The Augsburg prosecutor for the State of Bavaria announced today that in connection with Monday’s agreement with Cornelius Gurlitt, the 1,280 works of art seized from Gurlitt’s apartment in 2012 have been “returned” to Gurlitt. Though it does not appear that the objects have physically changed locations, the state officially lifted the seizure, and now… Continue Reading
Category Archives: World War II
Subscribe to World War II RSS FeedForeign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act Passes House Judiciary Committee on Voice Vote
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, World War IIJust a week after it was introduced by Steve Chabot (R-OH), the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (HR 4292) was marked for hearing today. Three members spoke in favor, a voice vote was taken, and bill was referred favorably to the full House. Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) began the hearing with a statement. … Continue Reading
Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act Reintroduced in House of Representatives, Would Ban Use of Exhibition Loan as Basis for Federal Court Jurisdiction
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Gurlitt Collection, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, World War IISteve Chabot (R-OH) has reintroduced the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (H.R. 4292), after a previous attempt to amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act with regard to the loan of cultural objects failed to become law in 2012. The text of the March 25, 2014 bill is identical to the version that passed… Continue Reading
Gurlitt Can’t Get His Story Straight About Salzburg Trove
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIAs confusion swirls around Cornelius Gurlitt’s actual plans, one of the issues is that his team is not speaking consistently with one voice. In particular, there are odd developments about the artworks that Gurlitt himself had removed from his Salzburg home in February—oddities that are worth weighing when considering the recent public statements about his… Continue Reading
Gurlitt Art Return Click-Bait and Switch—Don’t Get Fooled by Headlines
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIIt was hardly surprising that news that Cornelius Gurlitt was willing to return artworks taken from his apartment in 2012 that had once been taken from Jews spread quickly. What is regrettable is how quickly the headlines seem to have gone viral that he is going—or even willing—to return all of the paintings. Nothing that… Continue Reading
Limbach Advisory Commission Recommends Against German Restitution of “Guelph Treasure,” Focuses on Terms of 1929 Agreement for Intended Sale
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIOne of the issues exposed and exacerbated by the ongoing Gurlitt collection stalemate is the question of Germany’s restitution procedures with respect to art. As the Bavarian legislative proposal to abolish the statute of limitations for claims against bad-faith acquirers is considered by the Bundestag, the “German Advisory Commission for the Return of Cultural Property… Continue Reading
Germany Itself Exhibited in the United States Dozens of Works from Hildebrandt Gurlitt in 1956
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThere have been occasional references during the Gurlitt affair to the possiblity that some of the paintings seized from Hildebrand Gurlitt’s apartment had been exhibited in the United States. Details have been sparse. With a copy of the out-of-print catalogue from that exhibition now in hand, however, we can start to identify the scope of… Continue Reading
The Gurlitt Counteroffensive Continues: Complaint Filed for Return of Paintings
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIAccording to multiple news reports and his attorneys, Cornelius Gurlitt has filed a complaint for the return of the paintings seized in 2012 by the Augsburg prosecutor. Copies are not yet available, but the Gurlitt PR website www.Gurlitt.info” has a release that states as follows (thus far only in German). Stay tuned for developments if… Continue Reading
“Gurlitt Facts” Website Posted as Part of Public Relations Offensive, Arguments Strain Credulity
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IICornelius Gurlitt’s legal team has posted a new website called “Gurlitt Info” in similar (but not identical) German and English versions that is so contradicted by the repeated disclosures by the German government, that it is hard to imagine its intended purpose. As a public relations move, it is a disaster. The tactic may explain… Continue Reading
Cassirer Heirs’ Claims to Pissarro Work Revived by Appeals Court, the Year 2013 Shows that the Tide for Restitution May be Shifting Again
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit restored last week claims by heirs of Lilly Cassirer against the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection for the return of the Camille Pissarro painting Rue St. Honoré, après-midi, êffet de pluie. The Cassirers claim that the painting was expropriated from Lilly when she fled Nazi Germany in 1939 in exchange… Continue Reading
Gurlitt Vows to Fight for Art Collection, Possible Limitations Under German Law Still Unclear. Does Austria Have Say?
