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14 Willamette J. Int'l L. & Dis. Res. 243 (2006)
Avoidance and Resolution of Cultural Heritage Disputes: Recovery of Art Looted during the Holocaust

handle is hein.journals/wildisres14 and id is 247 raw text is: AVOIDANCE AND RESOLUTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE DISPUTES: RECOVERY OF ART LOOTED DURING THE HOLOCAUST LAWRENCE M. KAYE* I. Intro duction ................................................................................................. 24 3 II. Litigating Holocaust Artw ork Cases .......................................................... 252 A . Locating the A rtw ork ............................................................................. 253 B. Establishing the Right to M ake a Claim ................................................. 256 C. Passage of Time: The Statute of Limitations .......................................... 258 III. C ase E xam ples ........................................................................................... 26 1 A. United States v. Portrait of Wally .......................................................... 261 B. Republic ofAustria v. Altmann .............................................................. 264 C. Leonard Malewicz et al. v. City of Amsterdam ....................................... 266 D. United States v. Femme en Blanc ........................................................... 266 E. Cassirer v. Kingdom of Spain et al ......................................................... 267 IV . C onclu sion ................................................................................................ 26 8 I. INTRODUCTION The Nazi art confiscation program has been called the greatest displacement of art in human history.' The volume of artworks stolen by the Nazis during World War II from both museums and private collections throughout Europe is astounding. This wholesale pillaging * Mr. Kaye is a partner in the New York law firm of Herrick, Feinstein LLP, and the co- chair of the firm's Art Law Group. Mr. Kaye and his firm have represented foreign governments, heirs of victims of the Holocaust, families of renowned artists and other claimants in connection with the recovery of antiquities. Mr. Kaye and his firm currently represent the heir of Jacques Goudstikker in her efforts to recover Nazi looted art, the heirs of Kazimir Malevich in Leonard Malewicz, et al. v. City of Amsterdam, 362 F. Supp. 2d 298 (D.D.C. 2005), and the heirs of Lea Bondi in United States v. Portrait of Wally, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6445 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 11, 2002), all of which are discussed in this article and are currently pending. Mr. Kaye would like to thank the Group's associates, Mari-Claudia Jim~nez and Frank K. Lord IV, for their assistance in the preparation of this article. This article is based on remarks delivered by the author at the Cultural Heritage Conference held at Willamette University on October 14, 2006. 1. See MICHAEL J. BAZYLER, HOLOCAUST JUSTICE: THE BATrLE FOR RESTITUTION IN AMERICA'S COURTS 202 (N.Y. University Press 2003) [hereinafter BAZYLER].