Two recent lawsuits were filed in Los Angeles over artworks taken from Jewish families during World War II. One lawsuit involves the Norton Simon Museum’s display of “Adam and Eve” by Lucas Cranach the Elder, while another seeks the return of watercolors painted by Holocaust survivor Dinah Gottliebova Babbitt for Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. The cases follow changes in California law that strengthen claims involving looted artwork, as part of an ongoing effort to recover items seized by Nazis from 1933 to 1945.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In May 2019, heirs of Holocaust victims filed two lawsuits in California against prominent museums over Nazi-looted artworks. One case, initiated by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and its board chair Daniel Gryczman, targets the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena for the return of "Adam and Eve," two life-size oil-on-panel paintings created by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1530. Another lawsuit filed by the daughters of Holocaust survivor Dina Gottliebova Babbitt demands the surrender of watercolor portraits she was forced to create for Nazi physician Josef Mengele, known as "the Angel of Death," while imprisoned at Auschwitz.
These lawsuits were prompted by recent changes in California and federal laws that bolster claims for artwork forcibly taken from Jewish families during World War II. The Norton Simon Museum maintains legal ownership of the paintings based on a 2018 federal court ruling, but representatives like Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel argue public institutions should consider historical context deeply. Despite efforts to resolve the disputes, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review lower court decisions in May 2019, leaving those rulings intact.
Written for “Holocaust Art Restitution Suits” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Two lawsuits were recently filed following changes to California and federal law that strengthened the ability to pursue US-based claims involving artwork taken from Jewish families during World War II.
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that → file → II
One of the cases, filed this week in Los Angeles Superior Court by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and its board, renews a dispute with the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena over “Adam and Eve,” a pair of life-size oil-on-panel paintings created by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1530.
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One → file → 1530
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Sign → sign → California
A separate lawsuit was filed the same day in federal court in Los Angeles by the daughters of Dinah Gottliebova Babbitt, a Holocaust survivor and California-based animator who was imprisoned at Auschwitz.
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who → file → Auschwitz
Babbitt was forced to paint watercolors of fellow prisoners for Josef Mengele, the Nazi physician known as the “Angel of Death.”
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Babbitt → force → Death
Her daughters are now seeking the return of those works.
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daughters → seek → works
Neither lawsuit specifies the value of the artwork at the center of the disputes.
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lawsuit → specify → disputes
Representatives for the museums maintain that their institutions have legal title to the artwork and intend to continue displaying the pieces to the public.
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institutions → maintain → public
The Norton Simon Museum pointed to a 2018 federal court decision that unanimously found the museum held proper title to the Cranach paintings.
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museum → point → paintings
The US Supreme Court declined to take up the dispute in May 2019, leaving the lower court rulings intact.
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Court → decline → rulings
According to the museum, the paintings originally belonged to the Russian noble Stroganov family before the Soviet Union put them up for sale at an illicit Berlin auction in 1931, where they were purchased by art dealer Jacques Goudstikker.
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they → accord → Goudstikker
Following a complicated ownership history, a descendant of the Stroganovs eventually sold the paintings to the museum, which later restored and preserved them.
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which → follow → them
“For nearly 50 years, they have been on view at the Norton Simon Museum and will continue to be accessible to the public for years to come,” the museum said in a statement.
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museum → continue → statement
The cases are part of a broader and often complicated effort to recover art looted by the Nazis.
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cases → complicate → Nazis
From 1933 to 1945, the Nazi regime seized more than 600,000 works of art across Europe from Jewish families, collectors and museums in what has been described as the largest art theft in history.
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what → seize → history
More than eight decades later, some of those works remain in major museums around the world.
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some → remain → world
Their disputed ownership has fueled legal and ethical battles between Jewish families seeking the return of property taken during the Holocaust and museums that maintain they legally acquired the works and have a responsibility to preserve and display them.
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they → dispute → them
California lawmakers have also sought to change how those disputes are handled in court.
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disputes → seek → court
Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel (D-Woodland Hills) authored Assembly Bill 2867, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in September 2024.
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Newsom → author → September
The legislation requires California law to be applied in lawsuits brought by state residents or their heirs seeking the recovery of artwork taken during the Holocaust or other acts of persecution.
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legislation → require → persecution
Gabriel, who co-chairs the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, introduced the measure following a federal court ruling that allowed the state-owned Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid to retain a multimillion-dollar Impressionist painting by Camille Pissarro.
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Museum → co → Pissarro
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