ICYMI: Sen. Cruz Leads Efforts to Return Nazi-Stolen Art to Rightful Heirs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday chaired a hearing titled ‘Reuniting Victims with Their Lost Heritage,’ focused on S. 2763, The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act. Sen. Cruz introduced the HEAR Act in April, along with Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

The Dallas Morning News: Helen Mirren, Ted Cruz Among Those Pushing for Senate Help for Families Who Lost Art to Nazis

Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz co-authored the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016, introduced in April, which would reset the statute of limitations, giving families six years to pursue claims once looted items are identified…Cruz, in his opening statement, said, “the quest to reunite the families of Holocaust victims with their stolen heritage is ultimately a quest to help them reclaim a tangible link to a happier time in their family’s history — a time before the darkness of the Holocaust. That is far more valuable than whatever economic value the works of art or cultural artifacts might have today. Indeed, that is priceless.”

The Texas Tribune: Cornyn, Cruz Push for Recovery of Nazi-Stolen Artwork

Decades after the Nazis confiscated the paintings and artwork of thousands of Holocaust victims, Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn are setting aside their fractious relationship and teaming up to make it easier for descendants to recover their heirlooms. Under the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act, co-sponsored by the two Texans and Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, families who locate stolen artwork would have six years to sue for its recovery. Currently, many states have statutes of limitation that foreclose lawsuits. 

The New York Times: Senate Bill Would Help Recover Art Stolen by Nazis

A bipartisan collection of senators said on Tuesday that it was their moral obligation to ensure that Holocaust victims could recover art confiscated from them during World War II and, in many cases, still hanging in museums and private collections more than 70 years later…Mr. Cruz said the Senate bill would “help ensure that claims for the restitution of Nazi-looted art are adjudicated based on the facts and merits, and are not short-circuited by technical or nonmerits defenses that often work to the disadvantage of Holocaust victims and their families.”

Washington Free Beacon: U.S. Museums Trying to Keep Jewish Artwork Stolen by Nazis

Museums across the world, including in the United States, have been trying to run out the clock on legal statutes that would compel them to return high-priced works of art to Jewish victims of the Holocaust who had these precious items stolen by the Nazis during World War II, according to testimony before Congress…Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), a chief advocate of the new legislation to recover these artworks, said in prepared remarks that hundreds of thousands of items were looted by the Nazis and subsequently sold on both legitimate and black markets. “Over 70 years later—we are still trying to cope with the consequences of the Holocaust,” Cruz said. “One consequence that we are here today to address is the Nazis’ looting of hundreds of thousands of works of art and other cultural property in what has been described as the ‘greatest displacement of art in human history.’”

Breitbart: Helen Mirren Joins Ted Cruz in Legislative Effort to Return Art Stolen by Nazis to Rightful Owners

Republican Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn teamed with two Democrats, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Richard Bluemnthal (D-CT), in introducing the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act in April. The bill would extend the statute of limitations for theft victims’ claims to six years from notification of the stolen artwork’s discovery.

Newsweek: Helen Mirren Joins Ted Cruz to Push for Return of Art Stolen by Nazis

The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act would set a six-year statute of limitations on claims for Nazi-era stolen art, which would begin upon discovery of the art. Currently, lawyers for people and institutions accused of owning the art have argued that the statute begins when the Nazi-era crime was committed—during World War II. In some states, that statute expires after only a few years. “Over 70 years later, we’re still trying to cope with the consequences of the Holocaust,” Cruz said during the hearing. “This bill will help ensure that claims for restitution of Nazi-looted art are adjudicated based on the actual facts and merits” and not “by technical or non-merits defenses that far too often work to the disadvantage of Holocaust victims and their families.”

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