The restitution of Nazi-looted art is still often treated as a moral or political issue. In his article, however, Raymond J. Dowd argues that it is far more than that: it is a clear obligation under international law. The 2024 Best Practices for the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, he writes, should not be dismissed as inconsequential “soft law,” but understood as part of a fundamental legal principle: war and persecution must not be allowed to generate lasting profit. If European states are serious about meeting their international and treaty obligations, they must actively enable restitution — both through the exercise of state authority and by opening their courts to legal claims.

Read the article: Taking the Profit Out of War: Why International Law Requires Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art

Die Restitution von NS-Raubkunst wird noch immer oft als moralische oder politische Frage behandelt. Raymond J. Dowd macht in seinem Artikel jedoch deutlich, dass es um weit mehr geht: um eine klare Verpflichtung aus dem internationalen Recht. Die 2024 verabschiedeten Best Practices for the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art seien, so Dowd, keineswegs als folgenloses „Soft Law“ abzutun, sondern als Ausdruck eines grundlegenden Rechtsprinzips zu verstehen: Krieg und Verfolgung dürfen keinen dauerhaften Gewinn erzeugen. Wenn europäische Staaten ihre völkerrechtlichen und vertraglichen Verpflichtungen ernst nehmen, müssen sie Restitution aktiv ermöglichen — sowohl durch staatliches Handeln als auch durch den Zugang zu Gerichten.

Nachfolgend der übersetzte Artikel als PDF.
Taking the Profit Out of War_ Why International Law Requires Rest de

On January 14, 2026, the Art Institute of Chicago presented oral argument in its appeal against a New York court order directing the return of Egon Schiele’s Russian Prisoner of War to the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum.

For the Grünbaum heirs, the appeal is not merely about ownership of a single drawing, but about accountability: whether decades of possession and market transactions can erase the reality of Nazi looting, and whether the law will continue to recognize the rights of families whose property was taken through persecution, coercion, and murder.

The phrase “Die Brettl, die Musik bedeuten” uses Brettl in its historical Viennese sense: it refers to the (cabaret) stage—the small “Brettl-Bühne” where songs, satire, and sharp social observation were performed up close.

Die Brettl, die Musik bedeuten
8 April 2026 · 18:30
Arnold Schönberg Center, Zaunergasse 1–3, 1030 Vienna

Cornelia Horak, soprano
Foivos Kyriakoudis, piano
Nathan Meltzer, violin
Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz, recitation & host

Arnold Schönberg, Alexander Zemlinsky: Brettl songs
Aliayta Foon-Dancoes: Schwarzes Mädchen (Austrian premiere)
Works by Edmund Eysler, Fritz Kreisler, Franz Lehár, and Robert Stolz
Texts by Fritz Grünbaum

The correspondences between Schönberg and Fritz Grünbaum, one of the leading cabaret artists of the era, go beyond mere contemporaneity. Schönberg composed—like Alexander Zemlinsky— “Brettl-Lieder” [Cabaret Songs] and was by no means averse to the high-quality operetta for which Grünbaum wrote numerous libretti. Their artistic interests also converged in the visual arts: Schönberg was an aspiring painter, while Grünbaum was one of the most important art collectors of his time.

The concert will be broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube and will be available for seven days afterwards.

An Event by the Fischer Grünbaum Foundation
In Cooperation with the Arnold Schönberg Center

Tickets available: https://schoenberg.at/de/veranstaltungen/aktuelle-veranstaltungen/3792/die-brettl-die-musik-bedeuten#anmeldung
Infos in german: https://schoenberg.at/de/veranstaltungen/aktuelle-veranstaltungen/3792/die-brettl-die-musik-bedeuten

On June 15, 2025, a Stolperstein (Stone of Remembrance) was laid in front of Náměstí Svobody 19 in Brno — the birthplace of Fritz Grünbaum. Born in 1880, Grünbaum became one of the most celebrated cabaret artists of his time, a sharp-witted satirist, poet, and passionate art collector. In 1938, he was arrested by the Nazis, deported to Dachau, and later murdered in the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1941.

Stolpersteine are part of a Europe-wide project by German artist Gunter Demnig, commemorating individuals persecuted by the Nazi regime. While traditionally placed at the last freely chosen residence of a victim, Grünbaum’s Stolperstein is located at his birthplace — a symbolic act to reclaim public space for his memory and to restore his name to the streets of the city where his life began.

The laying of this stone not only honors his life and tragic death, but also reminds us of what was taken from him — including his extensive and significant art collection, much of which remains missing or disputed to this day.

This video documents the ceremony in Brno and contributes to the ongoing effort to remember, to restore, and to demand justice.

Egon Schiele’s Russian Prisoner had been in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago since 1966. The drawing, which dates from 1916, was originally owned by the Jewish-Austrian collector Fritz Grünbaum and must now be returned to his heirs, according to a ruling by a court in New York.

Erben fordern einvernehmliche Rückgabe von zwölf Schiele-Werken durch die Republik Österreich

Bei einer Versteigerung durch das renommierte Auktionshaus Christie’s in London erzielte gestern, 5. März 2025, Egon Schieles Aquarell „Boy in a Sailor Suit“ (1914) einen Erlös von € 3,240 000,-. Das Werk stammt aus der Sammlung des Wiener Kabarettisten Fritz Grünbaum (1880–1941), der sich offen gegen das NS-Regime stellte und 1941 in einem Konzentrationslager ermordet wurde.

Heirs demand the consensual return of twelve Schiele works by the Republic of Austria

At an auction held by the renowned auction house Christie’s in London yesterday, March 5, 2025, Egon Schiele’s watercolor “Boy in a Sailor Suit” (1914) fetched € 3,240 000,-. The work comes from the collection of the Viennese cabaret artist Fritz Grünbaum (1880-1941), who openly opposed the Nazi regime and was murdered in a concentration camp in 1941.

Christie’s, which values the work at more than $1 million, said the proceeds from any sale would be shared with the heirs of an art collector killed in a concentration camp.

An Article by By Catherine Hickley, New York Times

The heirs of collector Fritz Grünbaum have won back other Schieles from American Museums
An article by Brian Boucher, Artnet

An Egon Schiele drawing that was stolen by the Nazis from Austrian Jewish cabaret performer Fritz Grünbaum will soon come to auction at Christie’s London, after the owner’s heirs successfully lobbied for the work’s return.

Does the 1907 Hague Convention on land warfare require signatory countries to open courts to claims for restitution of nazi-looted art?
A Meditation on Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation and Why a european directive could fix this horrible mess.

Written by Raymond J. Dowd for KUR-Kunst und Recht, Volume 26 (2024), Issue 5-6