Austrian Government to Expand Art Restitution Program

VIENNA—The Austrian government has announced it will broaden current rules governing the restitution of artworks and other property looted by Nazis during World War II to apply to private foundations following criticism from the country's Jewish community, reports Reuters.

As of now, such institutions, including, notably, Vienna's Leopold Museum, have been exempt from claims for art seized during the Nazi period.

Debate was revived after Austria's Jewish community leader, Ariel Muzicant, said in a television interview last month that the Leopold Museum should be shut down until the law was changed. Although classified as a private foundation, the major tourist attraction is state-funded. Founded by Egon Schiele expert Rudolf Leopold, the museum is home to the Schiele painting Haeuser am Meer, which has been claimed by a family in Britain. One report estimates the value of the work, which was seized by Nazis in 1938, at $15 million.

"I have never extorted from anyone and never bought anything that I knew had been Jewish property," Leopold told an Austrian paper last week.

The government is also seeking to extend the historical period covered by the law, from the current start date of 1938, when Hitler annexed Austria, to 1933, when he first came to power in Germany. It is unclear how much more property will be addressed by the change.