US helps families of Holocaust victims recover stolen Nazi works of art

British actress Helen Mirren joined the US lawmakers who help Holocaust victims and their families recover the values ​​that were stolen during World War II. Decades later, after the Nazi robberies, many pieces of art remain in galleries and private collections.

Helen Mirren became interested in this topic while she starred in the film Woman in Gold. The film tells the story of a woman who was not afraid to fight for a picture taken from her family during the Holocaust: “This story would not have been possible without an amazing country - the United States of America. These are American stories - stories about the honesty and power of the United States. "

At the Senate hearings headed by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, the Oscar-winning actress stressed that returning objects of art to their rightful owners is the only correct decision: “It’s a very sad fact that until now, more than seventy years later, the victims of the Holocaust and their families wondering if they should fight for restitution of what was stolen and lost under monstrous circumstances. ”

Lack of transparency and legal restrictions are an obstacle for many legitimate owners when trying to reclaim their inheritance. One of the victims, Simon Goodman, told American lawmakers that he had been fighting for the return of his grandfather’s collection for 20 years:

“Fritz Goodman was killed in the Theresienstadt camp in April 1944, but only in 1994, when my father died, I learned from his correspondence that he tried alone - and unsuccessfully - to return the scattered collection of his father, my grandfather.”

One of the most common obstacles faced by victims is the limitation period of the crime. Lawyers insist that the statute of limitations for crimes committed during the Holocaust, no.

“Like the prosecution of those who committed genocide, the crimes of the Holocaust should not have a statute of limitations - so the cases involving the theft of property during the genocide and the Holocaust should not have a statute of limitation,” argues Agnes Perectegi from the Commission on Return of Values.

The bill "On the return of art objects stolen in the Holocaust" was supported by both parties. By becoming law, it will allow the victims of Nazi confiscations to be protected from lawsuits related to the statute of limitations and other procedural delays.

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