In 1940, Nazis seized a 3-inch painting; 86 years later Austria returned it

In 1940, the Nazis seized a small 3-inch painting from the Austrian nobleman's home, unaware that it was a priceless family heirloom to Jackie Sondell, whose three grandparents died in the Holocaust. The Austrian deputy consul general in New York came across the painting in a box and handed it over to Sondell, a retired real estate agent. The painting, painted by Albert Theer, had been neglected in the Museum of Military History in Vienna for years.

The Austrian government tracked down Sondell and her brother, Jeff Lieb, who were the rightful heirs of Eduard Epstein, a successful Jewish merchant in the Viennese textile industry who perished in the Holocaust. Epstein was a valued art collector before the Holocaust took his life and his art collection. The painting was finally returned to Sondell in 2013, identified in the Vienna military museum and submitted to an art restitution board.

The Austrian diplomat who returned the painting described it as a symbol of hope, and Sondell expressed her emotional connection to the painting, acknowledging the Holocaust's impact on her family's history.