In the end, those who had criticized the sale of jewels belonging to Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten won. After the first auction which was held in May, followed by much controversy, Christie’s decided to cancel the second sale scheduled for November. Heidi Horten, who passed away in 2022, was the wife of Helmut Horten, German billionaire and founder of the German department store company of the same name. But also an entrepreneur accused of having enriched himself in part thanks to the persecution of the Jews during Nazism. The sale of the jewels had therefore raised accusations from associations of Holocaust survivors and other Jewish organisations.
The first sale of the jewels during the Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva brought in $202 million. Christie’s had explained that much of the proceeds would go to charity. But it wasn’t enough. And the Holocaust Survivor Foundation USA has now reiterated that the cancellation of the auction is seen as an important victory for the global Jewish community.
