Nazi Art Looting: Sixth Circuit Cloaks Nazi-Era Atrocities in Sovereign Immunity

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The United States won World War II. As part of the postwar cleanup, the US did everything in its power to undo the damage the Nazis had wrought. Nowhere was this damage more atrocious than in what the Nazis inflicted on the Jewish minority. The Jews were a non-violent, law abiding minority. Nazis expropriated and murdered them wholesale.

Some escaped. Some watched helplessly from abroad as their relatives were murdered. Such was the fate of the Westfield family. Residents of Tennessee, their relative was murdered, his assets auctioned off, the money went to finance the Nazi war machine.

In 1954, the Second Circuit, at the behest of the U.S. State Department, stripped the Nazis of sovereign immunity.

On February 2, 2011, the Nazis got sovereign immunity back in Westfield v. Federal Republic of Germany (6th Cir.).

I have posted the Westfield case below and the full text of the Second Circuit's Bernstein case.   This appears to be a circuit split over whether the Nazis were a criminal conspiracy or whether they were a legitimate government, a question that was resolved against the Nazis at Nuremberg in 1946 in the negative.

The Sixth Circuit did not cite Bernstein, nor did it cite Republic of Austria v. Altmann.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Austria_v._Altmann

The Sixth Circuit held that murdering Westfield and auctioning off his art collection (part of which is at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts), did not have a "direct effect" in the United States, even though the Nazis knew that his heirs resided in Tennessee.   Art museums in the U.S. today are actively concealing their role in laundering artworks stolen by the Nazis and battling all efforts at disclosure of Nazi-era and post War collecting practices.  U.S. museums now claim that they have a "fiduciary duty" to conceal documents and research relating to the provenance of stolen artworks in their collections and to force dispossessed Holocaust survivors and their heirs to litigate to track the artworks.

The U.S. State Department should intervene in the case and ask the Sixth Circuit to reconsider in light of Bernstein.   Tennessee shouldn't be the only state in the U.S. that lost World War II.

Westfield v Fed Rep of Germany 6th Circuit Feb 2 2011

210 F.2d 375

BERNSTEIN, v. N. V. NEDERLANDSCHE- AMERIKAANSCHE STOOMVAART- MAATSCHAPPIJ

(Chemical Bank& Trust Co., Third-Party Defendant). No. 21193.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.
Submitted Jan. 11, 1954.
Decided Feb. 5, 1954.
Bennet, House & Couts, New York City, for plaintiff-petitioner; Victor House, Albert I. Edelman and Werner Ilsen, New York City, of counsel.
Burlingham, Hupper & Kennedy, New York City, for defendant Holland-America Line; Harold M. Kennedy, and Harvey C. Allen, Jr., New York City, of counsel.

Sherman & Sterling & Wright, New York City, for Third-Party Defendant, Chemical Bank & Trust Company; John A. Wilson, M. VanVoorhies and Edmond K. Leach, New York City, of counsel.

Petition to amend the mandate of this court handed down in a prior appeal in this case, 173 F.2d 71. Petition granted.

Before AUGUSTUS N. HAND, CLARK and FRANK, Circuit Judges.

Petition to amend the mandate of this court handed down in a prior appeal in this case, 173 F.2d 71. Petition granted.

PER CURIAM.

In the prior appeal in this case, 173 F.2d 71, 75-76, because of the lack of a definitive expression of Executive Policy, we felt constrained to follow the decision of this court in Bernstein v. Van Heyghen Freres Societe Anonyme, 2 Cir., 163 F.2d 246, certiorari denied 332 U.S. 772, 68 S.Ct. 88, 92 L.Ed. 357, by ordering the plaintiff to refrain from alleging matters which would cause the court to pass on the validity of acts of officials of the German government. Following our decision, however, the State Department issued Press Release No. 296 on April 27, 1949, entitled: 'Jurisdiction of United States Courts Re Suits for Identifiable Property Involved in Nazi Forced Transfers.' The substance of this Release follows:
2

