Two paintings stolen by the Nazis have been found hanging inside Germany’s parliament building, according to research provided by an art historian.
The historian’s report, which was given to Germany’s Bild newspaper, shows that the two works included the oil painting, Chancellor Buelow speaking in the Reichstag, by Georg Waltenberger from 1905, and a chalk lithography entitled Street in Koenigsberg by Lovis Corinth.
A German parliament spokesperson refused to confirm the historian’s findings, but agreed that the two pieces of art were indeed “suspicious cases”.
This new discovery is just the latest in a string of embarrassing revelations for the German government involving priceless art stolen during the Nazi period.
Only a month ago it emerged that a massive haul of 1,406 artworks had been found in the apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of a dealer responsible for acquiring art for Hitler.
It was soon revealed that the German authorities had kept the discovery secret for two years.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany has called for the German parliament to act openly and with full transparency in their ongoing investigation into any art originally plundered by the Nazis.