According to AP, the statue "Discobolus Palombara" was created in the 2nd century in ancient Rome, a copy of the famous bronze statue "Discobolus Thrower" in ancient Greece that was lost long before. The Roman statue was excavated at an ancient Roman relic in Rome (Italy) in 1781.
Hitler acquired the Discobolus Palombara from its private owner in Italy in 1938, under pressure from dictator Benito Mussolini and against the wishes of the Italianeducation minister and cultural officials of the time. The statue was returned to Italy in 1948 along with other artifacts illegally seized by the Nazis.
Hitler standing next to the "Discobolus Palombara" statue in Munich in 1938
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The dispute arose when the director of the National Roman Museum in Italy asked the Staatliche Antikensammlungen Museum in Munich (in the German state of Bavaria) to return the base of the Roman statue, which was made of marble in the 17th century. Instead, the museum asked Italy to return the Discobolus Palombara, claiming that the statue had been illegally transported to Italy in 1948, according to local newspaper Corriere della Sera in Italy.
Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano expressed doubts that German Culture Minister Claudia Roth was unaware of the Bavarian state's request.
"I was joking - they will have to go over my dead body," Mr Sangiuliano told Italy's state-run Rai television on the evening of December 2. He criticised German officials, saying that demanding the statue's return was "unacceptable".
"This work was fraudulently taken by the Nazis and it is part of our national heritage," Sangiuliano said, expressing hope that the base of the statue would be returned to Italy.
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