Albert Pollak

Albert Pollak (1878–1943) was persecuted as a Jew after Austria’s annexation (Anschluss) by the German Reich, and his assets were ‘Aryanised’. Salzburg Museum requested the allocation of ‘Aryanised’ objects from the Vienna Institute for Monument Preservation (Federal Monuments Authority) and, in 1942, received 22 items from Pollak’s art collection as part of the so-called Führerspende (Führer donation). Pollak managed to escape from Austria. However, after the invasion of the Netherlands by the German Wehrmacht, Pollak was deported to the „Westerbork transit camp for Jews“ and died under unexplained circumstances in 1943 in Groningen, a city near Westerbork.

After 1945, Albert Pollak’s heirs applied for restitution, and Salzburg Museum returned 19 items in 1951. On 5 November 2019, the Board of Trustees of Salzburg Museum decided to initiate the restitution of two further items that had been found. These were returned on 20 October 2022.