Supreme Court Denies Heirs’ Claim to Nazi Obtained Art

In a unanimous ruling, The U.S. Supreme Court decided that Jews who had property taken from them by Nazi Germany in the 1930s will not be allowed “to sue in U.S. federal court to reclaim the property for its modern-day value. . .” 

The ruling was based on sovereign immunity, “which bars American courts from intervening in cases between foreign governments and their citizens.” 

The case, Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp, involved a $250 million medieval Christian art collection known as the Welfenshatz. Plaintiffs in the case were heirs of the owners of the collection and alleged that “their ancestors were coerced into selling the art collection at a third of the value in 1935.” 

The U.S. Army took possession of the Welfenshatz when they conquered Germany to end World War II. They later turned it over to the new German government. 

“The heirs argued that their claim is exempt from sovereign immunity’s ”domestic takings” law because it was ”property taken in violation of international law.” 

However, the court did not agree and Chief Justice Roberts wrote, ”This ‘domestic takings rule’ assumes that what a country does to property belonging to its own citizens within its own borders is not the subject of international law. ”We have recognized that United States law governs domestically but does not rule the world.”

See Brian Trusdell, Supreme Court Denies Heirs’ Claim to Nazi Obtained Art, February 4, 2021.

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Florida Probate Attorney) for bringing this article to my attention.