Jewish groups condemn $150m Nazi-linked jewel sale

The Sunrise Ruby and a diamond

The Sunrise Ruby is one of the pieces going under the hammer

By George Wright

BBC News

Jewish groups have condemned the multi-million dollar sale of jewels belonging to a billionaire whose husband made his fortune in Nazi Germany.

Heidi Horten was an Austrian heiress whose German husband, Helmut Horten, had been a Nazi party member.

He took over Jewish firms as their owners left 1930s Germany.

Christie's auction house is now putting 700 pieces of jewellery, estimated to be worth more than $150 million (£118 million), under the hammer.

The proceeds will go to charity, including Holocaust research, and Christie's will also make a "significant contribution" to good causes.

Mrs Horten died last year aged 81, with a fortune of $2.9 billion, according to Forbes.

Her husband, who died in Switzerland in 1987, took over textile company Alsberg after its Jewish owners fled in 1936.

This was the first of several Jewish businesses he acquired under Nazi rule. His department store Horten AG became one of the biggest in Germany.

A recent report by historians commissioned by the Horten Foundation found had been a member of the Nazi party before being expelled.

The pieces going on sale include the 90-carat "Briolette of India" diamond necklace by Harry Winston, and the Sunrise Ruby, a diamond ring by Cartier that is worth up to an estimated $20 million.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65541822