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New Bipartisan Senate Bill Will Help Holocaust Survivors and Families Recover Stolen Art

A bipartisan bill to help Holocaust survivors and their families recover artwork looted by the Nazis has been introduced in the Senate.

The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016 was introduced by Sen. John Cornyn (R – Texas), and co-sponsored by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D – N.Y.) Richard Blumenthal (D – Conn.) and Ted Cruz (R – Texas). It would give families seeking to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945 a wider window in which to press their claims.

“71 years after the end of the Holocaust and Hitler’s terrifying regime, victims are still identifying possessions that have been missing all these years,” Schumer said in a statement. “When a family discovers a piece of art that was stolen by the Nazis they deserve their day in court. This legislation helps provide these families their day in court, ensuring that the heirs of Holocaust victims are given the opportunity to bring their art back home.”

“The phrase ‘never forget’ is more than a slogan,” Cruz’s statement began. “‘Never forget’ means working to right all the terrible injustices of the Holocaust, even if many decades have passed. The HEAR Act will empower the victims of this horrific persecution, and help ensure that our legal system does everything it can to redress the widespread looting of cultural property by the Third Reich as part of its genocidal campaign against the Jewish people and other groups.”

Cruz added that in the wake of terrorist groups like ISIS looting and destroying ancient artifacts, the bill “will make it clear that the United States takes a strong stand against the looting and trafficking of antiquities and other artifacts.”

[Photo: Conservative Outlook / YouTube ]