Heirlooms stolen from Jewish families during WWII returned to descendants

HOUSTON, Texas -- Hundreds of valuable silver heirlooms confiscated from Jews during World War II are being returned to descendants of Holocaust survivors across the world, thanks to a museum curator from Germany. Dr. Matthias Weniger of the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, Germany, has made it his mission to return the heirlooms in the museum's collection that were stolen by Nazis in 1939.

"Our museum bought more than 350 pieces, and now we are looking actively for the families," said Dr. Weniger.

So far, Dr. Weniger has researched and returned 63 items to families in the United States, England, France, Spain and Israel. This week, he traveled to Houston's Holocaust Museum to return a 200-year-old silver fish server to a second-generation Holocaust survivor. Houstonian Sandy Breisacher Lessig accepted the valuable silver antique, which once belonged to her great aunt and uncle, Rosa and Jakob Schmalgrund. The couple escaped Germany into Shanghai in 1939 after Nazis began attacking Jewish people and property. In Munich alone, 10 tons of silver were confiscated from Jews that year to be melted down and used for the war, but some antique items were saved.

"I think that those who perished, including my grandmother's sister, that they would be so moved to know that it's here," said Sandy Breischer Lessig, niece of Rosa and Jakob, as she accepted the silver server.

"When you're related to Holocaust survivors, there are holes in your family history, and this is a patch," said Zach Lessig, Sandy's son. "I think that's a really powerful thing."

The Holocaust Museum Houston holds Rosa and Jakob's passports and photos in their collection, along with over 7,000 items that belonged to Holocaust victims, survivors and their families. For more information on the Holocaust Museum Houston, visit them online at hmh.org.