Maria Altmann whose aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, was painted twice by Klimt, tells the story of her brother Poldie Bentley; as a Jew, he was desperate to find a way out of Austria after the Kristallnacht and quite by chance bumped into a man who asked:
- Do you remember where you were on New Year's eve 4 years ago?
- Yes, I do, said Bentley.
- Do you remember what happened on that day?
- Yes, a person was in danger in the mountain and I was able to rescue him.
- I am he, said the man. Do you know what my name is?
- No, sir.
- My name is Hitler. I am Adolf Hitler's nephew. Now flee Vienna. You have three days. I will make sure nobody interferes in anyway and you will be safe.
Later, at the beginning of the 3rd millenium, the paintings that belonged to the Bloch-Bauer in Vienna were restituted to the family and Adele's painting sold for a reported $135 million.
Bentley, who was the nephew of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, an industrialist who commissioned Klimt to paint his young wife, was one of the heirs.
Nathalie
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