Nazi Art

       This Morning an article on nbc,com caught my eye, it said, "Bern Art Museum: 'We will not touch looted Art." The Bern Art Museum is in Bern Switzerland and there was an issue with the museum being the soul heir of the son of Hitler's art dealer, Cornelius Gurlitt. The collection was first discovered in 2012 in an investigation pertaining to tax evasion but it was not publicly announced until recently.  When the collection came to the museum it was in poor condition, according to BBC news who also published an article on their website this morning. The BBC also said that the paintings had been housed in a barn basement and some were in very poor condition and may need to be restored. The problem however is that the museum has only agreed to shelter the collection, not to accession it. on nbc.com a spokesman for the museum says, "Looted art and art which has suspected of being looted will not be touched by the Bern Museum. ... They would be absolutely inappropriate in light of the art collection's history."
         The collection includes pieces by Monet, Picasso, Renoir and many others. It is kept in an undisclosed location while the Bern Museum tries to locate the owners, but as the BBC reporter said it is a legal nightmare. on top of the obvious, one of Gurlitt's cousins is questioning his soundness of mind when he wrote his will. How is the museum supposed to track down the owners of art which have been in Nazi possession for years? Even if the correct owner could be found they are most likely dead by now and then who gets the art? I will attach the sources below. How long do you think finding the rightful owners is going to take? Is this a task that can ever truly be completed? And if no rightful owner can be located should the museum accession it into its own collection?

NBC video
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/bern-art-musuem-we-will-not-touch-looted-art-n254821

BBC article
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30176190