The US judiciary rejects a lawsuit by the heirs of Jewish merchants about the Guelph Treasure

---

The US Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit filed by heirs of Jewish merchants regarding artefacts known as the Guelph Treasure that the German Nazis bought 85 years ago from Jewish merchants, with an estimated value of $250 million.

The court ruled unanimously to dismiss the case, and justified its decision that it is not authorized to consider this type of complaint, while the heirs said that the confiscation of property was accompanied by "violations of international law.

According to the heirs, the art collection that was in the possession of their Jewish ancestors in 1929 was sold in 1935 to the Nazi German government under pressure, and in response, the Supreme Court said that the then Nazi government had seized property from German citizens, making this an internal affair of the country.

The heirs filed the lawsuit 12 years ago before a court in the American capital, Washington, DC, with the aim of suing Germany and a German museum and recovering the treasure, while Germany opposed the opening of this case and considered it not within the jurisdiction of the American legal system.

The Guelph Treasure is a collection of medieval Jewish Church art that is now the property of the Porus Foundation for Cultural Heritage and is on display at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin.