Heirs press bid to recover Nazi-looted Cranach panels and Mengele-era watercolors from California museums

Two lawsuits in California seek the return of Nazi-looted art: Lucas Cranach the Elder’s Adam and Eve panels at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena and watercolors by Gottliebova Babbitt created under coercion at Auschwitz. Brought by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and survivors’ heirs, the actions rely on newly enacted state and federal laws intended to expand restitution for Holocaust-era theft, while the museums argue they hold valid title and public-display rights. The plaintiffs say the works were stolen by the Nazis and should be returned, with proceeds directed to survivors and related restitution efforts.