Welfenschatz: Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation appeals against admissibility decision
Press release from 04/21/2017
In February 2015, a U.S. federal district court, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., for the return of the Guelph Treasure (Philipp and Stiebel v. Federal Republic of Germany and Stiftung Preußischer Cultural Heritage). The SPK is of the opinion that this action should not be brought before a U.S. court.
On 31 March 2017, the court in Washington, D.C., declared the lawsuit admissible in some respects. SPK is appealing this decision today.
"The SPK is appealing the U.S. District Court's decision to deny in part our motion to dismiss for inadmissibility because we believe that this case does not belong in a U.S. court," said Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK. "We also remain of the opinion that the sale of the Guelph Treasure in 1935 was not a forced sale due to Nazi persecution and that the lawsuit is therefore also unfounded on the merits. We have come to this conclusion after thorough research. The Advisory Commission confirmed it and determined in 2014 that restitution would not be appropriate in this case. The SPK's long-standing practice shows that it is committed to fair and equitable solutions for the restitution of Nazi-looted property in accordance with the Washington Principles - this has not changed."
Since 1999, the SPK has processed more than 50 restitution applications and returned more than 350 works of art and more than 1,000 books to their rightful owners. These included a drawing by Vincent van Gogh, a work by Munch and "The Watzmann" by Caspar David Friedrich. SPK is represented in the proceedings in the United States by the law firm Wiggin and Dana.