NEW YORK, NY.- On May 24th, Consul General Georg Heindl presented Milton Esterow, the former long-time editor and publisher of ARTnews Magazine, and Andrew Decker, formerly a contributing editor to the magazine, each with a Cross of Honor for Science and Art, conferred by Austrian Federal President Heinz Fischer.

Both honorees have been deeply involved in the issues surrounding art looted by the Nazi authorities before and during WW II, and its restitution to its rightful owners and heirs.

Back in 1984, Milton Esterow was tipped off about the existence of a store of thousands of unclaimed works of art in the former monastery of Mauerbach near Vienna.

Esterow tasked reporter Andrew Decker with researching the story of this art trove. That same year, Decker published his findings on the art looted predominantly from Austrian Jews in a lengthy article titled “A Legacy of Shame: Nazi Art Loot in Austria”. He pointed out the shortcomings of the Austrian authorities in dealing with this legacy. Efforts to identify the owners and heirs of the art objects and enable them to receive their property back had been largely insufficient.

Decker's article prompted a discussion within Austria which led to the passing of a law, in 1985, which represented a new push for finding owners. A decade later, 1996, the works for which no claimants could be found were auctioned, and the proceeds given to organizations that benefit victims of National Socialist persecution. Two years on, in 1998, Austria was the first country to pass a comprehensive law on the restitution of art objects plundered by the Nazi authorities. This achievement was a result of the change in attitude among the Austrian public and its elected leaders, which Esterow and Decker’s initiative helped bring about.

Consul General Heindl commended the two upon presenting them with their medals: “A great thanks to you. You contributed to Austria facing its past honestly and thereby becoming, in a way, a better country."