Return of Nazi loot is denied

A special German panel ruled Thursday against returning a valuable collection of rare posters stolen by the Nazis to the son of the artwork’s Jewish owner.

Peter Sachs was only a year old in 1938 when his father’s collection of 12,500 posters was seized and his family fled Germany for the United States.

Sachs, 69, of Sarasota, Fla., sought to have the posters returned to the family -- but the panel ruled against him, citing a letter from the man’s father and a 1960s-era compensation payment as grounds for keeping them in Germany.

The collection includes elaborate advertisements for exhibitions, cabarets and consumer products, as well as political propaganda -- all rare, with only small original print runs.