it's not yours if someone else stole it

[summerskin]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/arts/design/28lawsuit.html

Can you prove they stole it? Was it legally yours to begin with? Are we talking Nazis going The Evil here?

If you can answer in the affirmative for the above questions, then, dear Hungary, you are screwing this family over.

See, I have all certainty that the governments of countries have it rough when random people ask for their (very expensive) artwork back. But the right response isn't to deny the family their (very expensive) artwork. That's just not the polite thing to do, and, to my mind, not something you should be so self-entitled about.

Honestly, if Germany and Austria are willing to do it, who are you, dear Hungary, to oppose it? It's not like it's this innovative thing to do. Someone stole something and dumped it in your country. The right course of action is not to fight tooth and nail for the stolen pieces, but rather to intelligently handle the situation and give back what is not yours. It's not a difficult concept.

Yes, the process, if you choose to do the right thing, will be troublesome every step of the way. I'm currently in the conservation and archiving and documenting section of a very big museum which used to be a castle that was occupied during the Nazi invasion of Europe. Museum pieces are scattered throughout the country. What we still have here can be difficult to catalogue at times. That's how things work without proper records and perky wars going on.

On the other hand, lawsuits cannot be fun. Also, dear Hungary, you have enough problems to deal with on a regular basis, so why add to that foreign involvement from country that are unwilling to let the issue drop? You know very well they will not let the latest ruling of the courts there stand. Just give it up and act in a dignified way.