World War II ended more than 60 years ago, but lawyers and historians from across the country came to Lubbock Friday to speak about how they still fight for some of the war's victims.
The Museum of Texas Tech University and the Texas Tech University School of Law hosted a symposium from 9 a.m. until noon Friday in the museum's auditorium to discuss the legal and ethical issues related to the international restitution of stolen cultural property.
Speakers were Donald Burris, who practices law in California, Lawrence Kaye, who practices law in New York, and Marc Masurovsky, who co-founded the Holocaust Art Restitution Project in 1996. Burris and Kaye represent clients whose art was taken from their families during the Holocaust.
The symposium was moderated by Marilyn Phelan, the Paul Whitfield Horn professor of law at Tech.
She said in the present day, museums can support what the Nazis did by including looted art in their collections.
"It is important to study what happened so we can make sure it doesn't happen again," she said, "and rectify the atrocities against Jewish people."
Masurovsky began the symposium by discussing the geography of plunder and the international art market.
He said the death of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust means more than 6 million objects were stolen.
"These are economic crimes," he said, "and also crimes against humanity."
He explained the Nazis stole artwork and objects from the homes of Jews and other non-Aryans during World War II. These objects, he said, ended up in homes and businesses across Europe and the world in years following the war.
The value of art recovered in the last five years, he said, is estimated at $700 million.
He said the art was not stolen because Nazis did not understand its value, but for the opposite reason.
"The vast majority of the Nazi hierarchy understood art for its value," he said. "They didn't want Jews and non-Aryans to own it."
Masurovsky said the theft of art became institutionalized in Europe in 1938, and in the 1940s merchants struck deals with Germans for art.
It is for this stolen art, Masurovsky said, lawyers like Burris and Kaye fight.
"The restitution of art is very complicated," he said. "There's a huge catch-22 in returning art to their rightful owners. When the war ends, the last thing people think about is 'where's my painting?'"
Masurovsky said he believes the restitution of art has to be part of an international, political solution.
Burris spoke about three cases he has worked on for the restitution of stolen art.
In one case, he said, five paintings were retrieved from the Austrian government. The paintings sold for $327 million.
Burris, who was on the team of lawyers for the Watergate case in 1970s, said he feels the work he does now is the most important work he has done.
"I feel I'm in the profession of helping people," he said. "Everything pales in insignificance to the five years I've spent with Maria (Altmann, the client in the case against Austria)."
To the many law students in attendance, he had some words of advice.
"To you young lawyers and students, keep your chins up," Burris said. "I'm in the best profession there is."
Kaye said speaking at conferences such as the one hosted at Tech is important for the restitution of art.
"The more you publicize, the more you can accomplish in solving these cases," he said.
Recent publicity, Kaye said, has drawn attention to the problem of looted art.
"Only in the past 10 years has the problem of looted Holocaust art come out," he said. "It's becoming a very popular culture. So popular that it's part of pop culture, like on the show Numb3rs."
He said he hoped in speaking Friday he could give a flavor of the different cases that can arise in looted art and give people information on how they can succeed as the plaintiff in such a case.
"It's important that people know that there's looted art out there of all kinds," he said, "and understand at least in the U.S. there's law that says we can do something about it."
Burris said he hopes people came away with a similar message after Friday's symposium.
"I would hope that they will feel somewhat uplifted about what we've been able to accomplish for victims of Nazism," he said, "and that the underdog does not always lose."
Be the first to comment on this article!