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Lawsuits Filed in California Seeking Return of Nazi-Looted Art from Museums
Just the facts
The filings represent the first legal challenges under California Assembly Bill 2867, a measure signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2024 to reinforce state-level claims for recovering art seized during the Nazi regime. In Los Angeles Superior Court, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles filed suit against the Norton Simon Museum seeking two 1530 oil paintings depicting Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder, which Nazi official Hermann Göring seized from Dutch art collector Jacques Goudstikker. A concurrent federal suit filed by the daughters of late survivor Dinah Gottliebova Babbitt seeks the restitution of watercolor portraits that Babbitt was coerced into painting for Nazi physician Josef Mengele at Auschwitz. Representatives for the Norton Simon Museum cited a 2018 federal court ruling affirming its title, while Auschwitz Memorial officials argued that the historical watercolors must remain in the camp collection to document wartime atrocities.
Why this is news
Heirs of Holocaust victims and Jewish organizations filed two lawsuits in California demanding the return of artwork held by the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland.
Sources
This summary is compiled strictly from the original reporting below.