Austria's Nazi loot on show
Filled with photographs, a set of children's playing cards and tiny wooden doll's house furniture, it was prepared by a Viennese Jewish couple, Franz and Anna Bial, to send to their daughter Lilly.
Lilly had escaped to Britain in 1939 on a "Kindertransport", a scheme to rescue Jewish children from Nazi persecution.
Mr and Mrs Bial were deported to Maly Trostinec, a Nazi death camp near Minsk, in 1942, where they were murdered.
It was not until 2004 that the box of memories reached Lilly.
Commission
This exhibition tells the story of looted objects belonging to the Bials and 16 other families and individuals.
It traces their history from the time they were stolen to when they were eventually returned to the original owners or their heirs.
And it explores why it has often taken decades for items to be returned.
At the end of World War II in 1945, there was no automatic restitution of property in Austria.
Former owners had to put forward their own claims. Legal proceedings were often lengthy and costly.
Many stolen items found their way into Austrian museums, including the MAK.
It was not until 1998 that the Austrian ministry of culture set up a commission to investigate all works of art acquired between 1938 and 1945 and to identify stolen property.
Works of art not properly obtained are now being returned to their original owners or their heirs...
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Lilly had escaped to Britain in 1939 on a "Kindertransport", a scheme to rescue Jewish children from Nazi persecution.
Mr and Mrs Bial were deported to Maly Trostinec, a Nazi death camp near Minsk, in 1942, where they were murdered.
It was not until 2004 that the box of memories reached Lilly.
Commission
This exhibition tells the story of looted objects belonging to the Bials and 16 other families and individuals.
It traces their history from the time they were stolen to when they were eventually returned to the original owners or their heirs.
And it explores why it has often taken decades for items to be returned.
At the end of World War II in 1945, there was no automatic restitution of property in Austria.
Former owners had to put forward their own claims. Legal proceedings were often lengthy and costly.
Many stolen items found their way into Austrian museums, including the MAK.
It was not until 1998 that the Austrian ministry of culture set up a commission to investigate all works of art acquired between 1938 and 1945 and to identify stolen property.
Works of art not properly obtained are now being returned to their original owners or their heirs...