Washington, DC – On Monday, April 13, after years of advocacy by Representative Jerrold Nadler (NY-12) and the Jewish families whose artworks were looted by the Nazis, the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act of 2025 was signed into law. Representative Nadler, the lead House Democratic sponsor of the legislation, released the following statement:

“Finally, after years of bipartisan and bicameral effort, the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025 is the law of the land.

“More than 100,000 works of art that were stolen by the Nazis from Jewish families during the Holocaust remain unrecovered. Together we confronted this unacceptable and repugnant reality, which continued to allow entities and individuals to profit off the Jewish people’s pain. Now this new law will further help these families in their legal battles to seek justice in our courts.

“I was proud to lead efforts to pass the original HEAR Act in 2016 that fought back and began to bring justice to victims’ families, and I was honored to continue the fight as the lead House Democratic sponsor of the updated legislation that was signed into law this week. This final step in turning the bill into law marks the culmination of our efforts that began more than ten years ago.

“In the United States, every victim and family member with a credible claim deserves to have their day in court, with their case heard on the merits alone. Justice will no longer be denied due to procedural technicalities and legislative sunset provisions.

“While we cannot reverse the horrors of the Holocaust, we can ensure that in an American courtroom, the truth of a family’s legacy carries more weight than a legal loophole.”

                                                                                                                              ###