Two new lawsuits were filed in Los Angeles to recover art taken by Nazis. The lawsuits aim to use new laws to help heirs of Jewish families get back artworks lost during the Holocaust.
New Laws Help Restitution Efforts
California passed a new law in 2024. The federal government also passed the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act in April. These laws make it easier to get back art taken due to political persecution. They prevent cases from being dismissed because of legal technicalities or too much time passing.
Previously, the laws of the country where the art was located often overruled California law. The new laws change this, allowing California law to apply. This change was inspired by a case involving a Camille Pissarro painting looted by Nazis. The case is between the heirs of Lilly Cassirer Neubauer and Madrid’s Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.
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Start Your News DetoxTwo New Lawsuits Seek Justice
These are the first cases in California that can benefit from the new laws.
One lawsuit was filed by the daughters of Dina Gottliebova Babbitt. They want the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland to return watercolors Babbitt was forced to paint. She painted these while imprisoned in the concentration camp. Nazi doctor Josef Mengele ordered her to paint people he tortured. The museum displays these watercolors as proof of Mengele's crimes and has refused to give them back.
Pawel Sawicki, a spokesperson for the memorial, said the watercolors must stay at the memorial. He noted they are important documents of Mengele's criminal experiments and the history of Auschwitz.
The second lawsuit was filed by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and Daniel Gryczman. They want the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena to return a 16th-century painting called Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder. This painting was part of a collection owned by Dutch Jewish dealer Jacques Goudstikker, which Nazis seized.
Allied forces returned much of the collection to the Dutch government. The government then sold the painting to collector Norton Simon in 1971. Goudstikker's heir, Marei von Saher, gave her rights to the painting to the Jewish Federation. Daniel Gryczman said that if the painting is returned and sold, the money would help Holocaust survivors in Los Angeles.
Charlène, Von Saher's daughter, said her grandfather died fleeing the Nazi invasion. Many of his family members died in Auschwitz. She believes a victory would bring justice and help restore her grandfather's legacy.
