[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 8, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7226-S7227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HOLOCAUST LOOTED ART RETRIEVAL

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, moving to yet another subject, there is a 
major miscarriage of justice currently being perpetrated on the victims 
of the Holocaust and their survivors. The Washington Post, 2 weeks ago 
Sunday, on June 28, pointed out that Holocaust survivors and their 
heirs are battling museums and governments for the return of thousands 
of pieces of looted art, despite pledges made by dozens of countries 
and Washington a decade ago to resolve the claims.
  At a major conference underway in Prague, delegates from 49 countries 
acknowledged that Jews continue to be stymied in their efforts to 
reclaim art that was stolen by the Nazis and later transferred to 
museums and galleries around the world, especially in Europe. An 
estimated 100,000 artworks, from invaluable masterpieces to items of 
mostly sentimental value, remain lost or beyond legal research of their 
victimized owners and descendants.
  Stuart Eizenstat, head of the U.S. delegation to the conference said:

       This is one of our last chances to inject a new sense of 
     justice into this issue before it's too late for Holocaust 
     victims.

  The article goes on to point out that:

       In December 1998, after many world-famous museums were 
     found to have Nazi-tainted art in their collections, 
     representatives from 44 countries met in Washington and 
     endorsed guidelines for investigating claims of stolen items 
     and returning them to their rightful owners.

  Notwithstanding that international determination, the program has not 
been carried out.
  The article goes on to cite the case involving Mr. Michael Klepetar, 
a real estate project manager from Prague, who has been trying for 9 
years to persuade the Czech National Gallery to relinquish 43 paintings 
that once belonged to his great uncle, Richard Popper, a prominent 
collector who was deported to Poland and perished in the Jewish ghetto 
in the city of Lodz. Popper's wife and daughter also died in the Nazi 
camps. The National Gallery in Czechoslovakia has refused to part with 
the paintings, citing a law adopted in 2000 by the Czech Government 
that entitles only Holocaust victims or their ``direct descendants'' to 
file claims for the property. The Ministry of Culture in Czechoslovakia 
has classified 13 of the looted artworks as ``cultural treasures,'' a 
designation that prevents them from being taken out of the country.
  Mr. Klepetar went on to point out the salient underlying factor:

       This country--

  Referring to Czechoslovakia--

     like most of the region, has always been anti-semitic through 
     the centuries. The only difference now is that it's not 
     politically correct. That's the root of the whole problem.

  I am writing today to Secretary of State Clinton asking her to use 
the persuasive power of the Department of State to rectify this 
problem. I am also writing to the State Department legal counselor, 
inquiring about what enforcement action might be taken in international 
legal tribunals to rectify this situation.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the Post article, and the 
copies of my letters to Secretary Clinton and the State Department 
legal adviser be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Washington Post, June 28, 2009]

     Jews Remain Stymied in Efforts To Reclaim Art Looted by Nazis

                          (By Craig Whitlock)

