Military policemen Pfc. Matt Carlson (left), Detroit, Mich., and Pfc. Sy Herold (right), New York, N.Y., look over one of Lady Astor’s Van Dyke paintings Remagen, Germany on July 7, 1945, value at $50,000, which was part of the loot discovered in the home of Dr. Rudolph Reppert, local Nazi leader. (AP Photo/Peter J. Carroll)
Jumping further into what appears to be growing international efforts by Jewish heirs to reclaim artwork looted by Nazis during World War II, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday an international conference, to be held in May during the 75th anniversary of V-E Day, that he said will seek to help victims of Nazi-era crimes recover stolen property.
The conference will aim to bring more “common understanding” among the international community to “abstract phrases such as Nazi confiscated art, forced sale and sale under duress,” according to a state webpage describing the upcoming event. Those terms and others like them often underlie what can be protracted and difficult litigation over the provenance and rightful ownership of valuable art that changed hands during and in the run-up to World War II as the Nazis stormed different parts of Europe.
