Acquisition by Prescription of Paintings that Were the Subject of Seizure and Public Auction

Facts

- Jakob Goldschmidt, a German Jew, transferred ownership of his art collection to a bank (Danatbank) in 1931 as security for his debts. After the bank's bankruptcy in 1932, a portion of the collection was seized and sold at public auction in 1941 on the orders of the Nazi authorities. - Jakob Koerfer acquired two paintings from this collection during this public auction. - After Goldschmidt's death in 1955, his son brought an action to reclaim the paintings against Koerfer and his children.

Considerations

- The Federal Tribunal considers that the transfer of ownership as security, valid under German law, is not contrary to Swiss public policy and therefore should not be recharacterized as a simple pledge. - The public auction, although questionable, nevertheless allowed Koerfer to validly acquire ownership of the paintings according to the…