       Holocaust survivors and their heirs are still battling 
     museums and governments for the return of thousands of pieces 
     of looted art, despite pledges made by dozens of countries in 
     Washington a decade ago to resolve the claims.
       At a major conference underway here in Prague, delegates 
     from 49 countries acknowledged that Jews continue to be 
     stymied in their efforts to reclaim art that was stolen by 
     the Nazis and later transferred to museums and galleries 
     around the world, especially in Europe. An estimated 100,000 
     artworks, from invaluable masterpieces to items of mostly 
     sentimental value, remain lost or beyond legal reach of their 
     victimized owners and descendants.
       ``This is one of our last chances to inject a new sense of 
     justice into this issue before it's too late for Holocaust 
     victims,'' said Stuart Eizenstat, head of the U.S. delegation 
     to the conference and a former ambassador and deputy Treasury 
     secretary during the Clinton administration.
       The Holocaust Era Assets Conference, hosted by the Czech 
     Republic, is an attempt to revive a global campaign that 
     began 11 years ago to track down long-lost art collections 
     that were confiscated or acquired under dubious circumstances 
     during the Holocaust.
       In December 1998, after many world-famous museums were 
     found to have Nazi-tainted art in their collections, 
     representatives from 44 countries met in Washington and 
     endorsed guidelines for investigating claims of stolen items 
     and returning them to their rightful owners.
       The guidelines, known in the art world as the Washington 
     Principles, have eased the return of looted art in many 
     cases. Despite their endorsement by most European countries 
     and the United States, however, the guidelines are legally 
     nonbinding. They are also often ignored in practice by 
     museums and governments that profess in public to abide by 
     them, according to art experts.
       Michel Klepetar, a real-estate project manager from Prague, 
     has been trying for nine years to persuade the Czech National 
     Gallery to relinquish 43 paintings that once belonged to his 
     great-uncle, Richard Popper, a prominent collector who was 
     deported to Poland and perished in the Jewish ghetto in the 
     city of Lodz.
       Popper's wife and daughter also died in Nazi camps. 
     Klepetar, 62, and his brother are their closest living 
     relatives. But the National Gallery has refused to part with 
     the paintings, citing a law adopted in 2000 by the Czech 
     government that entitles only Holocaust victims or their 
     ``direct descendants'' to file claims for stolen property.
       In an interview, Klepetar argued that the Czech law was 
     unconstitutional, unethical and particularly unfair to Jews. 
     An estimated 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust; 
     many families were survived only by distant relatives.
       ``This country, like most of the region, had always been 
     anti-Semitic through the centuries,'' he said. ``The only 
     difference now is that it's not politically correct. That's 
     the root of the whole problem.''
       Klepetar's great-uncle had amassed a collection of 127 
     artworks--mostly Flemish and

[[Page S7227]]

     Dutch paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries--which 
     vanished after the war. In 2000, however, Klepetar said 
     someone leaked him part of a confidential Czech government 
     report on looted art that indicated 43 of the paintings had 
     been in the National Gallery's possession since the early 
     1950s.
       The National Gallery later acknowledged it had the 
     paintings but refused to divulge any details, such as how 
     they were acquired, their condition or their precise 
     location. Klepetar has pressed his claim in the Czech courts 
     for several years but has lost repeatedly because he is not 
     considered a direct descendant under the law.
       Tomas Jelinek, vice president of the Czech Committee for 
     Nazi Victims, said the government's decision to pass the 2000 
     law that limits who can file claims for Holocaust assets was 
     designed to protect public galleries and government 
     institutions.
       ``You have all these people in charge of the museums, and 
     they don't want to lose their assets,'' he said. ``There are 
     always people who say, `Why should we give these valuable 
     objects from our collections away?' ''
       Tomas Wiesner, director of galleries and museums for the 
     Czech Ministry of Culture, did not respond to requests for 
     comment.
       Art experts credited the Czech government with taking steps 
     to make it easier to find and return looted art. In 2001, for 
     instance, it established the Documentation Center for 
     Property Transfers of Cultural Assets of World War II 
     Victims, which maintains a public online database of artworks 
     in Czech museums that once may have been owned by Holocaust 
     victims.
       The database, however, offers limited information and is 
     hampered by spotty recordkeeping. For example, it lists only 
     eight of the 43 paintings in the National Gallery that were 
     part of Klepetar's family collection, even though the museum 
     has acknowledged it has the others as well.
       The Documentation Center also does not publish statistics 
     on how many claims have been filed on behalf of Holocaust 
     victims, or how many artworks have been returned. Helena 
     Krajcova, director of the center and co-chair of the looted-
     art panel for the Holocaust Era Assets Conference, did not 
     respond to requests for an interview.
       Czech officials have sometimes taken extraordinary legal 
     measures to prevent the return of looted art.
       In December, the American heirs of Emil Freund, a Prague 
     lawyer and collector who was killed during the Holocaust, 
     reacquired 32 paintings and drawings that had been in the 
     custody of the National Gallery for decades. But the Ministry 
     of Culture classified 13 of the looted artworks as cultural 
     treasures, a designation that prevents them from being taken 
     out of the country.
       Michaela Sidenberg, curator for visual art at the Jewish 
     Museum in Prague, a private institution, said Holocaust 
     survivors and their families are repeatedly stonewalled in 
     the Czech Republic, despite official policy to make it simple 
     for them to file claims for artwork taken by the Nazis.
       ``It's like a hot potato being thrown around,'' she said. 
     ``The claimants are kicked around from one bureaucracy to 
     another. Everybody is just looking for some alibi and to 
     avoid taking responsibility.''
       Asked about such criticism, Stefan Fule, the Czech 
     Republic's minister for European Union affairs, said his 
     government's hosting of the conference on Holocaust-era 
     assets demonstrates its dedication to resolving such claims 
     fairly.
       ``These are serious questions that need to be seriously 
     addressed,'' he said at a news briefing Friday. He declined 
     to say, however, whether the Czech government would consider 
     changing its laws so that distant relatives would be allowed 
     to inherit property stolen by the Nazis.
       In the meantime, Klepetar said he will keep pressing his 
     case for the return of his great-uncle's collection, even 
     though he predicted that there was ``almost zero'' chance 
     that the Czech government would change its laws or policies.
       ``No, no, I'm not going to give up,'' he said. ``It's the 
     principle. Like they say, a Jew should never let anyone 
     [defecate] on his head. And you can quote that.''
                                  ____



