Maria Altmann Deposition Vol. I, Tape 1

[@leesadurrant9841]

I'm the court reporter that worked with Ms. Altmann that day. 15 years ago and I remember her like it was yesterday. A very impressive story and we all knew it. I just came across the movie "Woman In Gold" and found this researching her full history. Amazing.

[@bigbulk688]

The movie is so cheesy, its almost embarrassing.

[@soniatriana9091]

You were uniquely positioned to be witness to Mrs. Altmann’s historic testimony! Her acute memory & attention to detail is beyond impressive! You can tell that her upbringing was very upper class & is culturally representative of that generation! She’s very refined & classy! What an amazing & challenging life she’s had, and it was all derailed because of Hitler!

[@katherinebyron2177]

OMGOSH!! To have been there in the room that day!!

[@moirapettifr7127]

Such a good movie! It was on Netflix again and we could watch it many times over and still be motivated by Maria Altman's courage and bravery.

[@ElaineSamuela]

@@bigbulk688 No it isn't.

[@michalfreidson1122]

thank you for posting this video for everyone to see. Mrs. Altmann is an amazing person, responding clearly to all questions. The US govt. lawyers are a pain, objecting to questions at almost every turn, not anything to be proid of.

[@katherinebyron2177]

I love that fact that her attorney stood up to the other lawyers who kind of came of as condescending to him. He was a young lawyer working on his own. He just gave it right back to them, "you do your job and I'll do mine." Love it!!!!!

[@martiakatz8442]

The other lawyer was representing the disgusting Austrian government who persecuted their Jews, stole from them and then treated any survivors as if they were the scum.

[@katherinebyron2177]

I'm "watching" this as I am working from home today working on billing to send out to my clients. This video combines my took great loves/interests: the law and WWII....... She was an amazing woman. I love that she tells the court reporter and the attorneys they don't have worry about certain things, names, etc..... She was in charge - wasn't she??? !!!!! Love it. I've seen the woman, Woman in Gold a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also recently watched a video of her attorney speaking in San Diego about the case. It was filmed just as the movie was being released. Thank you for posting this.

[@DEACON85]

Maria Altmann is such a classy lady, dignified and kind. I wish I could have known her. Mr. Schoenberg is a great role model for us all. Never give up. His children and family can be proud!

[@cheryldaily9329]

What a classy lady! I love it when justice is served.

[@rogerthornhill477]

what a wonderful story of hope , I love it with all my heart .

[@joellenjohnson8186]

Wonderful to hear her story in her own words such a strong person

[@Agi1968]

God, such a wonderful Lady, holding on to her truth to the last breath... I am sorry she needed to go through such a long process for something she was rightfully connected to. So many questions about her immediate family... Such a shame... And not for her...

[@KJB2608]

Beautiful lady. I will be studying this case along with the Elgin Marbles, and the Hopi's Katsinam that were up for auction in Paris back in 2013, for my Masters in Public Admin. degree. These will be the focus of my Capstone. Very fascinating case. Very happy that she won.

[@57micheleoc]

Thank you for sharing this historical video!

[@CallieMasters5000]

I would give this woman everything she asked for and more! She is amazing.

[@alixvhessen]

OMG she's got so much style. I am so grateful to Mr. Schönberg that he helped her to get back her rightful possessions. Incredible case. An what struck me most: that she, in all honesty, once said in an interview: jewels, paintings, all these things, don't count. We all survived and this is the most important thing

[@enzomendoza6505]

Amazing gentle woman.

[@margueriteamaya3298]

Amazing story of both courage and dignity of a people

[@dguri]

this is An instructive document!

[@Goldbeach1999]

This just blows my mind. I am very grateful that Mr. Schoenberg has provided this documentary video for posterity. As we continue to see our own government overreach by tracking our whereabouts and phone records, it is apparent why the founding fathers gave us the right to bear arms.

[@betsyofarrell6134]

Goldbeach1999 confused by your analogy? Please clarify, as this is a deposition of the Nazi’s invading Austria and stealing property from Austrian Jewish citizens. This is history of what the Nazis did to her family, and later Austrian government trying to hold onto her families artwork and not to return it to Mrs. Altman. Thank you.

[@helenmurphy3143]

give the lady respect here

[@margueriteamaya3298]

I went thru a deposition at 73 yrs old very exhausting and stressful. Sad she went thru that

[@bigbulk688]

"Unbelievable" exasperation of a lifetime, that this happened and was allowed to happen. (Time stamp:1:31:50)

[@WashingtonDC20032]

Very interesting!

[@rachaelbritz344]

It must of been hard for her not to right hook the opposing lawyer! Goodness knows when he says it “lacks foundation” and is “here say” to the horrific events of her life, I want to right hook him.

[@helenmurphy3143]

BRAVE WOMAN

[@Jay-sm5ef]

Wow, what a story!

[@shangrila73eldorado]

good work

[@humboldt777]

Fascinating!

[@patriciabarcos7245]

Podrías poner subtitulado en español ??.gracias desde Argentina

[@davidrutter9786]

Fascinating information that unfortunately didn't make it into the movie Woman in Gold. An elderly woman keeping her composure recounting on such detail of a horrific time in her early life. Too bad more reparations of stolen property haven't been made.

