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Germany Returns Stolen Bayeux Tapestry Pieces
16 Jan
Summary
- Two small fragments of the Bayeux Tapestry were returned to France.
- Fragments were stolen in 1941 by a German scientist during Nazi occupation.
- Pieces were discovered in German state archives after 80 years.
Two small fragments of the historically significant Bayeux Tapestry have been returned to France by Germany, decades after their theft. These pieces of unembroidered linen were discovered by historians in the state archives of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, while examining the collection of a German textile specialist, Karl Schlabow.
Schlabow, who died in 1984, is believed to have taken the fragments, each only a few centimeters long, in 1941. He was part of a research team studying Germany's "ancestral heritage," a Nazi SS project. The fragments were found within his collection during an inventory in 2023 and were subsequently identified as belonging to the renowned tapestry.
The archive's director stated it was "obvious" the fragments had to be returned to France, given they were taken by the Nazis approximately 85 years prior. The Bayeux Tapestry itself, an extensive embroidery detailing the Norman conquest of England in 1066, is slated for display at the British Museum in London this September, despite significant public opposition and concerns about its fragility.
