Throughout the duration of World War Two, the violence of the war not only affected millions of people, but also countless works of precious art. Hitler ordered the destruction of any art he considered "degenerate", including any Jewish art. Jewish families that had bought or inherited priceless art were suddenly stripped of it and lost it forever. To this day, millions of dollars worth of art, gold, and jewelry misplaced during the war remain to be found. Below are some of the masterpieces that were either destroyed or lost during the war.
Failed Restitution
Some countries today don't want to return art stolen by the Nazis to their previous Jewish owners. The German Lost Art Foundation is measuring the progress of the restitution of art to Jewish families who were robbed during World War Two. Unfortunately, the process is often slow, frustrating, and sometimes fruitless. A representative from the German Lost Art Foundation pointed to five different countries that are not returning stolen art: Spain, Italy, Russia, Hungary, and Poland. These specific countries, according to the foundation, have made no moves towards restoring their looted art to Jewish families and Holocaust survivors.
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