Paul Graupe (1881–1953) [FIG. 1] was the Jewish owner of a leading auction house in Berlin’s Tiergartenviertel. [FIG. 2] Following the Nazis’ rise to power in 1933, he offered numerous Jewish collections sold under duress.
Between 1916 and 1936 more than 150 auctions were held across three different salerooms at Lützowstrasse 38 (1911–27) [FIG. 3], Tiergartenstrasse 4 (1927–33) [FIG. 4] [FIG. 5] and Bellevuestrasse 3 (1933–37) [FIG. 6]. From 1927 to 1933 Graupe partnered with the art dealer Hermann Ball to hold a series of auctions.
Poet and author Hans Bethge (1876–1946) walks down Bellevuestrasse by night:
‘The other evening… I climbed across the square and then turned, strolling, onto Bellevuestrasse. This old street, once one of the most distinguished and quiet residential areas of the city, has gradually been transformed into an important commercial street, namely, the art dealers have settled here and offer their exquisite treasures in beautifully maintained stores, all of which have store windows … and behind the large panes… rose silent and yet infinitely eloquent works of the best art, everywhere,…, so that I thought I was walking through an evening, well-lit museum, which presents its treasures to the astonished eye in all splendor and glory. Here the stone heads of Chinese gods gaze, large and silent; there a landscape of Monet’s of enchanting serenity glows in the electric light; over there a Rhenish Madonna of painted wood is enthroned, a structure of the most German intimacy; French furniture of the eighteenth century beckons; then a large, magnificent red chalk drawing by Renoir … a pair of Lehmbruck's noble sculptures loom before brown velvet, the fragment of an Egyptian relief, a small Trübner, an old Dutchman, a splendid garden picture by Liebermann - enough, it is fantastic, it is a truly delightful walk in electric light through all the regions of the art of this earth!’
As an antiquarian, Graupe originally focused on books, but also later conducted art auctions and occasionally staged exhibitions, for example, of French contemporary painters Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso and others in 1925. Among the important collections Graupe auctioned – accompanied by exquisite, often multi-volume catalogues – were those of Erich Baron von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (March 1931), Max Emden (June 1931) and Victor Hahn (June 1932). The last auction still announced under Graupe’s name, no longer conducted by him but by his longstanding employee Hans W. Lange, was the sale of the Emma Budge collection (September 1937).
After 1933, the art market was put under the control of the Reichskammer der Bildenden Künste. As a rule, Jewish art dealers were not allowed to be members and were therefore not able to pursue their profession. However, there were exceptions and Graupe obtained a special permit to trade, as he was considered significant as a foreign exchange earner through his international client base.
Graupe was an ambiguous figure who illustrates the contradictions of the art trade after 1933. Before that crucial turning point, he was one of the most sought-after auctioneers among Jewish and non-Jewish clientele. From 1933–37, Graupe auctioned multiple Jewish art collections considered to be sold under pressure from the Nazis, including that of Herbert M. Gutmann (April 1934). One interpretation is that he was entrusted with consignments by his fellow Jewish clients, who now had to sell under increasingly difficult conditions in order to finance their emigration. On the other hand, it could be argued that Graupe benefitted from the plight of his clients while holding a special position in the Nazi art market.
Before leaving the country many Jews had to liquidate their collections to pay the ‘Reich Flight Tax’ (enacted 1931) which, after the Nazi Party’s rise to power, became a punitive anti-Semitic tax. Other anti-Jewish measures followed, such as the ‘Decree on the Registration of Jewish Property’ (April 1938) and the ‘Jewish Property Levy’ (November 1938).
Eventually it became difficult for Graupe himself to continue running his auction house. Graupe held his last auction in Berlin from 20 to 23 October 1936. In 1937, the gallery was aryanized when Lange took over the company [FIG. 7] upon Graupe’s emigration to France. In Paris, Graupe ran Paul Graupe & Cie together with Arthur Goldschmidt until 1940 [FIG. 8], when Graupe had to flee further to the US.
During the Nazi regime in Germany, the Berlin-based collector Max Meirowsky (1866–1949) faced anti-Jewish persecution, leading to the sale of art from his collection. In late 1938 Meirowsky fled Germany for Amsterdam and then Geneva. It was on this journey that Meirowsky entrusted Vincent van Gogh’s watercolour Meules de blé to Paul Graupe & Cie, then active in Paris.
Meules de Blé entered the Parisian collection of Miriam Caroline Alexandrine de Rothschild (1884-1965) who also collected paintings and works on paper by Post-Impressionist artists such as Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin.
With the outbreak of World War II, Alexandrine fled to Switzerland. Her collection in Paris was confiscated by the Nazi regime during the Occupation. In the post-war years, Alexandrine sought to trace and recover her looted art collection and library, but while she was able to recover some works, many others remained missing, including Meules de blé.
When Meules de blé appeared for sale, Christie’s was privileged to have researched the history of this work and facilitated a settlement agreement between the Cox Collection and the heir of Max Meirowsky as well as the heirs of Alexandrine de Rothschild, illustrating the complexity of restitution cases and losses due to Nazi persecution. It was offered on 11 November 2021 pursuant a settlement agreement.
