manet - Portrait d'Alice Lecouvé dans un Fautheuil.jpg, Édouard Manet:
''Alice Legouvé im Lehnstuhl'', um 1875 Monet voorzaan en westerhem.jpg, Claude Monet:
''Les Bords de la Zaan'', 1871 Van Gogh - Selbstbildnis 29.jpeg, Vincent van Gogh:
''Selbstbildnis'', 1887/88 Women Bathing by Paul Cézanne, 1900 - Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek - Copenhagen - DSC09461.JPG, Paul Cézanne:
''Badende Frauen'', um 1900 Camille Pissarro - L’Église Saint-Jacques à Dieppe, soleil, matin.jpg, Camille Pissarro:
''L’Église Saint-Jacques à Dieppe, soleil, matin'', 1901 Wilhelm Leibl - Bauernmädchen.jpg, Wilhelm Leibl:
''Bauernmädchen'', 1897

Claims for restitution

Several of Lewin's artworks were restituted to his heirs. In 2009, ''Peasant Girl Without a Hat'' by artist Wilhelm Leibl was restituted to the Lewin heirs. ''Farmer's Girl (also Farmer's Girl without a Hat with a White Scarf)'' by

Wilhelm Leibl Wilhelm Maria Hubertus Leibl (October 23, 1844 – December 4, 1900) was a German realist painter of portraits and scenes of peasant life. Biography Leibl was born in Cologne, where his father was the director of the Cathedral choir. He was a ...

had been on permanent loan to the

Kunsthalle Bremen The Kunsthalle Bremen is an art museum in Bremen, Germany. It is located close to the Bremen Old Town on the "Culture Mile" (german: Kulturmeile). The Kunsthalle was built in 1849, enlarged in 1902 by architect Eduard Gildemeister, and expanded ...

, and the painting ''Two Cows in the Pasture under Pollarded Willows'' by Heinrich von Zügel, had been in the possession of Wörth am Rhein.

Literature

* Thomas Flemming: ''Zwischen Historie und Herausforderung. Die IHK Cottbus 1851–2001.'' Industrie- und Handelskammer Cottbus, Cottbus 2001, ISBN 3-00-008410-X. * Esther Tisa Francini, Anja Heuß, Georg Kreis: ''Fluchtgut – Raubgut. Der Transfer von Kulturgütern in und über die Schweiz 1933−1945 und die Frage der Restitution.'' (= ''Veröffentlichungen der Unabhängigen Expertenkommission Schweiz – Zweiter Weltkrieg'', Band 1.) Chronos, Zürich 2001, ISBN 3-0340-0601-2. * Hans Jucker, Theodor Müller, Eduard Hüttinger: ''Sammlung Emil G. Bührle.'' Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich 1958. *''Chapeau, Das Westalgäu behütet die Welt, Die Geschichte der Hutprodukrion in Lindenberg und Umgebung'' 9. März 2015 von Georg Grübel (Author), Klaus Gietinger (Author), Manfred Röhrl (Author)

References