The Nazis looted Europe s treasures. A Supreme Court ruling casts doubt on their return. Yasmine Salam and Carlo Angerer and The Associated Press
It was no ordinary art deal.
The sale of a precious medieval collection by a group of tradesmen to the Prussian government in 1935 was notable not only for its treasured contents, but also for its participants.
The sellers were Jewish, a fact that defined their fate in Nazi Germany and hangs over the transaction to this day.
“They know they re under the gun,” Marc Masurovsky, a historian who specializes in plundered art during the Holocaust, said from his home in Washington. “The average position of Jews in Germany as of 1933 is nothing short of dangerous, perilous, fragile and precarious.”
Fight over medieval treasure highlights Germany s struggle to atone for its Nazi past msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Nazis looted Europe s treasures. A Supreme Court ruling casts doubt on their return. Yasmine Salam and Carlo Angerer and The Associated Press
It was no ordinary art deal.
The sale of a precious medieval collection by a group of tradesmen to the Prussian government in 1935 was notable not only for its treasured contents, but also for its participants.
The sellers were Jewish, a fact that defined their fate in Nazi Germany and hangs over the transaction to this day.
“They know they re under the gun,” Marc Masurovsky, a historian who specializes in plundered art during the Holocaust, said from his home in Washington. “The average position of Jews in Germany as of 1933 is nothing short of dangerous, perilous, fragile and precarious.”
Supreme Court: Descendants May Not Sue in US for Property Seized by Nazis
The heirs of art dealers whose property was taken in Nazi-era Germany can’t pursue lawsuits seeking compensation from the government of that country in the courts of the United States, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Feb. 3.
The ruling was a victory for the Trump administration, now out of office, which had opposed that legal stance, arguing that the claims for damages should be pursued overseas and that letting the litigation proceed in the United States threatened to entangle the judiciary in sensitive foreign policy questions best left to the executive branch.
Supreme Court Rules for Germany in Case on Nazi-Era Art
In a unanimous ruling, the court said a federal law bars suits against foreign governments accused of expropriating their own citizens’ property.
The Guelph Treasure is a collection of medieval art that is now estimated to be worth $250 million.Credit.Gordon Welters for The New York Times
Feb. 3, 2021
WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously ruled against the heirs of Jewish art dealers in Nazi-era Frankfurt who sought to sue Germany in American courts over artifacts they say the dealers were forced to sell for a third of their value.