Kurt Schülein and his wife Gertrud amassed an impressive art collection, including paintings by renowned 19th-century artists.

This research project has one clear goal: to reconstruct the art collection of Kurt and Gertrud Schülein, Bopfingen and Stuttgart. We will document the circumstances of the loss, determine the whereabouts of the artworks, and research the fate of the family’s persecution. Facts & Files is working with Kurt and Gertrud Schülein’s family.

Kurt Schülein was born in Munich on December 16, 1891, to Josef and Ida Schülein. He fought in the First World War as a soldier. His sister Franziska married the Munich art dealer Theobald Heinemann, whose father founded the Galerie D. Heinemann in 1872. Kurt Schülein married Gertrud Weil, the daughter of factory owner Carl Weil. Kurt Schülein joined his company, Leim-Collagen und Degras Werke Veit Weil, in Bopfingen near Stuttgart. He lived in Stuttgart with his wife and their daughter, Marianne, who was born in 1934. The family connection to Galerie D. Heinemann ensures that the acquisition of art objects is well documented. Kurt’s father, Josef, and his brothers, Hermann and Fritz, also acquired paintings there, mainly from the Munich School of the 19th century.

In the aftermath of 1933, the family was subjected to persecution on the grounds of their Jewish identity, resulting in considerable hardship and displacement. From 1933 onward, the company shares and land were sold under duress or confiscated. Moreover, all punitive taxes were duly remitted in accordance with the relevant regulations. In 1938, Kurt Schülein and his family departed from Germany for the United States via the Netherlands. They took up residence in New York City in October 1938.

In preparation for their emigration to the United States, Kurt and Gertrud Schülein selected a series of paintings. It seems probable that these were confiscated in Amsterdam in 1941. After their emigration, there were furnishings in both of the Schüleins’ houses in Bopfingen and Stuttgart that had not been packed but had been confiscated there. It must be investigated whether Kurt Schülein paid ransom money to the head of the Stuttgart foreign currency office, Erich Niemann. It is also possible that works of art were sold before emigration; it seems probable that works of art were sold prior to the emigration of the Schülein family. Kurt Schülein was employed in New York City by a business partner of his brother Hermann, subsequently establishing his own company, Durit Products. His daughter Marianne pursued a career in medicine. Kurt Schülein died in New York City in 1963.