Editor’s Note
Christie’s has canceled the second part of its auction of jewelry from the collection of Austrian heiress Heidi Horten, following public scrutiny over the origins of the fortune used to acquire the pieces.
The auction house Christie’s has canceled the second part of a controversial auction of jewelry belonging to Austrian billionaire heiress Heidi Horten.
Christie’s stated on Friday that the public reactions to the first part of the auction had “affected” the auction house. Therefore, the auction will not continue as previously planned in November.
The auction was overshadowed by the Nazi past of German entrepreneur Helmut Horten. According to a historian’s report published in January 2022, Helmut Horten was a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) for an extended period. In 1936, three years after the Nazis seized power, the 27-year-old took over the Alsberg textile department store in Duisburg after its Jewish owners had fled.
He later took over other businesses that had previously been owned by Jewish proprietors. He was therefore accused of being a beneficiary of the “Aryanization” of Jewish businesses during the Nazi era. Numerous Jewish organizations consequently called for a halt to the jewelry auction to clarify to what extent Horten’s wealth rightfully belongs to persecuted Jews and their descendants.
Heidi Horten, who passed away last year at the age of 81, left behind a fortune of approximately 2.6 billion euros according to Forbes. Her jewelry collection comprised around 700 pieces. The first part of the jewelry auction in May fetched around 141 million euros, with only about one hundred jewelry items going under the hammer.