New battles ahead for Nazi-stolen art

Like so many Hollywood endings, it was too good to be true.

The movie TheMonuments Men ends with its heroes uncovering a large stash of Nazi-looted art, which was to be returned to its owners.

But in real life, the art recovered by the Monuments Men suffered a far more troubling fate: explosivenew claims this week by a London-based NGO allege that some of the artworks stolen from Jewish families in the Second World Warwereactually resold by Bavarian state officialsto the Nazis.

And the families face abattle trying to getthe pieces back.

Was recovered WW2-era art re-sold to Nazis?

8 years ago

Duration 2:46

Explosive new claims suggest German state of Bavaria profited from paintings recovered by U.S. Monuments Men

"The trouble is that the law doesn't help you in most of these cases.There is no law. These cases are so old. It's 70 years ago now. Statute of limitations is run," says Anne Webber of the London-based NGO Commission for Looted Art in Europe. Webber's organization made the discovery after they were contacted by the Kraus family of Viennese Jews, who had much of their art stolen and never returned.

But even if it was to overcome the statute of limitations,the Kraus family would likely be taking on the German state of Bavaria.

"One of the practical problems,obviously, is identifying the defendant," says Los Angeles-based lawyer Don Burris, who specializes in restitution cases of Nazi-looted art, adding thathe is not privy to the details or legal plans of the Kraus family.

Burrisand his partner E. RandolSchoenberg represented Maria Altmann as she sued Austria for return of the Gustav Klimt paintings belonging to her family. Altmann'sfight was made into another Hollywood movie, Woman in Gold with Helen Mirren.

"So you start with the concept: somebody did something wrong, who did something wrong, are there individuals involved, are there concepts of sovereign immunity?" Thelast of those is a term referring to a state'simmunityto criminal or civil prosecution in its own courts.

Still, Burris believes the cause of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe and the Kraus family is a worthy one and he hopes they get their justice.

"The idea that they would restitute paintings to the family of one of the most notorious Nazis, you know, we have a Jewish word for that, we call it chutzpah!"

Back into the Nazis' hands

Beyondchutzpah anda moral wrong, the actions of the Bavarian state institutions also go against the instructionsof the Monuments Men.

The real-life Monuments Menreturned the Nazi-looted artifacts into the hands of the newly freed European states in 1949.

The sole proviso wasthat every effort be made to return them to their rightful owners, in many cases, Jewish families.

• Monuments Men Foundation honouring wartime treasure hunters closing
• Modern Monuments Men continue search for Nazi-looted art

Instead, the artworks ended up with the likes ofHenriette von Schirach, thedaughter of Hitler's personal photographer and the ex-wife of the Nazi governor of Vienna, and even Hermann Goering's widow Emma.

"Anybody who knows anything about the Nazis, those two names will send shivers up your spine," says Webber.

Some of these paintings have since been sold to third parties, further frustrating the attempts by the Kraus descendants to get their family heirlooms back. The300-year-old copy of a painting by Dutch master Jan van derHeyden, for example, was purchased by the Xanten Cathedral in Germany, where it still hangs today.

"The church says it's not bound to return anything and the law doesn't require it to return. It doesn't have to do anything," says Webber.

Justice delayed is justice denied

Still, Don Burris says the families hoping to claim their art back should not give up.He should know: his client, Maria Altmann, won her case against Austria, even though her court proceedings took close to a decade to conclude.

• Austria will let Klimt paintings go
• Austria ordered to return 5 Klimt paintings

And Anne Webber says she and her organization are ready for a frustrating and protracted battle. Her organization wantsaccess to the archives and papers needed for their research and to corroborate the claims. Butfamilies like the Krauseswant an easier and more transparent claims process. And finally, justice.

"As one of the family in this case said to me, justice delayed is justice denied. And really, 70 years after the end, 80 years after these pictures were taken in the most brutal and terrifying circumstances, it's time that this procrastination ended."