On April 13, 2026, President Donald J. Trump enacted the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act, a measure advocates say will significantly boost efforts to return cultural treasures stolen from Jewish families during the Holocaust.
The Republican Jewish Coalition, which made this legislation a top priority during the current congressional session, reported that the measure garnered support from both parties in both chambers of Congress.
Key congressional figures backing the initiative included Senator John Cornyn, who played a role in advancing and reinforcing the legislation, alongside Representative Laurel Lee and Senator Ted Cruz.
Joel Greenberg, who leads Art Ashes, emphasized that this new law maintains ongoing responsibility for Holocaust-era atrocities. “Holocaust crimes can never be forgotten; and, with its passage, will not be erased by time. We are grateful for the bipartisan legislative process, including the White House, that has ensured a fair and just path to restitution for Holocaust survivors and their families,” Greenberg stated.
This legislation enhances a previous 2016 statute and aims to broaden judicial access for Holocaust victims and their descendants. The law curtails the application of technical legal defenses, particularly those related to statutes of limitations or concealment issues, while also reducing dependence on international legal systems that have hindered recovery efforts.
Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, noted the symbolic importance of the signing date, which coincided with Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day. “It is deeply meaningful that on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, President Trump signed the HEAR ACT—landmark legislation to extend and improve the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016—into law,” Brooks commented.
Brooks highlighted how this legislation aids families who have spent years pursuing their claims. “The HEAR Act empowers family members, who have fought for decades, to recover artwork stolen from Jews by the Nazi regime during the Second World War,” he explained.
Brooks also commended the president’s commitment to the legislation. “President Trump has consistently proven to be the best friend of the Jewish people ever to occupy the Oval Office, and his signature today ratifies the truth: the passage of time can never diminish the injustice of crimes committed by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust.”
