The definitive book on the looted Nazi art trade
Recently, the Gurlitt case showed yet again that the scandalous dealing in looted Nazi art continues in Germany to this day. After 1945, Albert Speer and other Nazi heavyweights brazenly sold questionable paintings through the German art market; German museums continue to stockpile thousands of artworks that were once expropriated or extorted for ridiculously low prices; inventories of looted art that remained in Germany’s possession after the Second World War were never restored to their rightful owners or their heirs.
Legislators failed to tackle the question of looted art. Even worse: an unholy alliance of inadequate laws, unscrupulous owners of looted works, dealers, museums, auction houses and gallerists has ensured that looted Nazi art continues to be traded to this day.
In 2009, Stefan Koldehoff wrote a “superbly researched and written” (Götz Aly) book about looted Nazi art and its scandalous trade. The book was highly praised, yet none of the problems it described have been solved. Now, it is once again available — fully updated and with an extensive new chapter on the Gurlitt case. More relevant than ever.
“A book of great relevance, for it uncovers massive oversights and calls for consequences, so that dealing in looted Nazi art becomes impossible and artworks of uncertain origin no longer remain on display in German museums without raising questions.” – BR 2
