In a significant victory for justice and the memory of Holocaust victim Fritz Gr??nbaum, two pieces of art that were stolen by Nazis from the Jewish performer and collector were returned by New York prosecutors on Friday. The artworks, "Portrait of a Man" and "Girl with Black Hair," were surrendered by the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College, respectively. The estate of Fritz Gr??nbaum accepted the pieces, collectively valued at around $2.5 million, in a ceremony held in Manhattan.

Fritz Gr??nbaum, the son of a Jewish art dealer and a law school student, began his career as a performer in cabarets in Vienna in 1906. As the Nazis gained power, Gr??nbaum openly mocked them on stage, making him a target for their regime. In 1938, he was captured by Nazi officials, who forced him to give power of attorney to his wife and then coerced her into signing away their art collection, which included approximately 80 works by Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele. Gr??nbaum and his wife, Elizabeth, died in concentration camps.

The seized artworks reappeared in Switzerland in 1956 as part of a shady art deal involving members of the Nazi regime. They were subsequently sold in New York galleries. Over the years, ten of Schiele's works have been returned to Gr??nbaum's family, but one piece, "Russian War Prisoner," remains at the Art Institute of Chicago. The Chicago museum maintains that it was legally acquired, sparking an ongoing legal battle.

The return of the two artworks on Friday marked a significant milestone in the fight for restitution. Timothy Reif, Gr??nbaum's great-grandnephew and a federal judge in New York City, expressed gratitude to the Carnegie Museum of Art and Oberlin College for surrendering the pieces, stating that they had "done the right thing." Reif emphasized that the return of the artworks was not just a victory for justice but also a tribute to Fritz Gr??nbaum's bravery as an artist, collector, and opponent of Fascism.

The legal battle for the return of the artworks has been complex. In 2018, a New York judge ruled that two other Schiele works had to be turned over to Gr??nbaum's heirs under the Holocaust Expropriated Recovery Act. However, the Art Institute of Chicago disputes the ruling, citing a prior 2010 ruling from another federal judge that stated the Gr??nbaum family's Schiele art collection was "not looted" and had been sold by Gr??nbaum's sister-in-law. The Chicago museum successfully had a separate case thrown out in November 2022, arguing that the family had missed a lawsuit deadline under the Holocaust Expropriated Recovery Act.

Despite these challenges, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has continued to pursue the return of the artwork. The latest recovery of the two Schiele pieces was made possible through the efforts of the DA's Antiquities Trafficking Unit, and the artworks were voluntarily returned by the Allen Museum of Art at Oberlin College and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.

At a press conference, Bragg emphasized the importance of the recovered artworks in telling the stories of Holocaust victims. The Gr??nbaum family plans to auction off the drawings, with the proceeds going to support underrepresented artists. Timothy Reif, accompanied by his son Paul, expressed his gratitude for the return of the artworks, describing the experience as emotional and almost bringing him to tears.

While the return of the two artworks represents a significant step forward, the battle for the restitution of "Russian War Prisoner" from the Art Institute of Chicago continues. Prosecutors are currently fighting in court to recover the piece, and the museum maintains its lawful ownership of the artwork. The outcome of this ongoing legal battle will determine the complete restoration of Fritz Gr??nbaum's stolen art collection and further contribute to the pursuit of justice for Holocaust victims.