LibGuides: World Cultural Assets: Ownership, Loss, Recovery, and Protection: Nazi-Looted Objects

Page Contents

Books

The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War by Lynn H. Nicholas
ISBN: 0679400699
Publication Date: 1994
"In this NBCC winner, first-time author Nichols documents Nazi Germany's attempt to cleanse Europe of its "degenerate" art and the Allies' effort to preserve the continent's cultural treasures. " (review from Publisher's Weekly)
Lost Lives, Lost Art: Jewish Collectors, Nazi Art Theft, and the Quest for Justice by Melissa Muller; Elie Wiesel (Foreword by); Ronald S. Lauder (Foreword by); Monika Tatzkow
ISBN: 9780865652637
Publication Date: 2010
Containing vivid images and illustrations this book provides an excellent collection of stories about the theft, conspiracy, and murder committed by the Nazi regime against the Jewish community.
Pack of Thieves by Richard Z. Chesnoff
ISBN: 0385720645
Publication Date: 2001
"While Switzerland has borne the brunt of much of the public criticism for serving as "Hitler's banker," Chesnoff makes it abundantly clear that people and governments in many countries took advantage of the plight of the Jews before and during WWII to enrich their coffers. From Swiss bankers to Italian insurance companies and the Swedish industrialist family Wallenberg (the uncles of Raoul), various parties were more than willing to cash in on the financial opportunities provided by the war. Indeed, by laundering money, numerous governments helped Germany prolong the war. Equally disheartening is how eager ordinary people were to move into houses and confiscate property that had been abandoned by Jews. Chesnoff, a senior correspondent with U.S. News & World Report, takes a country-by-country look at the wealth stolen from the Jews." (review taken from Publishers Weekly)
The Faustian Bargain by Jonathan Petropoulos
ISBN: 0195129644
Publication Date: 2000
A fascinating resource that explores the various motivations and thought processes behind the respected and talented art professionals who became accomplices to the Nazi regime. Specifically the book follows the careers of some of the most prominent art professional such as Ernst Buchner, Karl Haberstock, and Robert Scholz and their participation in Nazi art looting machine.
Returned from Russia: Nazi Archival Plunder in Western Europe and Recent Restitution Issues by Patricia K. Grimsted (Editor); F. J. Hoogewoud (Editor); Eric Ketelaar (Editor)
ISBN: 190398713X
Publication Date: 2007
An essential volume for research concerning Europe, Russia, archives and international law, this "volume tells the story of the largest theft of archives in history, a heist perpetrated first by Nazi agencies during World War II. Much of the plunder was then stolen a second time at the end of the war by the Soviet union under Stalin's orders and held in secret "Special Archives" for half a century in Moscow." "This book is a definitive account of how some, but not all, of the loot was eventually returned from Russia." (Elena S. Danielson - The American Archivist)
Nazi-Looted Jewish Archives in Moscow by David E. Fishman (Editor) et al.
ISBN: 9781589662209
Publication Date: 2011
"This English-language volume is a corrected and revised version of a 2005 Russian publication. Of particular interest to graduate students, scholars, and researchers in Jewish studies, it provides a comprehensive description of Jewish archives plundered by the Nazis during WW II that are now held by the Russian State Military Archive (RGVA)". (D. Herman - Choice Review)
America and the Return of Nazi Contraband: The Recovery of Europe's Cultural Treasures by Michael J. Kurtz
Call Number: 940.5405 K967a
ISBN: 9780521849821
Publication Date: 2006
Allied Looting in World War II: Thefts of Art, Manuscripts, Stamps and Jewelry in Europe by Kenneth D. Alford
Call Number: 940.5412 Al288a
ISBN: 9780786460533
Publication Date: 2011
Robbery and Restitution by Dean Martin; Constantin Goschler; Philipp Ther
ISBN: 1845450825
Publication Date: 2007
A collection of essays where historians outline the mechanisms and scope of the European-wide program of Nazi plunder and then assess the effectiveness and historical implications of post-war restitution efforts.
Hermann Goring and the Nazi Art Collection by Kenneth D. Alford
ISBN: 9780786468157
Publication Date: 2012
Alford's discussion of Hermann Goring's enormous art collection is primarily based on OSS papers donated to the National Gallery of Art by Williams College art historian S. Lane Faison, who, along with other US personnel, investigated and attempted to inventory the artworks sequestered and hidden by the Germans. Alford details the collection in a workmanlike manner, but there is no overarching thesis other than what previous researchers have claimed: Goring's taste, like that of others in Hitler's entourage, centered on the proven old masters and the dubious charms, often erotic, of 19th-20th-century realists. The study's most valuable parts are the appendixes, which contain inventories of what was removed from Goring's possession during and after his capture. (from Choice Review)
Lost Masters by Peter Harclerode; Brendan Pittaway
ISBN: 0575052546
Publication Date: 1999
Provides a broad overview of the Nazi's almost insatiable greed when plundering Europe's most prized and treasured cultural pieces. This book explores the stories of plundered art belonging to Jews and non-Jews alike.
Holocaust Restitution by Michael J. Bazyler (Editor); Roger P. Alford (Editor)
ISBN: 0814799434
Publication Date: 2005
From the summary, "Holocaust Restitutionis the first volume to present the Holocaust restitution movement directly from the viewpoints of the various parties involved in the campaigns and settlements. Now that the Holocaust restitution claims are closed, this work enjoys the benefits of hindsight to provide a definitive assessment of the movement."
The Strange Odyssey of Poland's National Treasures, 1939-1961 by Gordon Swoger
ISBN: 1550025155
"The war's end marks the beginning of a rivalry between Poland's wartime government-in-exile, operating out of London, and a newly established Communist government in Warsaw. While both sides vie for control of the treasures, their custodians in Canada spirit them away. Over the next 16 years the struggle ensnares the Roman Catholic Church, the RCMP, the federal government, and the Quebec government, led by the strong-willed Maurice Duplessis. All the while, the outcry from the people of Poland, who believe the treasures have been stolen by the very country meant to protect them, grows louder." (book jacket)
Spoils of War by Elizabeth Simpson
ISBN: 0810944693
Includes texts or excerpts of related treaties, conventions, and other official documents in the appendices.
Papers of a symposium sponsored by the Bard Graduate Center for the Decorative Arts, Jan. 1995, in New York.
Beautiful Loot: The Soviet Plunder of Europe's Art Treasures by Konstantin Akinsha
ISBN: 0679443894
When Akinsha and Kozlov say that they are describing "the most prodigious secret removal of looted cultural property in human history," they are not exaggerating. The authors document their claim with names, dates, and places involved in the Soviet theft of art treasures from Germany in 1945 and 1946, including Raphael's Sistine Madonna. Art objects were transported by truck and train back to Moscow in staggering quantities. (Soviet theft differed primarily in scale from comparable Nazi and Fascist thefts, and this book may be usefully read in conjunction with Lynn Nicholas's The Rape of Europa (CH, Nov'94) which deals with the fate of Europe's art treasures during the war.) But once they had stolen enough treasures to fill several museums, Soviet authorities lacked the courage to display them. As a result, these art works languished (and often were damaged) in various repositories. Selected paintings went on display in 1995; the legendary hoard of Trojan gold that is still hidden in Moscow may--or may not--go on display in 1996. All in all, this is an astonishing story, and art lovers everywhere owe Akinsha and Kozlov a debt of thanks for telling it. (J. M. Curtis - Choice Review)
Art Treasures and War by Wojciech Kowalski
ISBN: 0953169618
Publication Date: 1998
A study on the restitution of looted cultural property, pursuant to public international law.

