Nazi Looted Art Lawsuits
FILE - A visitor views the Impressionist painting, "Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie," ("Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain") painted in 1897 by Camille Pissarro, on display in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid on May 12, 2005.
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Jewish heirs of Holocaust victims have filed lawsuits in California to reclaim Nazi-looted paintings from museums in Los Angeles and Poland. These are the first cases since new laws in California and Congress strengthened claims to art taken during World War II. One lawsuit targets the Norton Simon Museum for two paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Another seeks the return of watercolors painted by a Holocaust survivor under duress in the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp. Museum representatives argue they legally own the works. The issue highlights the tension between preserving history and addressing the trauma of families affected by the Holocaust.
