A hidden trove of hundreds of works of art confiscated by the Nazis was discovered in a Munich apartment, cracking open a curious case on German law enforcement officials' dealings with one man.
According to Focus, the magazine that broke the story on Sunday, the German government had been tipped off about the covert storehouse of works by Matisse, Picasso, Chagall and Klee months ago. The collection of 1,500 paintings, valued at about $1.4 billion, was found in the home of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of a Munich art collector, TIME reported. The pieces were reportedly looted from Jewish homes or sold for low prices by people fleeing the country during World War II.
The art was first found in 2011, when the son of the art dealer was under investigation for suspected tax evasion, the New York Times reported.
"The federal government was informed several months ago about the case," government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said on Monday.
Focus reported that the collection is currently being held by Bavarian customs officials in the city of Garching.
Gurlitt was one of the few people Hitler's propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels allowed to sell confiscated pieces of art, and was said to have made a living by putting the works up for sale at various auctions.
Focus accused the German government of having knowledge about the artworks for almost three years, but never publicizing the discovery. The magazine's report suggests a cover up - customs authorities reportedly searched Gurlitt's belongings in September 2010, when they found 9,000 euro in his possession. One customs official had allegedly already searched him on this particular trip from Zurich to Germany, and found a handful of empty white envelopes had gone missing.
Gurlitt also held papers that said he was a resident of Salzburg in Austria when, according to Focus, he'd lived in his apartment in Munich for decades.
