Editor’s Note
This article describes the ongoing auction of a historic jewelry collection, assembled by the late Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten. The provenance of the Horten fortune, originating with her husband’s business dealings in Nazi-era Germany, has been the subject of significant public scrutiny and ethical debate. We are publishing this factual report on the auction’s scale and estimated value while acknowledging this important context.
More than 700 jewels from the estate of Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten are currently being auctioned in Geneva and online by the auction house Christie’s. The collection consists of precious brooches, rings, pearl necklaces, and bracelets, adorned with diamonds and rubies, and created by luxury jewelers such as Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany, Harry Winston, and Van Cleef & Arpels. The estimated value is 136 million euros.
It is his name that casts a dark shadow over the auction. Helmut Horten profited during the Nazi era from so-called “Aryanization.” This term refers to the process of expropriating property from Jews. They were stripped of their businesses, shops, and assets, which fell into the hands of the state or non-Jewish individuals. Helmut Horten took over Jewish department stores and amassed a considerable fortune.
In 1936, at the age of 27, he took over the “Gebrüder Alsberg” department store in Duisburg. It had been founded in 1893 by Jewish entrepreneur Theodor Lauter. On May 10, 1936, the store, renamed “Horten,” reopened, now “transferred to Aryan ownership,” as proudly stated in an advertisement. All Jewish employees were dismissed. In the following years, Horten acquired more department stores from Jewish owners.
write the authors of a 2021 report commissioned by Heidi Horten, historians Peter Hoeres and Maximilian Kutzner, favorably. He cooperated with the Nazi regime when it personally benefited him and refrained when it could have harmed his business interests.
After the war, Horten was arrested by the Allies and interned for about a year and a half. He was released in early 1948. By the end of 1948, he opened a new department store in Duisburg, built in just 100 days. He gradually expanded his business and was considered Germany’s “Department Store King.” He partially made reparations to the Jewish families whose stores he had taken over during the Nazi era but otherwise remained silent about his business activities from 1933 to 1945.
About twenty years after the war’s end, Horten reveled in luxury. He owned numerous properties, Rolls-Royce cars, and a luxury yacht. During this time, the wealthy businessman met Heidi, who was 32 years his junior. In 1966, he married the Austrian, who, according to the law at the time, was not even of legal age. When Horten died 21 years later, she inherited a billion-dollar fortune.
Heidi Horten herself was four years old when World War II ended. She cannot be held responsible for the crimes of the Nazis or her husband’s conduct during the Nazi era. Nevertheless, her wealth originated from the period of National Socialism and the oppression and persecution of the entire Jewish population. And now her jewelry is being auctioned for many millions.
Jewish associations have expressed criticism of the auction.