The organised theft of fine art by Nazi Germany has captivated worldwide attention in the last 20 years. As much as any other topic arising out of World War Two, stolen art has proven to be an issue that simply will not go away. Newly found works of art pit survivors and their heirs against museums, foreign nations, and even their own family members. These stories are enduring because they speak to one of the core tragedies of the Nazi era: how a nation at the pinnacle of fine art and culture spawned a legalized culture of theft and plunder. 'A Tragic Fate' is the first book to seriously address the legal and ethical rules that have dictated the results of restitution claims between competing claimants to the same works of art.