In this episode, Vincent interviews Jacob Kohnstamm - a former parliamentarian, senator and State Secretary of the Netherlands, about his role in the Dutch art restitution policy, relating to Nazi looted art.
Early in his career, he switched from being a lawyer to being a civil servant because the limitation of the former was that he could only help one person at a time - whereas politics allowed him to change the system. A central theme in his career is the constant assessment of the relationship between the state and the individual citizen, and about the trust that people can have in each other, and in the laws and organisations that influence their lives.
About the exceptional character of art restitution, Jacob Kohnstamm still is crystal clear: “It is not a civil legal case (...) there is a moral basis underneath restitution policy”.
Recommendation of the week Jacob Kohnstamm recommends a story about the iconic artwork of Gustav Klimt, that gives a good impression of the impact and gravity of the historical looting of art. Good news, you can choose whether you prefer a book or a movie to learn all about this Austrian example of art restitution….
We end the episode with a classic music piece:
Obade from
Marius Flothuis, a Dutch composer, musicologist and music critic. It is played by flautist
Eleonore Pameijer, who is the founder of the
Leo Smit Foundation. The foundation gives composers, who were silenced during the War because of their Jewish descent, their rightful place in music history.
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In each episode of Radio Vinternational, host Vincent Hoffmans dives into one fascinating and hopefully informative international topic with a passionate expert. The mission is to showcase original and interesting perspectives on actual and historic international affairs, and to have fun!