[@dec23]

She is so cute. Her story is amazing to me.

[@helenmurphy3143]

IS ALL THIS IN THE BOOK

[@marissaazmitia7824]

Mis respetos y bendiciones para esta dama.

[@mirkom.887]

Es war eine wunderschöne und niveauvolle Frau..

[@xanaduxanadu2181]

Point! 54:50 - 56:55 Gotcha Mr. Cooper.

[@theoriginalbrownhornet7364]

did she ever get back the diamond necklace or her Father's cello?

[@chrisbudesa9441]

I wondered the same thing.

[@giacomopiliego7523]

No unfortunately those items were never returned. Their whereabouts remains unknown

[@chrisbudesa9441]

how cool would it be to recreate the necklace? pretty sure the cello was not destroyed. I suspect the necklace was disassembled.

[@gagavision]

I guess, it's very likely, that the wife of Göring, Emmy Göring gave it to her daughter Edda Göring, who lives in Munich, Germany. Here is an interview with her: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4KUpmishK6daas Of course, if she knows, where it came from, she wouldn't admit, that she owns it, hidden somewhere in a box, as a precious gift from her mother.

[@dsatt57]

I’m thinking the necklace was broken down to facilitate hiding it, maybe parts sold to bribe officials during the chaos that enveloped Berlin after Hitler’s suicide when every NAZI who could get away tried to.

[@joellenjohnson4038]

Maria is a very strong and beautiful woman that is alot of stress very strong woman

[@martiakatz8442]

Maria calls them German gentlemen

[@aronollerer5745]

Its interesting but- as an artist- i have some remarks. First of all, I strongly believe that there are works of art which were united somehow with the nation soul, where there come from, and breaking this special connection between the artwork and the nation that somehow produced that, its a fault. Think about it, why is this beautiful and genial portrait in the United States? Of course we know why. Because of this procedure. But from a different point of view, what connection has this portrait with the United States, or America, or american culture? If this Lady get the portrait, and keep it on her wall at home, its no problem, then we can think: she wanted it, and now its her property. But no, she donated it for some gallery, and here is the problem. So look at what was happened: the portrait went from a gallery in Europe -where it was "originally"- from a gallery in America, where it has nothing to look for be sincere. I think it isn't a good story anyway...

[@katherinebyron2177]

Aron Ollerer - this portrait is in the United States because the LEGAL owner of the portrait bequeathed it to his heirs. The Nazis STOLE this portrait and many, many, many other things from their RIGHTFUL owners, the Austrian government illegally retained this portrait and many, many, many, many other items. I'm sorry that the Austrian government and you, apparently, cannot recognize that legal ownership means legal ownership. As far as what the legal owner of this portrait decided to do with it, it was the choice of the legal owner and only the legal owner. Unfortunately, you are not quite understanding that this portrait was STOLEN - i.e., ILLEGALLY OBTAINED by evil people using evil means and the Austrian government compounded that evil by trying to keep it again by illegal means......... I'm dumbfounded by your reasoning and thought process - apparently saying just because it was painted in Austria and was in Austria for many years (let's remember it was in Austria many years by illegal means) that it should somehow belong to Austria and the Austrian people, and that you find it objectionable that is it in a public museum in the United States for all to see its beauty. Apparently, in your argument you are saying that its beauty can only be enjoyed if its in Austria.............. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but your completely illogical argument in this matter is frustrating for me because you have completely ignored the wrong that was done to this lady and her family, some of whom died at the hands of the Nazis..................................................

[@aronollerer5745]

​@@katherinebyron2177 art is often not based on logic, dear commentator, I argued at the time that every work of art has a cultural medium from which it may not be healthy to tear it out and that there are works that are so iconic and large that they have no owner, they become a public treasure, I, as an almost local, am perfectly aware of the history of the image, which is why I did not want to approach it legally, oh, and I do not necessarily dispute the personal property rights of the image but rather the childish decision for me to be taken from Austria, from its birthplace if u like, to America, just because there was Nazism and it traumatized its "owner". And fucking matters where a picture is, sorry :)

[@aronollerer5745]

@@katherinebyron2177 thus a cultural context, a relation, which is a painting, can be degraded into an object

[@aronollerer5745]

and let me say something else, works of art of this level should not even have physical owners in this sense.

[@aronollerer5745]

@@katherinebyron2177 it’s one thing you don’t feel, but ask yourself to say, to use a very commonplace example, the Mona Lisa has a physical righthsolder that isn’t the French state (because if you already need a legal owner, it should be that state) the French people, and so on. In the same way, by doing so, you are making it more difficult for innocent millions of austrians to access their cultural goods extracted from their own cultural space. This is not fair and I do not think (not in a legal sense) that it is right. It is another thing that the Nazi state made the same mistake. And I know that America is a land of hope and so on and so on, common nonsense stupidities, but I find the constant outflow of European art treasures very problematic. Because it is just good if the cultural goods of a given cultural medium remain in that medium. So this is my answer and I don't think it's illogical.