Swiss Not Retunring Nazi Era Looted Art

Over the past few months we have seen some very good examples of artwork stolen from Jewish families during Nazi occupations being returned to the rightful owners and heirs.  There are many governments, police departments and private organizations actively looking for, tracking and working on either returning artworks or arranging settlements to the families who had art work stolen and plunder during the Nazi era of control.

Unfortunately, there is a situation in Switzerland where there is a known stolen John Constable painting called the Valley of the Stour and it appears it will not be returned.  The painting was confiscated from a Jewish family in France and sold at auction.  The painting is now said to be worth close to $1 million.

According to legal experts who were brought in to review the case, Switzerland has no restitution agreement, and the painting was donated with specific terms and restrictions to the local museum in La Chaux-de Fonds. The Swiss legal opinion is as there is no restitution agreement and due to the restrictive terms of the donation, the Constable can not be returned.

So, the Swiss are claiming because there is no restitution agreement (I wonder why not)  and restrictions in the will the painting can not be returned. A Swiss paper mentioned the decision was in line with the Washington conference on Nazi-confiscated art, and also mentioned, it was purchased in good faith.  OK, perhaps they can make a case for not returning the stolen Constable, but why not some form of settlement.  Perhaps from Swiss law there is no legal need for a return or settlement, but the morally right and ethical approach for the Swiss government as they continue to show the painting is to come to an acceptable settlement with the family.  In my mind I find the Swiss rationale a rather poor and unconscionable excuse for not returning what amounts to stolen property to the rightful owners regardless of Swiss law.

The Associated Press article states

When a relative of the original owner claimed the painting in 2006, the city near Switzerland's western border with France sought two expert legal opinions in the case.

"The first one explains that under Swiss law there is no obligation of restitution," Gogniat said Thursday. The second one concludes that the city is bound by the will of Madeleine Junod, who bestowed the painting along with a series of others to the city in 1986, he said.

Under the will, her collection has to be housed in a specific room of the city's Fine Arts Museum and not to be split up.

"So we don't have the right to return it," Gogniat said.

The painting, which today has an estimated value of around 1 million Swiss francs ($958,000), was confiscated from the Paris home of Anna Jaffe after she died in 1942 at age 90, according to a press release by the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds.

It was in a collection taken by French Vichy authorities who were collaborating with the Nazis and was auctioned the following year and subsequently changed hands several times.

The London-based Central Registry of Information on Looted Cultural Property says Jaffe, a British Jew living in France, had a large collection of artworks that included paintings from famous artists, such as Goya, Rembrandt and Turner.

"Vichy-imposed laws mandated that all Jewish properties were to be confiscated and sold at public auctions," it said.

The auction took place in July 1943 in Nice, France, according to the registry.

To read the Associated Press article, click HERE.