Heirs of Holocaust victims and their representatives have filed two lawsuits in California seeking the return of artwork looted by the Nazis during World War II, following recent legislative changes that bolster claims to such pieces within the United States. The cases, filed last month, mark the first legal actions under newly enacted state and federal laws designed to address outstanding restitution claims for Nazi-confiscated art.
One lawsuit was brought in Los Angeles Superior Court by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and its board chair, Daniel Gryczman, against the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. The claim demands the return of “Adam and Eve,” a pair of 16th-century oil-on-panel paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The artworks are alleged to have been taken from the collection of Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker by Hermann Göring, a leading Nazi official, before eventually entering the museum’s collection in the 1960s.
A separate federal lawsuit filed in Los Angeles by the daughters of Dinah Gottliebova Babbitt, a Holocaust survivor and former animator held at Auschwitz, seeks the return of watercolor portraits she was compelled to create under duress for Nazi physician Josef Mengele. The paintings depict fellow prisoners and serve as rare surviving records of Mengele’s inhumane experiments.
Representatives for both museums maintain that they hold legal title to the artworks and intend to continue displaying them. The Norton Simon Museum points to previous court rulings—including a 2018 federal decision and the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal in 2019 to hear an appeal—that upheld its ownership of the Cranach paintings. The museum says the works have been publicly accessible for nearly five decades and were acquired through legitimate channels after passing through various owners.
Officials at the Auschwitz Memorial contend that the watercolors painted by Gottliebova Babbitt should remain in their collection as critical historical documentation of Nazi atrocities, arguing that they are not “Nazi-looted art” since the artist never possessed ownership rights due to the coercive context in which the works were produced. They emphasize the importance of preserving these rare artifacts to honor and remember the victims.
The lawsuits come in the wake of California Assembly Bill 2867, signed into law in September 2024, which requires state law to apply in cases brought by California residents or their heirs to recover art seized during the Holocaust or other persecutions. This legislation was enacted partly in response to a federal court ruling upholding the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Spain’s retention of a painting stolen from the Cassirer family. Additionally, the federal Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025, signed by President Donald Trump, removed any statute of limitations on claims, allowing heirs to seek restitution indefinitely after discovering the artwork’s location.
Advocates say these laws strengthen the legal position of families seeking to reclaim art stolen during the Holocaust and ensure cases are decided on their substantive merits rather than procedural technicalities. Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, called the recovered proceeds vital for supporting the region’s remaining Holocaust survivors, numbering roughly 2,500, helping them to live their final years with dignity.
Marei von Saher, sole heir of Jacques Goudstikker, expressed gratitude for the Federation’s support in pursuing justice for her family’s losses nearly a century ago. Supporters argue that recovering such pieces is part of acknowledging and addressing the historical wrongs inflicted on Jewish families during the Nazi era, while museums emphasize the importance of preserving difficult but essential historical records for public education and remembrance.
The unfolding legal battles highlight the complex intersection of historical justice, cultural preservation, and legal ownership that continues to shape discussions about Nazi-looted art decades after the end of World War II.