{"id":3082,"date":"2025-05-28T10:14:27","modified":"2025-05-28T10:14:29","slug":"icymi-fetterman-cornyn-blumenthal-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-aid-recovery-of-nazi-confiscated-art","link":"https:\/\/www.fetterman.senate.gov\/icymi-fetterman-cornyn-blumenthal-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-aid-recovery-of-nazi-confiscated-art\/","title":{"rendered":"ICYMI: Fetterman,\u00a0Cornyn, Blumenthal, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Aid Recovery of Nazi-Confiscated Art"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Washington, D.C. <\/strong>\u2013 On May 22, 2025, U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) joined a bipartisan group of his Senate colleagues to introduce the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act<\/em>, which would aid in the recovery of Nazi-looted art and deliver justice for Holocaust survivors and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEighty years after the Holocaust, we have a moral responsibility to do right by the victims of these atrocities and their families,\u201d said Senator Fetterman.<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m grateful to join my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in introducing the HEAR Act <\/em>to help return artwork stolen by the Nazis to its rightful owners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nazi Germany\u2019s campaign of annihilation and genocide against the Jewish people in the Holocaust included massive theft of property, including hundreds of thousands of works of art. Despite post-war efforts by the United States and allies to return Nazi-looted art and renewed efforts since the late 1990s, more than 100,000 works of art have not been returned to their rightful owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, Congress unanimously passed the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act<\/em> to ensure Holocaust survivors and their heirs could access U.S. courts to pursue claims for the recovery of Nazi-looted art, allowing cases to be decided on their factual merits rather than dismissed on time-based technical defenses. Congress found that the circumstances of the Holocaust imposed extraordinary obstacles to survivors and heirs to locate and recover stolen art, necessitating a national six-year statute of limitations that only begins when the owner actually discovers the location of the stolen artwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, many museums, governments, and institutions have contradicted Congress\u2019 intent and obstructed justice by stonewalling legitimate claims, obscuring provenance, and employing aggressive legal tactics designed to exhaust and outlast survivors and their families. Rather than embracing transparency and reconciliation, too many have chosen to entrench and litigate, effectively preserving possession of stolen works rather than returning them to their rightful owners. Moreover, some court cases have interpreted the law narrowly, leaving survivors without recourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original HEAR Act <\/em>includes a sunset provision and is set to expire December 31, 2026. This legislation would amend and reauthorize the original law to ensure victims of the Holocaust are not denied justice by legal loopholes, institutional intransigence, or the mere passage of time. As antisemitism continues to rise around the world, this legislation would send a clear message that the United States will not allow looting to be legitimized, justice to be denied, or Holocaust profiteering to be tolerated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The HEAR Act<\/em> would:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n