Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) intervened in a federal court case on behalf of descendants of an Austrian Jewish art collector seeking the return of paintings seized by the Nazis during World War II.
The senators filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act, which descendants of Austrian Jewish art collector Fritz Grünbaum, who was killed in Dachau, are using to force the return of artwork from Austrian painter Egon Schiele from the Republic of Austria and the country’s museums.
The case is before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
“The Nazi campaign to steal art treasured by Jewish families and others targeted by the regime was about more than a pilfering of property. It was a deeply personal theft and an act of inhumanity,” Blumenthal stated.
Grünbaum’s descendants have won the return of several other Schiele paintings. At issue in this case is whether Congress has the power to pass such a law, given that foreign affairs issues fall under the jurisdiction of the president.
The law was passed to help Holocaust survivors and their families recover art stolen by the Nazis.
The senators said the law was constitutional and the claims could proceed, given that Congress has authority over war-related consequences and interstate and foreign commerce.
“Earlier this year, the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act was signed into law to ensure Holocaust survivors and their families have an opportunity to regain thousands of missing pieces of artwork that were looted by the Nazi regime,” Cornyn stated.