Web Sources

Records of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR)

The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) was the largest of Nazi agencies engaged in the plundre of art, libraries, archives, and Judaica. The scattered records of this agency are often needed to ascertain whether an artwork was looted and, if documentation is available, learn the fate of such stolen works. Many web databases have been created in order to bring together these scattered original Nazi files in order to help find the hundreds of thousands of art, books, archives, and other cultural valuables that were stolen under the Nazi regime.

Reconstructing the Record of Nazi Cultural Plunder: A Survey of the Dispersed Archives of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) - This survey documents the current locations of all ERR records, detials their contents, and provides links to online sources. It has been published online and is also available via downloadable PDF.
Database of Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume - A searchable database which presents the original ERR registration cards for over 20,000 art objects, lists Nazi ERR code numbers, artwork titles, artists, and detailed descriptions of each work. Many entries include photos as well as a scan of the original Nazi record.
Archive OSHR from the Ukranian Central State Archive - Presented in Russian or Ukranian this database is the largest collection of ERR documents in the world - 140,000 pages. many documents describe individual items. Others list the number of crates from specific museums or libraries, detailing their origin, date of plunder, and where they were stored or relocated by the Nazis.

Other Web Sources

Descriptive Catalogue of Looted Judaica
A downloadable PDF, the Descriptive Catalogue of Looted Judaica provides for the first time since the end of WWII, a worldwide "snapshot" of what is known concerning the fate of Judaica that was spoliated by Nazi Germany and its allies. Topics include, the history of Nazi Judaica looting, restitution efforts after the war, projects to identify looted Judaica, relevant archives, a bibliography, and leading experts in the field.

Central Registry of Information on Looted Cultural Property - 1933-1945
A site that contains two fully searchable databases organized around Information and Objects. The Information database provides documentary record, laws, policies, and reports on looted cultural property. The Objects Database contains detials of over 25,000 objects.

International Research Portal for Records Related to Nazi Era Cultural Property
This portal is a collaboration of national and other archival institutions with records that pertain to Nazi-Era cultural property. Participating national archives include those of the U.S., United Kingdom, Beligum, and Germany. Participating institutions and organizations include the Univted States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Memorial de la Shoah.

The Art Loss Register
The world's largest database of stolen art.

Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal
Provides a searchable registry of objects in U.S. museum collections that changed hands in Continental Europe during the Nazi era (1933-1945).

Organizations & Associations

Claims Conference: The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany

The Claims Conference allocates funds to institutions that provide social services to elderly, needy Nazi victims and that engage in Holocaust research, education, and documentation. The Claims Conference negotiates for the return of and restitution for Jewish-owned properties and assets confiscated or destroyed by the Nazis.

Commission for Looted Art in Europe
An international organization that works to research, identify, and recover looted property on behalf of families, communities, institutions and governments worldwide.

International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR)
The International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR) is a not-for-profit educational and research organization dedicated to integrity in the visual arts. IFAR offers impartial and authoritative information on authenticity, ownership, theft, and other artistic, legal, and ethical issues concerning art objects.

Mounments Men Foundation
A foundation working to honor and locate the men and women who served in the Monumnets, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) section known as the "Mounments Men", an army division of art historicans, curators, and archivsits who worked to safeguard, protect, and return Europe and Russia's cultural property during and after WWII.