'As a matter of general interest, the Department publishes herewith a copy of a letter of April 13, 1949 from Jack B. Tate, Acting Legal Advisor, Department of State, to the Attorneys for the plaintiff in Civil Action No. 31-555 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
3
'The letter repeats this Government's opposition to forcible acts of dispossession of a discriminatory and confiscatory nature practiced by the Germans on the countries or peoples subject to their controls; states that it is this Government's policy to undo the forced transfers and restitute identifiable property to the victims of Nazi persecution wrongfully deprived of such property; and sets forth that the policy of the Executive, with respect to claims asserted in the United States for restitution of such property, is to relieve American courts from any restraint upon the exercise of their jurisdiction to pass upon the validity of the acts of Nazi officials.'
4
The letter from Mr. Tate is then quoted, pertinent parts of which follow:
5
'1. This Government has consistently opposed the forcible acts of dispossession of a discriminatory and confiscatory nature practiced by the Germans on the countries or people subject to their controls. * * *
6
'3. The policy of the Executive, with respect to claims asserted in the United States for the restitution of identifiable property (or compensation in lieu thereof) lost through force, coercion, or duress as a result of Nazi persecution in German, is to relieve American courts from any restraint upon the exercise of their jurisdiction to pass upon the validity of the acts of Nazi officials.'
7
In view of this supervening expression of Executive Policy, we amend our mandate in this case by striking out all restraints based on the inability of the court to pass on acts of officials in Germany during the period in question. See 173 F.2d at pages 75-76. This will permit the district court to accept the Release in evidence and conduct the trial of this case without regard to the restraint we previously placed upon it.
.
 Purchase Copyright Litigation Handbook 2010 by Raymond J. Dowd from West here  

Request for Information: Where did MoMA Get This Paul Westheim Portrait by Otto Dix?

Can anyone tell us where the MoMA got this Portrait of Paul Westheim (1923) by Otto Dix?  Westheim was one of Germany's leading art critics, art dealers and an art collector whose collection was stolen during World War II while he was interned in French Concentration Camps.  According to scholars, Westheim spent the remainder of his life looking for the artworks that had been stolen from him by Charlotte Weidler.

MoMA won't reveal where it got this work from, so we'd appreciate any information on its provenance.  Another genius of 20th Century Art whose existence has practically been erased from the pages of history.

Below is what happens when you take Paul Westheim's Wikipedia page and hit "translate" from the German.

Paul Westheim Paul West home

aus Wikipedia, der freien Enzyklopädie From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Paul Westheim (* 7. August 1886 in Eschwege ; † 21. Dezember 1963 in Berlin ) war ein deutsch-jüdischer Kunstschriftsteller, Herausgeber und Kritiker. Paul West Home ( August 7 1886 in Eschwege , † December 21 1963 in Berlin ) was a German-Jewish art critic, editor and critic. Paul Westheim war mit der Übersetzerin und Dichterin Mariana Frenk-Westheim verheiratet. Paul West was home with the translator and poet Mariana Frenk-West home married.

Inhaltsverzeichnis Contents [Verbergen]

1 Studium und kulturhistorische Arbeit A cultural study and work
2 Flucht und Exil 2 Escape and Exile
3 Werke ( eine Auswahl ) 3 Works (selection)
4 Literatur 4 Literature
5 Weblinks 5 References
6 Einzelnachweise 6 References

Studium und kulturhistorische Arbeit [ Bearbeiten ] studies and cultural work [ edit ]

