Episode 61: Les tableaux volés (The Stolen Paintings)

In March 2014, Richard Hardin received a phone call that would change his life and cause him to question everything he thought he knew about his family history.

How to Listen

Listen free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Transcript

Ngofeen: It was March 2014 and 63-year-old Richard Hardin was living with his wife in Bordeaux, in the Southwest of France. Richard had recently retired and he was finally able to dedicate himself to his lifelong passion: art.

Richard: Toute ma vie, l’art a été ma passion. Mes grands-parents vendaient des objets d’art à Paris. Ils m’ont communiqué leur passion. Quand j’ai pris ma retraite, j’ai pu passer beaucoup de temps dans des expositions et acheter ou vendre des objets d’arts.

Ngofeen: One day, Richard got a call from his cousin. She’d received a strange phone call from an American journalist who wanted to talk about some stolen paintings.

Richard: Ma cousine ne parlait pas très bien anglais, alors elle avait du mal à communiquer avec la journaliste. Elle trouvait étrange qu’une journaliste américaine la contacte pour lui parler de tableaux volés. C’était un grand mystère.

Ngofeen: Richard speaks English very well. His mother was French, but his father had been an American GI who’d stayed in France after World War II. So, Richard told his cousin he would speak to the American journalist. He assumed it would be a quick phone call…

Richard: J’ai dit à ma cousine : « Ne t’inquiète pas, je m’en occupe. » Puis j’ai appelé cette journaliste. Mais je n’imaginais pas que cet appel allait m’apprendre autant de choses sur le passé de ma famille, et changer ma vie.

Ngofeen: Bienvenue and welcome to the Duolingo French Podcast — I’m Ngofeen Mputubwele. Every episode, we bring you fascinating true stories to help you improve your French listening and gain new perspectives on the world. The storyteller will be using intermediate French and I will be chiming in for context in English. If you miss something, you can always skip back and listen again — we also offer full transcripts at podcast.duolingo.com.

Ngofeen: Growing up, Richard’s grandfather had played a big part in his life. His mother’s parents had a stand at a Parisian flea market, un marché aux puces, and they sold antiques from Asia.

Richard: Quand j’étais enfant, je passais beaucoup de temps dans la boutique de mes grands-parents, au marché aux puces. J’ai été élevé dans cette ambiance de voyage et d’art. J’adorais ça. Mon grand-père m’a vraiment communiqué sa passion pour l’art.

Ngofeen: Richard and his grandfather could talk about art endlessly. But his grandfather seldom talked about his experiences during World War II. Richard’s uncle, his grandfather's son, had been murdered by Nazis when he was only 17.

Richard: Mon grand-père m’a raconté une seule fois l’histoire de son fils. Quand mon oncle est mort, il n’avait que 17 ans et venait de finir le lycée. Il n'était pas soldat, mais les Allemands l’ont accusé de faire partie de la Résistance française, alors ils l’ont tué. Ce jour-là, quand mon grand-père m’a raconté ça, j’ai vu qu’il était très triste.

Ngofeen: Richard could feel that the war had caused real trauma, but he and his family never really talked about it. All his life, Richard respected his family’s silence. But in 2014, when an American journalist named Doreen Carvajal contacted Richard’s cousin about some stolen paintings, Doreen wanted to talk about World War II, la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

Richard: La journaliste s’appelait Doreen Carvajal, et elle écrivait pour le New York Times. Elle travaillait sur une histoire de tableaux qui avaient été volés pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. J’étais très curieux parce que je ne savais pas du tout ce qu’elle voulait me dire.

Ngofeen: Richard agreed to meet Doreen in a coffee shop in Paris. There, she explained that she’d made it her mission to help descendants from Jewish families reclaim art that had been stolen by the Nazis during World War II.

Richard: Je me souviens de ce jour. On était assis à la table d’un café et je ne comprenais pas pourquoi la journaliste me parlait de cette histoire. Nous ne sommes pas une famille juive.

Ngofeen: Doreen explained that a lot of Jewish families had lost connection to their family histories after World War II. In her articles, she tried to uncover, retrouver, these forgotten histories, and help Jewish families reconnect with the stories of their ancestors, leurs ancêtres. Her work often included tracking down old family heirlooms that had been stolen by the Nazis.

