France turns over Matisse painting seized by Nazis

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Henri Matisse painting "Le Mur Rose" was once seized by Nazis. As of Thursday, it belongs to a charity that supports Israeli ambulances. "It is a moment of justice, a moment of memory," French Culture Minister Christine Albanel said. She spoke at a ceremony in Paris at which France handed the painting over to British charity Magen David Adom UK. It was the culmination of a seven-decade journey for the painting - a journey that has now, in a way, come full circle. "Le Mur Rose," or "The Pink Wall," belonged to a German Jew named Harry Fuld Jr. But Fuld fled Nazi Germany in 1937. Nazis confiscated the artwork. After the war, French Gendarmes found the painting in 1948 near the home of Nazi officer Kurt Gerstein, who was responsible for delivering poison gas to the Auschwitz death camp. The painting was returned to France, and became part of the collection at the Pompidou Center national museum of modern art in Paris.