Robert Graetz (art collector)

Robert Graetz (October 5, 1878 – December 31, 1945 ), was a German Jewish textile industrialist and art collector in Berlin who was deported by the Nazis and died at Auschwitz.

Early life and family
Born in Berlin on October 5, 1878 into a German Jewish family, Graetz's brother, Hugo, was an art dealer.

Graetz married Bluma Shifra (April 28, 1934-April 18.1940) and had a daughter, Hilda Graetz (Ruschkewitz)

Entrepreneur
Graetz's business, Firma für Damenmäntel Glass & Graetz, specialised in women’s coats and suits.

Art collection
Graetz built a collection of around 200 works by artists including Otto Dix, Emil Nolde, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Käthe Kollwitz.

Death at Auschwitz
He remained in Berlin after his two children fled. His company, villa, and art collection were confiscated and he was deported to a Nazi concentration camp in 1942. He died at Auschwitz.

Claims for restitution
Most of the artworks from Graetz's collection have not been recovered and are listed on the German Lost Art Foundation website. In 2011 the German Advisory Commission considered a claim for two paintings by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie. 2019, the German Lost Art Foundation offered funding to help research the missing works. In 2021 the German Advisory Commission rejected a claim for a painting by Lovis Corith. In 2023, Christie's brokered a settlement for Max Pechstein's Still Life With a Cup, which Graetz's daughter Hilda sold as a refugee in South Africa. Pechstein's granddaughter provided sales records to help identify the painting In December 2023, the family filed a claim against the Hamburger Kunsthalle for the restitution of Paula Modersohn-Becker: Girl's Head which the widow of Nazi art dealer Konrad Doebbeke had donated to the museum.