Richard: D’abord, Doreen m’a expliqué qu'à chaque fois qu’elle découvrait des œuvres volées, elle contactait les familles. De cette façon, elle pouvait essayer de retrouver ce qui avait été volé à leurs ancêtres. Et puis, Doreen m’a demandé : « Connaissez-vous votre ancêtre, Georges Bernheim ? »

Ngofeen: Georges Bernheim was Richard’s great-great-uncle. Richard did not know much about him, he didn’t even know his last name was “Bernheim,” but he knew a man named Georges had been an important member of his family; so important that Richard’s middle name was Georges.

Richard: Quand j’étais petit, mon grand-père m’avait parlé de Georges plusieurs fois. Il me disait que lui aussi, il travaillait dans l’art. Quand il parlait de Georges, il avait toujours le sourire. Mais c’était tout ce que je savais sur lui.

Ngofeen: That day, at that café, Richard learned two important things. First, that his own great-grandmother had been Jewish. And second, that her brother, Georges Bernheim, had owned a world-renowned art collection that the Nazis had pilfered. Now, according to Doreen, Richard’s family had a chance to get some of the paintings back. He was speechless, sans voix.

Richard: J’étais sans voix. J’avais 63 ans et c’était la première fois de ma vie que j’entendais ça.

Ngofeen: Up to this point in his life, Richard had no idea he had Jewish origins.

Richard: Après cette discussion, j’étais un peu choqué. Je découvrais l’histoire de ma famille, et j’ai compris que je ne la connaissais pas du tout. Tout ce que je voulais, c’était en savoir plus sur Georges Bernheim et ses tableaux. Je voulais comprendre qui il était et ce qui lui était arrivé.

Ngofeen: Doreen directed Richard towards the French national archives so he could learn more about his family history. After a few weeks sifting through historical documents, he finally put the puzzle together. Georges Bernheim and his wife had lived in Paris. Together they had a son and a daughter. And, just like Richard, George’s life passion had been art.

Richard: Georges était un passionné d’art. Il avait une galerie d’art à son nom à Paris. Dans sa galerie, il exposait les œuvres d’artistes impressionnistes comme Cézanne, Renoir et Degas. Il aimait les belles choses et avait beaucoup de goût. Sa collection de tableaux était magnifique.

Ngofeen: In September 1939, at the very start of World War II, Richard’s great-great-uncle Georges was about 70 years old. He realized that Nazi antisemitic ideology might endanger his life, so he left with his family for Grasse, a city in the South of France, where he had a summer home.

Richard: La guerre a été déclarée le 1er septembre 1939, mais les Nazis sont arrivés à Paris plus tard, en juin 1940. Donc Georges a eu le temps de quitter Paris. Mais il ne pouvait pas prendre ses œuvres d’art avec lui. Alors la majorité de ses tableaux sont restés à Paris.

Ngofeen: When the Nazis invaded Paris and occupied the northern half of France, Georges was already in the Southeast. This part of the country was never occupied by Nazis. That’s how Georges, as a Jewish man, un homme juif, managed to survive the war.

Richard: Georges a eu beaucoup de chance, il n'a pas été envoyé dans un camp de concentration. Mais même l'imaginer là-bas, c'était terrible. 75 000 personnes juives de France ont été envoyées dans des camps de concentration. Georges a eu de la chance, mais j'ai aussi compris que la guerre avait profondément traumatisé Georges et notre famille.

Ngofeen: During the Occupation, with the help of the French government, Nazis systematically pillaged the homes of Jewish people, and they cherry-picked paintings for Hitler’s art collection or to sell them. When the war ended, and it was safe for Georges to return to Paris, he entered his apartment to find his entire art collection had been taken.

Richard: Après la guerre, quand Georges est rentré chez lui à Paris, son appartement était vide. Les Nazis avaient tout pris : les tableaux, mais aussi les meubles, les vêtements… Ils n’avaient rien laissé. C’était du vol, mais c’était pire que ça. Les Nazis avaient volé aux Juifs leurs vies et leurs espoirs.

Ngofeen: In one document he came across, Richard saw that after the war, Georges had tried to make a list of everything that had been stolen from the apartment. But when Georges died a few years later, a lot of his paintings were still missing.

Richard: Georges voulait retrouver ses œuvres d’art. Il est allé voir les autorités françaises, parce que le gouvernement français avait aidé les Nazis à voler ses tableaux. Malheureusement, Georges n’a pas réussi à tous les retrouver et il est mort peu de temps après la guerre.