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As an antiquarian, Graupe originally focused on books, but also later conducted art auctions and occasionally staged exhibitions, for example, of French contemporary painters Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso and others in 1925. Among the important collections Graupe auctioned – accompanied by exquisite, often multi-volume catalogues – were those of Erich Baron von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (March 1931), Max Emden (June 1931) and Victor Hahn (June 1932). The last auction still announced under Graupe’s name, no longer conducted by him but by his longstanding employee Hans W. Lange, was the sale of the Emma Budge collection (September 1937).
After 1933, the art market was put under the control of the Reichskammer der Bildenden Künste. As a rule, Jewish art dealers were not allowed to be members and were therefore not able to pursue their profession. However, there were exceptions and Graupe obtained a special permit to trade, as he was considered significant as a foreign exchange earner through his international client base.
Graupe was an ambiguous figure who illustrates the contradictions of the art trade after 1933. Before that crucial turning point, he was one of the most sought-after auctioneers among Jewish and non-Jewish clientele. From 1933–37, Graupe auctioned multiple Jewish art collections considered to be sold under pressure from the Nazis, including that of Herbert M. Gutmann (April 1934). One interpretation is that he was entrusted with consignments by his fellow Jewish clients, who now had to sell under increasingly difficult conditions in order to finance their emigration. On the other hand, it could be argued that Graupe benefitted from the plight of his clients while holding a special position in the Nazi art market.
Before leaving the country many Jews had to liquidate their collections to pay the ‘Reich Flight Tax’ (enacted 1931) which, after the Nazi Party’s rise to power, became a punitive anti-Semitic tax. Other anti-Jewish measures followed, such as the ‘Decree on the Registration of Jewish Property’ (April 1938) and the ‘Jewish Property Levy’ (November 1938).
Eventually it became difficult for Graupe himself to continue running his auction house. Graupe held his last auction in Berlin from 20 to 23 October 1936. In 1937, the gallery was aryanized when Lange took over the company [FIG. 7] upon Graupe’s emigration to France. In Paris, Graupe ran Paul Graupe & Cie together with Arthur Goldschmidt until 1940 [FIG. 8], when Graupe had to flee further to the US.
During the Nazi regime in Germany, the Berlin-based collector Max Meirowsky (1866–1949) faced anti-Jewish persecution, leading to the sale of art from his collection. In late 1938 Meirowsky fled Germany for Amsterdam and then Geneva. It was on this journey that Meirowsky entrusted Vincent van Gogh’s watercolour Meules de blé to Paul Graupe & Cie, then active in Paris.
Meules de Blé entered the Parisian collection of Miriam Caroline Alexandrine de Rothschild (1884-1965) who also collected paintings and works on paper by Post-Impressionist artists such as Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin.
With the outbreak of World War II, Alexandrine fled to Switzerland. Her collection in Paris was confiscated by the Nazi regime during the Occupation. In the post-war years, Alexandrine sought to trace and recover her looted art collection and library, but while she was able to recover some works, many others remained missing, including Meules de blé.
When Meules de blé appeared for sale, Christie’s was privileged to have researched the history of this work and facilitated a settlement agreement between the Cox Collection and the heir of Max Meirowsky as well as the heirs of Alexandrine de Rothschild, illustrating the complexity of restitution cases and losses due to Nazi persecution. It was offered on 11 November 2021 pursuant a settlement agreement.
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Related addresses: Schöneberger Ufer 38 until May 1935 (Architect: Heinrich Schweitzer); Schöneberger Ufer 71
Budapester Strasse (1932) not identical with today’s Budapester Strasse; Lützowstrasse 32 I (October 1925–1930); Königin-Augusta-Strasse 22 (October 1930–1932) - in 1933 this street becomes Tirpitzufer 84 and in 1947 it was renamed to Reichpietschufer. Lützowufer 19a (November 1932–1937), since 1933: Galerie Nierendorf; Großadmiral-von-Koester-Ufer 65 (1935–1947), Schöneberger Ufer.
Potsdamer Strasse 134c (Mid-Oct 1918-Sept 1924); Schöneberger Ufer 38 (July 1927-1931); Großadmiral-von-Koester-Ufer 39 respectively (since 1936) Großadmiral-von-Koester-Ufer 73 (1935-1939);Kluckstrasse 12 (May 1939 –Dec 1949)
Employee and partner at the Galerie / Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer
Related addresses: Street partially still exists as Hitzigallee.
Related addresses: Koenigin-Augusta-Strasse 46, in 1933 becomes Tirpitzufer 84, in 1947 becomes Reichpietschufer. Her last address in Berlin before deportation to Theresienstadt Bleibtreustrasse 17.
ALL BUILDINGS ARE DESTROYED
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Henry van de Velde (1894-1943), designer of the interior of the reading room at the gallery Paul Cassirer, Victoria Strasse 35.
(Street and building are destroyed)
Related addresses: Reichskammer der Bildenden Künste, Government agency 1933-1945; Blumes Hof 4-6 (since June 1934; street and building are destroyed; today's postcode 10785), Derfflingerstrasse 7 (from October 1935 until March 1937), Ahornstrasse 2 (1938). Today's postcode 10785
