The problems of Nazi-looted possessions sold at auctions

Law360 Canada (January 6, 2026, 11:05 AM EST) --

James Palmer

Just as you are enjoying that beautiful impressionist painting on your wall and sitting comfortably on that Louis XV chaise longue, a letter arrives from a well-known auction house informing you that both the painting and the chaise longue may have been looted during the Second World War. How is that possible? You bought both objects at that same impeccable auction house, which is now informing you that their provenance research was not watertight after all.

In the letter, the auction house reassures you that there is nothing to worry about and that they are investigating the situation. The idea rushes through your head that Nazis — the essence of evil! — may have looted these items from the home of a persecuted family that the Nazis had put on a train to Auschwitz. The letter continues by asking if you would agree to share your contact information with the heirs of the alleged despoiled owner. Are you still sitting comfortably on that Louis XV chaise longue?

This is not a fantasy story. Nazi-looted art, furniture, jewellery and many other types of objects are still regularly offered for sale on the art market. It is possible that the sellers of these items were not able to establish whether a particular object was stolen before offering it for auction, but the question often arises whether the sellers should have been suspicious and withdrawn such an object from the auction.

In any case, the buyer cannot simply blame the auction house and ignore the issue, especially if the buyer is well-versed in the field of fine art and would have been able to verify the provenance as well. If there is merit to the claim of the despoiled person’s heirs, then the buyer and the auction house must seek a solution.

For the buyer, it can be a solution to return the item to the auction house and ask for a refund, if this is still possible. The time limit to do so varies from country to country, from between several months to several years from the date of the sale. Naturally, it stands to reason that auction houses should offer their clients more time to return any acquired items that were potentially looted by the Nazis, particularly if it is evident that the auction house could have done more thorough research about an object with a clearly suspicious provenance history.

The reality of the situation, however, is that once a looted item is sold at a public auction, the auction house and the current possessor only rarely help to seek a solution. Companies such as Mondex Corporation, which specializes in helping clients recover works of art and other assets that were looted during the Second World War, are often stymied by auction houses after finding out that a looted object was sold at auction.

Kamila Gourdie, president of Mondex, said that “for lower-value items, the process is almost always the same; Mondex writes to the auction house, informing the auction house about the facts which show that a sold item was looted. The auction house responds that they can forward this information to the buyer, hoping for a reply. Asking for the contact details of the buyer is futile, because of privacy restrictions. Excluding some rare exceptions, this is where the communication normally ends. For higher-value items, though, it may make sense for claimants to file a claim against the auction house to compel it to disclose information about the consignor and the buyer. Then further action can usually be taken.”

One would think that the fact that an auctioned object may have been looted by the Nazis should be sufficient for either the auction house or the buyer to seek a solution, but that is merely an idealistic point of view. In these cases, auction houses often hide behind the privacy of their clients, and clients often hide behind the fact that they do not have to share their contact details with claimants. As a result, the possessor can often keep a looted item stashed away in the hope that no one will make the whereabouts public. This should change, sooner than later, keeping in mind that in 2017, a U.S. court concluded that the organized plunder of Jewish property by Nazis was “part of the genocide of the Jewish people during the Holocaust and, accordingly, violated international law” (Philipp v. Fed. Republic of Germany, 248 F. Supp. 3d 59 (D.D.C. 2017)).

Are you still sitting comfortably on that Louis XV chaise longue? You can still act. Contact the auction house or the claimants. Discuss the situation. Find a solution. And the next time you buy something at an auction, ask the auction house to indemnify you from any possible future claims. Such protection may encourage auction houses to invest more resources into more thorough provenance research and bring a welcome change for us all.

James Palmer established Mondex Corporation in 1993. Driven to do work of meaning, in 1998, encouraged by the Washington Principles, James worked to develop Mondex’s expertise to include the restitution of looted art and other cultural property. Since then, Mondex has cooperated with ministries of culture in the Netherlands, France, Germany and Poland to help shape their restitution policies. James completed his studies at the Canadian universities of York, Laurentian and Western, as well as the University of Nice in France and Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. He holds an honours BA and an MBA, and currently acts as a consultant for Mondex. The author would like to thank Dr. Waldemar de Boer for his contribution to this article

The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

Interested in writing for us? To learn more about how you can add your voice to Law360 Canada contact Analysis Editor Peter Carter at peter.carter@lexisnexis.ca or call 647-776-6740.