Guarding the historical record from the Nazi-era art litigation tumbling toward the supreme court

When the modern wave of claims against museums to recover paintings “displaced” during the Nazi era began, I, as an academic, approached the claims cautiously because I assumed that our es-teemed institutions would not have knowingly profited from the spoli-ation of property belonging to millions of persecuted refugees. I was wrong. I have come to understand, based on objective, historically sound records, that a significant number of our museums during and in the aftermath of the Holocaust actively acquired art that they knew or should have recognized likely came from Jewish homes and busi-nesses. These museums acquired this exquisite art despite widespread knowledge of Nazi looting and governmental warnings about the in-fection of the art market. Now, museums are using American courts to shut down inquiries into such art’s history by blocking claims on technical grounds, contrary to their own ethics guidelines and U.S. executive policy.