A federal court in Argentina has placed the daughter of a former Nazi official and her husband under house arrest after a search failed to locate a painting taken from a Jewish art dealer in Amsterdam during World War II.
Officials conducted a raid on a property in Mar del Plata last week following reports from a Dutch publication that identified a painting in a home listing as an Italian artwork listed in a registry of missing pieces from the war era.
The painting, however, was not found.
The artwork—a portrait of Contessa Colleoni by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi, who died in 1743—had been missing for eight decades before being recognized in a real estate photo. The home was believed to belong to Patricia Kadgien, daughter of Friedrich Kadgien, a deceased Nazi official.
Starting Monday, Patricia Kadgien and her husband were placed under 72-hour house arrest and will be questioned for interfering with the investigation, according to a judicial official in Mar del Plata on Tuesday.
The couple must appear at a hearing by Thursday, where they are likely to face charges related to "hiding stolen property connected to genocide," the official stated.
Additional searches were conducted Monday in Argentina at properties tied to Kadgien and her relatives, yielding two other paintings thought to originate from the 19th century, though the sought-after artwork remains missing.
CuriosityNews could not reach Patricia Kadgien for comment.
Following the collapse of Nazi Germany in 1945, several senior regime members escaped to South America.
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There was nothing particularly unusual about the middle-aged couple living in the low, stone-covered villa on Calle Padre Cardiel, a quiet street in the tree-lined Parque Luro neighborhood of Mar del Plata, Argentina’s most well-known coastal city.
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