Mural Controversy
In February 2001, Benjamin Geissler, a German documentary filmmaker, discovered the mural that Schulz had created for Landau. The meticulous task of restoration by Polish conservation workers had begun, who informed Yad Vashem, the Israeli holocaust memorial, of the findings. In May of that year representatives of Yad Vashem went to Drohobych to examine the mural. They removed five fragments of it and transported them to Jerusalem.
International controversy ensued. Yad Vashem said that parts of the mural were legally purchased, but the owner of the property said that no such agreement was made, and Yad Vashem did not obtain permission from the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture despite legal requirements. The fragments left in place by Yad Vashem have since been restored and, after touring Polish museums, are now part of the collection at the Bruno Schulz Museum in Drohobych.
This gesture by Yad Vashem instigated public outrage in Poland and Ukraine, where Schulz is a beloved figure.
The issue reached a settlement in 2008 when Israel recognized the works as "the property and cultural wealth" of Ukraine, and Ukraine's Drohobychyna Museum agreed to lend the works to Yad Vashem as a long-term loan. In February 2009, Yad Vashem opened to the public its display of the Schulz murals which it had removed from Drohobych.
Read more about this topic: Bruno Schulz
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