Er studierte Kunstgeschichte an der TH Darmstadt und der Universität Berlin . He studied art history at the TH Darmstadt and the University of Berlin . Während seiner Studienzeit war er Schüler von Heinrich Wölfflin und Wilhelm Worringer . During his studies he was a student of Heinrich Wolfflin and Worringer . Von 1917 bis 1933 gab er das Kunstblatt heraus, in dem er Beiträge der expressionistischen Maler Wilhelm Lehmbruck , Oskar Kokoschka , Otto Dix und Pablo Picasso veröffentlichte. From 1917 to 1933, he gave out the art sheet in which he reviews the expressionist painter Wilhelm Lehmbruck , Oskar Kokoschka , Otto Dix and Pablo Picasso published. Er gab darüber hinaus die Mappenwerke für Grafik Die Schaffenden , des Almanachs Europa und die Buchserie Orbis pictus heraus. He was also the portfolios for graphics, the creators, the almanac and the book series Orbis pictus out Europe. Paul Westheim verfasste zahlreiche grundlegende Monographien über die moderne Kunst des 20. Paul West wrote home many fundamental monographs on modern art from the 20th Jahrhunderts und sammelte selbst bedeutende Werke von George Grosz , Oskar Kokoschka , Ernst Ludwig Kirchner , Erich Heckel uva 1920 erschien seine Monographie über Oskar Kokoschka und 1931 Helden und Abenteurer . Century and gained even important works by George Grosz , Oskar Kokoschka , Ernst Ludwig Kirchner , Erich Heckel and others in 1920 appeared his monograph on Oskar Kokoschka and 1931 heroes and adventurers. Paul Westheim nutzte schon frühzeitig die modernen Kommunikationswege und wurde durch seine kunstkritischen Rundfunkbeiträge zu einem der führenden Kunstkritiker in Deutschland. Paul West, the home took advantage of early modern means of communication was through his art-critical radio review for one of the leading art critics in Germany. Er förderte junge Künstler durch Ausstellungen in seiner Berliner Galerie. He encouraged young artists through exhibitions in his Berlin gallery.

Flucht und Exil [ Bearbeiten ] Flight and exile [ edit ]

Auf Grund der politische Veränderungen nach 1933 emigrierte Westheim zunächst nach Frankreich . Due to the political changes after 1933 Westheim emigrated to France . Er musste seine Kunstsammlung zurücklassen, die er bei der befreundeten Charlotte Weidler versteckte. He had to leave his art collection, which he befriended at the Charlotte Weidler hidden. Er arbeitete für deutschsprachige Zeitungen und gab das Mitteilungsblatt des Freien Deutschen Künstlerbundes Freie Kunst und Literatur heraus. He was working for German newspapers and newsletter of the Free German artists were federal Liberal Arts and literature out of that. 1935 wurde Westheim die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft aberkannt. 1935 West home was stripped of German citizenship. Mit dem Kriegsbeginn des 2. With the start of the second war Weltkriegs wurde er jedoch sofort wegen seiner deutschen Herkunft inhaftiert. World War, he was quickly arrested because of his German origin. Er wurde in fünf verschiedenen französischen Internierungslagern festgehalten. He was held in five different French internment camps. Er selbst nannte ironisierend seine Gefangenschaft „seine Tour de France“. He called his imprisonment an ironic "his Tour de France". Durch einen glücklichen Zufall gelang ihm 1941 die Flucht aus einem Internierungslager, das Emergency Rescue Committee verhalf ihm zur Flucht aus Frankreich. By happy coincidence, in 1941 he succeeded in escaping from a detention center, the Emergency Rescue Committee helped him escape from France. 1941 erhielt der nunmehr fast erblindete Paul Westheim in Marseille ein Einreisevisum für Mexiko [1] . 1941 West home was the now almost blind Paul in Marseille for an entry visa for Mexico [1] . Er floh über Spanien und Portugal nach Mexiko. He fled through Spain and Portugal to Mexico.


1942 lernte Paul Westheim im Heinrich-Heine-Klub in Mexiko-Stadt die verwitwete Hispanistin Mariana Frenk kennen. 1942 West Paul got home in the Heinrich-Heine-club in Mexico City widowed Hispanistin Mariana Frenk know. 1959 heirateten beide. Both were married in 1959. Nach dem 2. After the second Weltkrieg verwehrten beide deutschen Staaten den als linksliberal eingestuften Paul Westheim die Remigration. World War denied both German states classified as left-liberal Paul West home, the re-migration. Charlotte Weidler brach 1945 den Kontakt zu ihm ab und verkaufte seine Sammlung. Charlotte Weidler in 1945 broke off contact with him and sold his collection. 1954 erhielt der bis dahin staatenlose Paul Westheim die mexikanische Staatsbürgerschaft . 1954, the then stateless until Paul West home, the Mexican citizenship . Paul Westheim verstarb während eines Besuchs 1963 in Berlin, der Stadt in der er nach eigenen Aussagen am liebsten gelebt hätte. Paul West, died during a visit home in 1963 in Berlin, the city where he had lived by his own statements at the most.