Ngofeen: After Georges’ death, no one else in the family kept looking for the paintings. Georges’ children all changed their family name to a non-Jewish sounding name, and his sister, his nephews, and his nieces all broke ties with Judaism. In effect, after the war, Richard’s entire family erased their Jewish identity.

Richard: Ça a été vraiment un choc d’apprendre l’histoire de mes ancêtres. J’ai compris qu’ils avaient beaucoup souffert. Mais j’étais heureux de connaître enfin cette histoire. En découvrant la vie de Georges, je me suis senti très proche de lui.

Ngofeen: Richard took stock of what had happened to Georges and to other members of his family. They had lost their history and their identity. And now, Richard and his cousin were Georges’ last living heirs.

Richard: Quand j’ai compris tout ce que Georges avait perdu, j’ai décidé de faire ce que lui et ses enfants n’avaient pas pu faire. J’allais essayer de retrouver ses tableaux.

Ngofeen: Discovering what his ancestors went through became a turning point in Richard’s life. He was shocked to learn that, after the war, some people in the art world had helped themselves to Georges’ paintings, buying some at low cost or selling them at auction houses to make money. He felt they had in effect taken advantage of his family’s trauma, and stolen the paintings all over again.

Richard: Je voulais la justice pour ma famille. Je voulais savoir quels tableaux avaient été volés et où ils étaient. Pour moi, me battre pour ces tableaux, c’était comme me battre pour ma famille.

Ngofeen: For Richard, it was more than just the theft of objects. Something had been stolen from his family that could never be returned. But the stolen paintings were still out there and Richard was determined to find them, to fight for his ancestors. So Doreen put him in touch with a retired history professor named Alain Monteagle.

Richard: J’avais rendez-vous avec Alain dans un café. Il m’a raconté l’histoire de sa vie et de ses ancêtres. Nos histoires se ressemblaient. Sa famille aussi s’était fait voler des œuvres d’art pendant la guerre. Et il avait tout fait pour les retrouver.

Ngofeen: Alain told Richard that in France, there’s a special tribunal that investigates cases of looted art. Richard could file a case about specific works of art. If the commission ruled in his favor, the paintings might be returned or a financial compensation might be negotiated.

Richard: Alain avait fait cela plusieurs fois. On lui avait rendu dix tableaux. Mais il m’a dit que c'était très compliqué. Il faut pouvoir montrer qu’on raconte la vérité, et que l'œuvre a bien été volée. Sinon, le tribunal ne peut rien faire. C’est très difficile.

Ngofeen: Alain told Richard that while he was doing his own research, he had found evidence, des preuves, that a painting located in a museum in Berne, Switzerland had once belonged to Georges Bernheim. The painting was named “Femmes autour d’une table”, “Women around a table.” And it was painted by Henri Matisse.

Richard: Quand Alain m’a parlé du tableau d’Henri Matisse, je me suis dit : « Wouah ! Un tableau d’Henri Matisse ! » C’est l’un des plus grands peintres français du 20e siècle. Je ne pouvais pas le croire.

Ngofeen: Richard contacted the museum. He explained that the painting belonged to his family.

Richard: J’ai essayé d’appeler le musée pour expliquer ma situation, mais il faut apporter beaucoup de preuves. Cela prend du temps.

Ngofeen: Then, through Doreen, Richard heard about a painting named “Crossroads in Sannois”, “Carrefour à Sannois”, by Maurice Utrillo. The painting belonged to the city of Sannois, in France, but it could also be proven to have belonged to Georges Bernheim.

Richard: Encore une fois, le tableau avait été fait par un grand peintre français, Maurice Utrillo. Un deuxième tableau célèbre qui avait appartenu à Georges ! J’étais très surpris. Je me suis demandé : « Mais combien y a-t-il de tableaux ? Combien de tableaux vais-je découvrir ? »

Ngofeen: Richard filed a case to the looted painting commission. They studied his file and made an official recommendation that the city of Sannois give back the painting to Richard’s family.

Richard: Cela m’a donné de l'espoir. Pour moi, c'était important de voir que les droits et l’histoire de Georges étaient reconnus.

Ngofeen: Richard contacted city officials, who told him they didn’t know the painting had been stolen when they bought it at an art auction, une vente aux enchères, a few years ago.

Richard: Les responsables de la ville de Sannois m’ont dit qu'ils ne savaient pas que l'œuvre avait été volée. Je ne comprends pas comment on peut vendre des œuvres aux enchères sans vérifier leur origine. Je trouve ça choquant !

