Laws help victims of the Holocaust

CALIFORNIA: New Nakano measure extends deadline on statute of limitations for filing claims for stolen property in state courts.

By Michael Gardner
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

Maria Altmann has been struggling for years to recover artwork the Nazis took from her family during the Holocaust.

The Los Angeles woman, married just six weeks before the German Army invaded Austria and forced the couple to “flee for our lives,” has been able to find some of the paintings.

But time is running out for many like her who must contend with a maze of international bureaucracies to prove that stolen valuables in museums and private collections rightfully belong to them.

On Thursday, Gov. Gray Davis signed legislation that will give victims more time to research and document lost art before a statute of limitations to file claims in state courts expires.

Wants justice

“Real justice for Holocaust victims and survivors includes restoring confiscated property to its rightful owners,” Davis said. “We owe it to the survivors and victims’ families to give them enough time to trace this precious property.”

The measure, AB 1758, was carried by Assemblyman George Nakano, D-Torrance. It will give owners 10 years, instead of three, to prove their claim.

Davis signed two more bills important to the Jewish community. One will establish the Center for Excellence on the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, Human Rights and Tolerance.

The center, which will be headquartered at California State University, Chico, will help develop Holocaust education programs for teachers and other community organizations.

Assemblyman Paul Koretz, the son of a Holocaust survivor, carried AB 2003. The West Hollywood Democrat said future generations must “understand the important lessons of these horrific events.”

The third bill in the package provides that any Holocaust restitution payments be tax-free. Restitution also would not be taken into account when determining financial need for Medi-Cal, public assistance, disability or education benefits, under AB 989 by Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, D-Alameda.

Nakano, who as a youngster during World War II was confined in an internment camp, said he understands the anguish of those who lost so much during the Holocaust.

Those asserting claims in the past have had to abandon the effort because of the three-year statute of limitations, he said.

Law promises judicial hope

Filing a claim is a tedious, time-consuming process, sometimes involving different countries and translating documents in several languages, Nakano said.

“In some situations time expires before a victim is even aware they have a claim to an art piece,” he said.

The statute of limitations starts running once a piece of art is discovered by the rightful owner. The legislation is retroactive, which will give new hope to those who had given up.

As for Altmann, she continues to pursue one prize, a nude painted by the famed Gustav Klimt that an Austrian museum claims as its own.

Now in her 80s, she longs to be reunited with this “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer.” Altmann is the niece of the sultry woman surrounded by gold. -