Westheim trat besonders für die Anerkennung des deutschen Expressionismus ein. West came home especially for the recognition of the German Expressionist one. Er veröffentlichte darüber hinaus Arbeiten über altmexikanische Kunst und indische Architektur. He also published works on ancient Mexican Indian art and architecture. Zu den bekanntesten Werken Paul Westheims gehören die Monographien über den deutschen expressionistischen Bildhauer Wilhelm Lehmbruck und den österreichischen expressionistischen Maler Oskar Kokoschka. The best-known works include the monographs Paul West home on the German expressionist sculptor Wilhelm Lehmbruck and the Austrian expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka. Große Anerkennung erfährt zudem das Lebenswerk Paul Westheims insbesondere in Mexiko. Great appreciation also learns the life work of Paul West home, particularly in Mexico.

Werke ( eine Auswahl ) [ Bearbeiten ] Works (a selection) [ edit ]

Der Tod in Mexiko . Death in Mexico. = la Calavera Müller & Kiepenheuer, Hanau/M. = La Calavera Müller & Kiepenheuer, Hanau / M. 1987, ISBN 3-7833-6400-0 . 1987, ISBN 3-7833-6400-0 .

Karton mit Säulen. Box with columns. Antifaschistische Kunstkritik . Anti-Fascist art criticism. Kiepenheuer, Leipzig 1985, 1. Kiepenheuer, Leipzig 1985, 1 Aufl. Ed

Kunstkritik aus dem Exil . Art Criticism from exile. Müller & Kiepenheuer, Hanau/M. Müller & Kiepenheuer, Hanau / M. 1985, ISBN 3-7833-6507-4 . 1985, ISBN 3-7833-6507-4 .

Heil Kadlatz. Kadlatz salvation. Der Lebensweg eines alten Kämpfers; Roman . The life of an ancient warrior, Roman. Rogner und Bernhard, München 1977, ISBN 3-8077-0083-8 Rogner and Bernhard, München 1977, ISBN 3-8077-0083-8

Die Kunst Alt-Mexikos . The art of old Mexico. Dumont, Köln 1966 Dumont, Cologne 1966

Otto Mueller. Otto Mueller. 1874-1934, Aquarelle, Kreiden, Lithographien . 1874-1934, watercolors, pastels, lithographs. Galerie Schwarzer, Hamburg 2004 (Repr. d. Ausg. 1954) Black Gallery, Hamburg 2004 (Repr ed d. 1954)

La calavera . La calavera. Übersetzung Mariana Frenk, Antigua Librería Robredo, Mexiko 1953 Translation Mariana Frenk, Antigua Librería Robredo, Mexico 1953

Arte antiguo de México . Arte antiguo de México. Übersetzung Mariana Frenk , Fondo de Cultura , Mexiko, Buenos Aires 1950, Neuauflage Económica Alianza Ed., Madrid 1988, ISBN 84-206-7067-7 Translation Mariana Frenk, Fondo de Cultura, Mexico, Buenos Aires 1950, new edition Económica Alianza Ed., Madrid 1988, ISBN 84-206-7067-7

"Innere Angelegenheit" . "Internal affair". Aufsatz in Warum schweigt die Welt? Hrsg Berthold Jacob , Mit Beitr. von Carl von Ossietzky ; Georg Bernhard ; W. Franck; Jack Iwo; Alfred Kantorowicz ; Rudolf Leonhard ; Paul Westheim, Editions du Phénix, Paris 1936 Essay in Why the world is silent? Eds Berthold Jacob , With contributions by Carl von Ossietzky , Georg Bernhard , W. Franck, Jack Iwo; Alfred Kantorowicz , Rudolf Leonhard , Paul West home, Editions du Phénix, Paris 1936