Ngofeen: Richard wasn’t able to make much headway on the painting in Sannois; the museum wouldn’t agree to turn it over to him. But then he located a third painting that had belonged to Georges Bernheim. A painting named “Coco lisant”, “Coco reading.” This painting was by Auguste Renoir, the famous impressionist. Richard saw that it was exhibited at Renoir’s former home in Cagnes-sur-Mer, now a museum.

Richard: C’était très fatigant de faire toutes ces recherches : trouver où étaient les tableaux, apporter la preuve qu’ils avaient appartenu à Georges, remplir des dossiers… Et puis attendre. Pourtant, je ne perdais pas espoir.

Ngofeen: This time, Richard decided to go to the museum in person, to see the painting with his own eyes, de ses propres yeux.

Richard: J’ai décidé d’aller voir ce tableau de mes propres yeux. Et j’ai proposé à ma fille de faire le voyage avec moi à Cagnes-sur-Mer, dans le sud de la France.

Ngofeen: So, on a beautiful sunny day, Richard and his daughter made the trip to the museum. When they arrived, they saw a delightful little house. It had been Renoir’s home at the end of his life.

Richard: On a visité le musée. Après un moment, on est arrivés dans une petite chambre. Là, il y avait un tableau. Il n’était pas très grand. Le tableau faisait environ 15 centimètres de long et de large.

Ngofeen: The painting was the size of a square postcard, and it was a portrait of one of Auguste Renoir’s sons, Claude, when he was a little boy. Claude Renoir is seen with his elbows on a table, reading. It is an intimate family portrait. Looking at it with his daughter, Richard was moved.

Richard: J’ai trouvé le tableau superbe. Il n’était pas grand, mais il était plein d'émotions. On voyait qu’Auguste Renoir était très fier de ses enfants. C’était très intime et très touchant.

Ngofeen: Then when Richard and his daughter looked down, below the painting, they saw a little plaque.

Richard: On a vu la note suivante : « Tableau ayant appartenu à Georges Bernheim. »

Ngofeen: “Painting having once belonged to Georges Bernheim.” Reading Georges’ name on the wall, Richard was flooded with emotions. In a way, even though he hadn’t yet recovered one of his great-great-uncle’s paintings, this was what he wanted. For people to acknowledge Georges, to know his life and the injustices he and his family had suffered.

Richard: J’étais très fier de voir le nom de Georges Bernheim, mon ancêtre. Écrire son nom, c’est une forme de justice. Je veux que tout le monde sache qu’une organisation criminelle lui a volé ses œuvres d’art. C’est une façon de ne pas l’oublier et de raconter son histoire. Et je continuerai de me battre pour ça.

Ngofeen: Staring at his great-great-uncle’s painting, Richard imagined how Georges had treasured the painting decades before him, how he had perhaps gazed at it with his own kids.

Richard: J’étais devant le tableau de Georges, avec ma fille, et j'imaginais Georges, lui aussi avec ses enfants, avant la guerre, en famille.

Ngofeen: At that moment, Richard felt great joy. He knew that by being here with his own daughter he had already accomplished something big. He finally felt connected with this lost heritage, and his family. But most importantly, he felt he had recovered part of Georges' legacy.

Richard: À ce moment-là, j’ai réalisé que je communiquais enfin à mes enfants quelque chose de très important. L’histoire de Georges et l’histoire de notre famille avaient été un secret pendant trop longtemps. Mais maintenant, ma famille connaissait son histoire.

Ngofeen: Richard Hardin is an art lover living with his wife between Bordeaux and Paris, in France. He has yet to see one of George’s paintings returned to his family, but he is committed to his quest to recover the stolen paintings.

This story was produced by Justine Hagard, a producer based in Paris.

We'd love to know what you thought of this episode! You can write us an email at podcast@duolingo.com and call and leave us a voicemail or audio message on WhatsApp, at +1-703-953-93-69. Don’t forget to say your name and where you are from!

If you liked this story, please share it! You can find the audio and a transcript of each episode at podcast.duolingo.com. You can also follow us on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite listening app, so you never miss an episode.

With over 500 million users, Duolingo is the world's leading language learning platform, and the most downloaded education app in the world. Duolingo believes in making education free, fun, and available to everyone. To join, download the app today, or find out more at duolingo.com.

The Duolingo French podcast is produced by Duolingo and Adonde Media. I’m your host, Ngofeen Mputubwele, à la prochaine !

Credits

This episode was produced by Duolingo and Adonde Media.