                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                     Washington, DC, July 8, 2009.
     Hon. Harold Koh
     Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC.
       Dear Dean Koh: With this letter, I am enclosing a copy of a 
     letter I am sending today to Secretary of State Clinton.
       I would appreciate it if you would review this situation to 
     determine if there is any legal action which could be brought 
     in international court to obtain the return of this artwork.
       I am delighted to see you at work on your new job after a 
     hard-fought confirmation battle.
       My best.
           Sincerely,
     Arlene Specter.
                                  ____



                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                     Washington, DC, July 8, 2009.
     Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton,
     Secretary of State, Department of State, Washington, DC.
       Dear Hillary: I write to call to your personal attention a 
     gross miscarriage of justice which is being perpetuated on 
     victims and survivors of Holocaust victims who are being 
     deprived of their rights to reacquire works of art illegally 
     confiscated by the Nazis.
       The situation is succinctly set forth in an article in the 
     Washington Post on June 28, 2009:
       ``Holocaust survivors and their heirs are battling museums 
     and governments for the return of thousands of pieces of 
     looted art, despite pledges made by dozens of countries in 
     Washington a decade ago to resolve the claims. At a major 
     conference underway in Prague, delegates from 49 countries 
     acknowledged that Jews continue to be stymied in their 
     efforts to reclaim art that was stolen by the Nazis and later 
     transferred to museums and galleries around the world, 
     especially in Europe. An estimated 100,000 artworks from 
     invaluable masterpieces to items of mostly sentimental value 
     remain lost or beyond legal reach of their victimized owners 
     and descendants.''
       Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, head of the U.S. delegation to 
     the Conference, said:
       ``This is one of our last chances to inject a new sense of 
     justice into this issue before it's too late for Holocaust 
     victims.''
       The article further specifies the unsuccessful efforts of 
     individuals to reclaim these works of art. One of those 
     individuals, Mr. Michael Klepetar, focuses on the underlying 
     reason:
       ``This country, like most of the region, had always been 
     anti-Semitic through the centuries. The only difference now 
     is that it's not politically correct. That's the root of the 
     whole problem.''
       The Czech Ministry of Culture classified 13 of the looted 
     artworks as cultural treasures, a designation that prevents 
     them from being taken out of the country. The Czech National 
     Gallery has refused to turn over these works of art citing a 
     2000 statute adopted by the Czech government which entitles 
     only Holocaust victims or their ``direct descendants'' to 
     file claims for the property.
       I request that you review this situation with a view to 
     bring whatever diplomatic pressure is possible in 
     Czechoslovakia and elsewhere to see to it that these works of 
     art are returned to the Holocaust victims or their survivors. 
     I am writing to Secretary of State Legal Adviser Harold Koh 
     asking him to determine if there is any way to initiate legal 
     proceedings in an international court to reclaim these works 
     of art in Czechoslovakia and elsewhere.
       For your review, I am enclosing the full text of the 
     Washington Post article.
       My best.
           Sincerely,
     Arlen Specter.

                          ____________________