Just before the release of a George Clooney film about the search for art plundered during World War II, US officials announced plans to repatriate to Poland a Johann Conrad Seekatz painting stolen by the Nazis.

Officials declined to say more about the painting by the 18th-century German artist, known for his military and landscape paintings, but said they hoped the film would bring more attention to art stolen during the war.

“When the movie comes out, there’s going to be more people looking at (artwork) in their homes that a family relative may have passed down through generations, that may not actually belong to them,” said Nicole Navas, a spokeswoman for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“If members of the American public question the provenance of cultural objects from World War II in their possession, they are urged to call Homeland Security Investigations.”

Officials with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division and Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara’s office were to present the painting to Poland’s US ambassador and consul general at a ceremony in Manhattan yesterday.

The film stars American actors George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray and John Goodman, and French actor Jean Dujardin. It recounts the true story of a US military unit of art historians who recovered artwork stolen by the Nazis and returned it to the original owners.

The original seven so-called Monument Men returned millions of pieces of art stolen during World War II. This week, the Dallas, Texas-based Monument Men Foundation, which continues the group’s work, issued a “most wanted list” of stolen artwork.

Navas said Homeland Security Investigations have been actively involved with the Monument Men Foundation for more than a year.

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