Suitcase Uncovers Eisner Family’s Stolen Legacy | JQJO

After his father’s death, Antony Easton found a suitcase that revealed his family’s hidden past: Peter Easton was born Peter Hans Rudolf Eisner, born into a Berlin Jewish dynasty behind the Hahn’sche Werke steel empire. Nazi persecution stripped the Eisners of their assets through sales deemed forced, including a 1938 transfer to adviser Martin Hartig as the family fled, many relatives later murdered. Years of research have led Antony to restitution efforts: Berlin’s Brohan Museum plans to return a Baluschek painting; another work has been recovered, with more claims ongoing. He says restitution is about people, not money.