'They can be here for remembrance': Silver stolen from victims of Holocaust now in London
It has been a long journey, but two silver items looted from a Jewish family that was killed in the Holocaust, are now in London, Ont.
“They belong to the Ackermann family, they were coerced into giving up objects that were rightfully theirs, and now they are going to be held in Museum London, in the city where they made their home,” said Eric Robinson, program director of the Jewish Community Centre.
Robinson said they recently learned that the pieces of silver were being held since 1940 by a Museum in Germany.
Dr. Matthias Weniger is the curator of the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, Germany and works toward restitution of Nazi silver that had been stored in their museums since the Holocaust.
“We wanted to return the pieces to the family if we can, and if there is no direct descendants, then what accords to the will of the family since it was a Jewish Community Foundation, and therefor we brought the objects here, and now they can be here for remembrance,” said Weniger.
The silver belonged to Mina and Adolf Ackermann, but the couple was forced to give them up to a pawn shop. The family would later be killed during the Holocaust, with only their son, Theodore, surviving and eventually settling in London, Ont. with his wife Ellen in 1974.
Two silver items looted from a Jewish family killed in the Holocaust, are now in London, Ont. (Reta Ismail/CTV News London)
“On Theadore’s tombstone, Ellen wrote, ‘survivor, scientist, chess master, musician’ and that essentially captures what Theo was all about,” recalled friend Gloria Gilbert, a volunteer with the London Jewish Community Foundation.
The couple, who did not have any children, left their estate to the London Jewish Community Foundation, and in turn the silver will be handed to Museum London to be held in public trust.
Museum London said this is an especially important gift, and they look forward to exhibiting the objects and sharing their stories with Londoners.
“Museum London has a vast collection of artifacts, we hold 45,000 objects related to the history of London, but out of the 45,000, so far, only two objects in the collection are related to the history of Jewish Londoners,” said Julie Bevan, executive director at Museum London.
The silver objects, a bowl and a small lamp, date back to the 17th century. It is believed the items were passed down from generation to generation until 1939.
Bevan said they will intergrade the artifacts into an exhibit at Museum London called “London, a History.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Conservatives push motion calling for Carney to testify, say it's about 'accountability'
The federal Conservatives made good on their promise to push for former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to testify before MPs, resulting in a heated political debate in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Freeland previews omnibus budget bill, proposed capital gains tax change left out
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
London Drugs stores remain closed, 'cybersecurity incident' may have breached personal data
London Drugs says it is working with third-party security experts as the company tries to reopen dozens of stores across Western Canada that were shuttered by a cybersecurity incident Sunday.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.