THe law considers all sales after some point in 1933 to be coerced and therefore void. A sale in 1939 would necessarily have been coerced.
See my earlier post. If you agree that it makes sense that all 'duress' related contracts should not be nullified, then "[that] law is an ass".
That's a crappy law if it applies to sales to non-coercers. It would have the effect of discouraging folks in a position to help future persecutees if they could be forced to refund compensation for efforts made and risks taken.
In any case, the court's decision states that, facts aside, they don't believe the 1998 law creates a private cause of action.