Two lawsuits have been filed in California, marking the first legal actions since new laws were enacted to strengthen claims for Nazi-looted artwork. The lawsuits were filed in response to California's 2024 law and the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025, which allow families to reclaim art seized during World War II.
One lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, involves the daughters of Auschwitz survivor Dina Gottliebova Babbitt, who are seeking the return of watercolors that Babbitt painted under duress for Nazi physician Josef Mengele. The second lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, is from the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and its board chair, Daniel Gryczman, seeking the return of the diptych "Adam and Eve" by Lucas Cranach the Elder from the Norton Simon Museum.
These lawsuits aim to revive previous claims that were unsuccessful, asserting that the new laws provide a basis for their demands. The California law clarifies that it takes precedence over conflicting laws from other jurisdictions regarding looted artwork.
The lawsuits come as part of a broader context involving ongoing legal battles over looted art, including the case of Lilly Cassirer Neubauer, whose family has been fighting for the return of a painting by Camille Pissarro for two decades. California's new legislation was influenced by this case and aims to facilitate the return of art to original owners, regardless of the time elapsed since its seizure.
David Cassirer, a descendant of Lilly Cassirer, expressed pride in the new law's potential to help other families reclaim their art. The lawsuit regarding the Babbitt watercolors states that they were created under coercion and that the family seeks their return from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, which argues that the paintings are vital documentation of Mengele's crimes.
The Jewish Federation's lawsuit regarding the "Adam and Eve" paintings notes that they were seized from art dealer Jacques Goudstikker by Hermann Göring and later sold to the Norton Simon Museum. The lawsuit claims that Marei von Saher, Goudstikker's heir, has transferred her rights to the paintings to Gryczman and the Federation, which plans to use proceeds from any return to support Holocaust survivors in Los Angeles.
The Norton Simon Art Foundation has stated it is reviewing the lawsuit and maintains that it has proper title to the diptych, citing previous court confirmations. The ongoing legal disputes highlight the complexities surrounding the restitution of art looted during the Holocaust, with various cases still pending in U.S. courts, including the Cassirer family's claim to the Pissarro painting, which is set for a hearing next month.