The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) and the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) initiate and support wide-ranging efforts toward the restitution of Jewish-owned art, Judaica, and other cultural property lost and plundered during the Holocaust.
Overview
The Claims Conference/ WJRO initiate and support wide-ranging efforts toward the restitution of Jewish-owned art, Judaica, and other cultural property lost and plundered during the Holocaust.
Examples of Current Efforts
The Claims Conference/WJRO work with governments and relevant Jewish communities to ensure a just, fair, and simple process for claims for looted art and other cultural property in each country and encourage the development of provenance research.
Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act
The JUST Act bill requires the State Department to investigate and submit a report to Congress on the extent to which endorsees of the 2009 Terezin Declaration on Holocaust Era Assets and Related Issues are meeting their pledges to adopt national laws and policies to help Holocaust survivors identify and reclaim their properties.
U.S. Museums Fail to Address Holocaust Stolen Art Claims
Prominent U.S. museums have evaded the restitution of Nazi-era stolen art to rightful owners and heirs by refusing to resolve claims on their facts and merits and by asserting technical defenses, such as statutes of limitations, according to a new report.
Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act Signed into U.S. Law
On Friday, December 16, 2016, President Barack Obama signed into law the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act to aid recovery of Nazi-looted art.
Holocaust-Era Looted Art: An Overview of Worldwide Progress
A report on 50 countries by the Claims Conference/ WJRO shows that two thirds of the countries that have endorsed international agreements regarding research, publicity and claims for Nazi-era looted art have done little or nothing to implement pacts.
U.S. Museum Survey
In 2006 the Claims Conference and the World Jewish Restitution Organization conducted a survey of U.S. Museums concerning adherence to the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art and the procedures and guidelines recommended by the American Association of Museums regarding objects transferred in Europe during the Nazi era.
Past Efforts
In 2009, the Claims Conference and WJRO, along with 47 nations, convened for the Prague Conference on Holocaust Era Assets. We submitted “Holocaust Era Looted Art: A World-Wide Preliminary Overview, Prepared by the Claims Conference and the WJRO,” recommending actions to address the challenges of Nazi-era looted art.
last updated February 2023
Images General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander in the West, accompanied by General Omar Bradley (left), and Lt. General George S. Patton, inspect stolen art treasures hidden in the Merkers salt mine. USHMM Photograph Number: 74574 An American soldier discovers a framed painting that was looted by the Nazi regime in an underground vault. National Archives and Records Administration. Restitution of property after the War. Yad Vashem, archival signature: 368 Confiscation of libraries, Confiscation of books. Yad Vashem, archival signature: 368 While serving in the US Army, Metropolitan Museum of Art curator James Rorimer supervises American GIs carrying paintings down the steps of the Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany in May of 1945. National Archives, provided by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, Dallas General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander in the West, General Omar Bradley, and General George S. Patton examine a suitcase containing silverware looted by the Nazis that was hidden in the Merkers salt mine. National Archives and Records Administration. Adam and Eve loaded onto a truck. National Archives and Records Administration. Lovis Corinth “Die Lesende” Lost Art-ID 593290 (http://www.lostart.de)