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIDer Spiegel conducted a face to face interview with Cornelius Gurlitt that was published over the weekend, addressing his intentions about the 1,400 artworks connected to Nazi looting. Most striking was Gurlitt’s declaration with regard to the artworks seized by Bavarian tax authorities “I will give nothing back willingly.” The highlights of the interview, available… Continue Reading
New York Court of Appeals Rejects a “Spoils of War” Doctrine in Flamenbaum
Posted in Restitution, World War IIThe New York Court of Appeals has decisively rejected the argument that a nation may acquire good title to a work of art by virtue of that work’s status as the “spoils of war,” an important holding that will affect future restitution claims brought under New York law. From the Court of Appeals: The Vorderasiatisches… Continue Reading
Gurlitt Taskforce Announces Plan to Post 590 More Works. Choice of Law, Procedure, and Venue for Claims Up in the Air
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIIngeborg Berggreen-Merkel, leader of the newly formed federal “Schwabing Art Find” taskforce, announced plans to release information about 590 additional works found in the apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, after the posting earlier this week of 25 works at www.lostart.de. Meanwhile, the heirs of Max Ernst have publicly disclosed (through their attorney Jürgen Wilhelm in Cologne)… Continue Reading
REMINDER Restitution and Repatriation: the Return of Cultural Objects at DePaul University November 14, 2013
Posted in Cultural Property, Events, Restitution, World War IIA reminder of this Thursday’s event, all the more timely as the Gurlitt collection fallout continues: DePaul University College of Law Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law will host a symposium on November 14, 2013 entitled “Restitution and Repatriation: the Return of Cultural Objects.” A similar conference could not be held last year because… Continue Reading
First List of Art Found in Gurlitt Collection is Released, Website Overwhelmed as Claimants Consider Legal Options
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThe German government has released an initial list of twenty five works among the collection seized from the Munich (Schwabing) apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, the most significant discovery of possibly looted art since the end of World War II. The list is posted at www.lostart.de, a hitherto little-known website of the Coordination Point for Cultural… Continue Reading
German Federal Government Wants Gurlitt Collection Made Public, Some May Have Come to U.S., More Art Seized in Stuttgart, Cornelius Gurlitt Spotted in Munich After Bizarre Request for Anonymity
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThe fire hose of Gurlitt collection information continues unabated. For stellar reporting keep track of Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal in English, the FAZ and Der Spiegel in German. We’ll continue to track the legal fallout of the facts as the journalists continue to uncover them. As we expected, the German federal government is… Continue Reading
German Museums Join in Demands for More Information About Gurlitt; Links to the Amber Room Theorized; Dix Painting Was Not Unknown
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Museums, Restitution, World War IIDer Spiegel reports today (link in German) about how German museums are joining the chorus of frustration about the lack of information about the Hildebrand and Cornelius Gurlitt collection find. From this perspective, this development is not a surprise. I was speaking to an international law class last night at Sarah Lawrence College, and one… Continue Reading
Focus Turns to Hildebrand Gurlitt’s Postwar Interrogation; Cornelius Gurlitt’s Whereabouts. Belvedere Official Questions Whether Collection Was Really a Secret
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThe focus has turned today on the whereabouts of the mysterious Cornelius Gurlitt, who is unaccounted for as the biggest restitution story since the end of World War II unfolds. Asked if it was even known if Gurlitt was still alive Bavarian prosecutor Reinhard Nemetz would not even comment. There is an explosive claim… Continue Reading
Hildebrand Gurlitt Interview Transcript is Located
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThe Commission for Looted Art in Europe has located the transcript of the interview taken of Hildebrand Gurlitt at the end of World War II, concerning the bulk of what now seems to have been found in his son’s apartment. Gurlitt denies buying art in France. The document is linked above.
“Here and Now”: Questions Remain About Nazi-Looted Art Trove
Posted in Events, Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIIn case you missed it live, WBUR’s “Here and Now” has posted the story and audio from today’s interview about the Cornelius Gurlitt Nazi-looted art find.
Merkel Hints at Putting Gurlitt Lists Online, Calls for Special Tribunal Are Made
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IICatherine Hickley reports from Berlin that the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel is looking into ways to put lists and/or photographs online concerning the Cornelius Gurlitt seizure of roughly 1,400 paintings with connections to Nazi looting. This followed heavy complaints in the first days of the revelation, that the government had failed to identify what… Continue Reading
“Here and Now” on WBUR Tomorrow to Discuss Gurlitt Nazi Art Find in Munich
Posted in Events, Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War III’ll be a guest on “Here and Now” on WBUR (syndicated nationally, and available for live streaming on WBUR’s website) tomorrow between noon at 1:00 pm to discuss this week’s discovery of nearly 1,400 paintings had been found in the Munich apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt two years ago (and ongoing updates), and the theme of Nazi… Continue Reading
New Details, More Questions Than Answers in Gurlitt Nazi-Tinged Painting Find in Munich
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThe Bavarian prosecutor held a press conference today to discuss the revelation this weekend in Focus that nearly 1,400 paintings had been found in the Munich apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt two years ago, after he aroused suspicion by bringing a large amount of cash back into Germany from Switzerland in 2010. This continues to shape… Continue Reading
Paintings Targeted by the Nazis Found in Munich, Could be Biggest Discovery Since the War. What Now?
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThe German magazine Focus broke a story over the weekend that could be the biggest restitution news since Portrait of Wally or Altmann v. Republic of Austria: roughly 1,400 paintings were found in a Munich apartment that may have been seized, looted, or sold bought under duress by the Nazis in the 1930s as part… Continue Reading
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