Rassenschande: Novelle . Racial shame: novella. Ed. Ed. du Phénix, Paris 1935 du Phénix, Paris 1935

Helden und Abenteurer: Welt u. Leben d. Künstler . Heroes and adventurers: the world and life d. artist. Verlag Reckendorf, Berlin 1930/1931 Publisher Reckendorf, Berlin 1930/1931

Für und wider: kritische Anmerkungen zur Kunst d. Gegenwart . For and against: critical comments on the art d. present. Kiepenheuer, Potsdam 1923 Kiepenheuer, Potsdam 1923

Das Holzschnittbuch . The woodcut book. Kiepenheuer , Potsdam 1921, Reprint Rogner und Bernhard 1977 u. Mann Verlag, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7861-2324-1 Kiepenheuer, Potsdam, 1921, edition Rogner and Bernhard in 1977 and Mann Verlag, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-7861-2324-1

Die Welt als Vorstellung: ein Weg zur Kunstanschauung . The world as representation: a way to view art. Kiepenheuer, Potsdam 1919 Kiepenheuer, Potsdam 1919

Literatur [ Bearbeiten ] [ edit ] References

Walther Killy , Rudolf Vierhaus (Hrsg.): Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie . Walther Killy , Rudolf Vierhaus (ed.): German Biographical Encyclopedia . Saur, München 1998, ISBN 3-598-23160-1 , S. 459. Saur, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-598-23160-1 , p. 459th

Melissa Müller , Monika Tatzkow: Verlorene Bilder, verlorene Leben – Jüdische Sammler und was aus ihren Kunstwerken wurde . Melissa Mueller , Monika Tatzkow: Lost images of life lost - Jewish collectors and what became of her artworks. Elisabeth-Sandmann-Verlag, München, 2008, ISBN 978-3938045305 (zum Verbleib seiner bei Charlotte Weidler deponierten Sammlung). Elisabeth Sandmann Verlag, Munich, 2008, ISBN 978-3938045305 (for his whereabouts at Charlotte Weidler deposited library).

Rolf Tauscher: Literarische Satire des Exils gegen Nationalsozialismus und Hitlerdeutschland. Rolf Tauscher: Literary satire of exile against National Socialism and Hitler's Germany. Von FG Alexan bis Paul Westheim . FG Alexander and Paul West home. Verlag Dr. Kovač, Hamburg 1992, ISBN 3-86064-062-3 (zugleich Habilitations-Schrift, Universität Halle 1991). Verlag Dr. Kovač, Hamburg 1992, ISBN 3-86064-062-3 (also written habilitation, University Hall 1991). S. 86–89 (zu Rassenschande ), S. 132–136 (zu Heil Kadlatz! ). P. 86-89 (to racial shame), p. 132-136 (for healing Kadlatz!).

Weblinks [ Bearbeiten ] References [ edit ]

Literatur von und über Paul Westheim im Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek ( Datensatz zu Paul Westheim • PICA-Datensatz • Apper-Personensuche ) Works by Paul West home in the catalog of the German National Library ( West home record to Paul • PICA-Record • apperceptive People Search )

Einzelnachweise [ Bearbeiten ] References [ edit ]

↑ siehe Artikel zum mexikanischen Konsul in Marseille Gilberto Bosques ↑ see article to the Mexican consul in Marseilles Gilberto Bosques

Normdaten : PND : 119291320 – weitere Informationen
LCCN : n 82089534
VIAF : 64034784 Standard data: PND : 119291320 - more info
LCCN : 82089534 n
VIAF : 64034784

Personendaten Retrieved

NAME NAME Westheim, Paul Home West, Paul

KURZBESCHREIBUNG Help Kunstschriftsteller und Kritiker Art writer and critic

GEBURTSDATUM Help 7. 7th August 1886 August 1886

GEBURTSORT People Eschwege Eschwege

STERBEDATUM Deaths 21. 21st Dezember 1963 December 1963

STERBEORT Deaths Berlin Berlin

Von „ http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Westheim “ Retrieved from " http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Westheim "

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