DisputedPast

The world-famous ‘East Side Gallery’, the east side of the Berlin wall that’s covered with paintings from artist all over the world, is constantly threatened by building-projects, vandalism and graffiti. Therefore, the Berlin city council will spend 125.000€ per year to preserve the art-piece. The East Side Gallery consists of 105 paintings from 1990, and is renowned as a worldwide memorial to… Read full history →

Women of the Rabari and Bharwad communities, nomadic tribes living in the Indian state of Gujarat, are known for the elaborate tattoos they wear on their faces, arms and legs. The tattoos represent characteristics such as fertility or acquired skills. New research indicates that these tattoos closely resemble symbols used… Read full history →

The Munich art-treasure keeps raising questions. Journalists have now researched the background Cornelius Gurlitt’s father, Hildebrand Gurlitt ( 1895-1956 ). Hildebrand Gurlitt was a respected art dealer in the Third Reich and was connected to Hitler. Nonetheless, Gurlitt’s role in the nazi-era remained ambiguous. Right after the war he was suspected of… Read full history →

The soap on the Munich art treasure continues. Two weeks ago, the German authorities seized 1500 masterpieces with an estimated value of 1 billion euro’s on the allegation that most of them were stolen by the nazi’s in the Third Reich. The owner, Cornelius Gurlitt had inherited them from his… Read full history →

Well ok, the instrument was not really made by Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1509), but designed by the Italian master. Five centuries ago Da Vinci sketched a bizarre instrument, a crossing between a piano and a cello. Da Vinci called it the ‘viola organista’. As was the case with many of his designs,… Read full history →

For more than a week the whole art-world marveled as the German authorities claimed they had recovered 1500 masterpieces. A unworldy man, Cornelius Gurlitt, had inherited them from his father, a suspected culprit of the nazis. It was claimed that many paintings were in fact nazi-loot, and either belonged to… Read full history →

It is a well-known fact that Hugo Boss designed the SS-uniform, but how people dressed in Third Reich is not a much debated topic. What did clothing of the 1930s and 40s look like? What was worn in everyday life, at home , at work or on travel? Did the… Read full history →