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Plunder and Survival: Stories of Theft, Loss, Recovery, and Migration of Nazi Uprooted Art
- GenresNonfictionHistory
240 pages, Hardcover
Published October 16, 2025
2 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Suzanne Loebl
17 books2 followersFor as long as I can remember, I have loved putting pen to paper, never dreaming that some day writing would provide my livelihood. As it turned out, writing did become my career—but not right away. First I studied chemistry, worked as a biochemist, married, and became a mother. Eventually I wrote and published my first book, Fighting the Unseen: The Story of Viruses . Since then, I have written a variety of books, each one related to my special expertise as science and art writer, or to important events in my life.
Each of my fourteen books filled a special need. When my children were in their teens, I wrote young adult books whose content enriched the science curriculum of middle schools. In 1975, long before the subject became an acceptable topic for this age group, I wrote about conception and contraception for young adults. This got me interested in infertility. Why Can't We Have a Baby?, co-authored with fertility specialist Albert Decker, MD, was one of America's first patient education books dealing with the topic. Actually, its publication date was also the birthday of the first test-tube baby. When my mother-in-law died of a fatal drug interaction, I spent five years developing The Nurse's Drug Handbook, whose seven editions—350,000+ copies—taught generations of nurses to become more cognizant of the benefits and pitfalls of modern pharmacology.
Arthritis has been called the world’s oldest disease. Fortunately, its treatment progressed dramatically while I was the science editor of The Arthritis Foundation. During my seven-year-long tenure I witnessed the development of new surgical techniques that allow surgeons to replace diseased hips, knees and other joints destroyed by the disease. The treatment of arthritis with drugs and physical therapy also improved dramatically. All this new information resulted in two books dealing with rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, which I coauthored with physicians practicing at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Art and its history always fascinated me. America's Medicis: The Rockefellers and Their Astonishing Cultural Legacy (HarperCollins, 2010) examines the entirety of the art-related donations the family made to their native land. America's Art Museums: A Travelers Guide to Great Collections Large and Small (W.W. Norton, 2002) is my "love letter" to 160 museums scattered across America. One reader e-mailed me that the book inspired him to embark "on the trip of his lifetime."
My two memoirs are the books closest to my heart. At the Mercy of Strangers: Growing Up on the Edge of the Holocaust (1997) draws upon a diary I kept as a hidden child in Belgium during World War II. The book was the 1998 "Best Book for the Teen Age" choice of the New York Public Library, The Mothers' Group: Of Love, Loss and AIDS chronicles the lives of mothers and their fatally ill children at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. It is also a memoir to my son David, who did not let his illness dim his exuberance. Both books were translated into German.
Each of my fourteen books filled a special need. When my children were in their teens, I wrote young adult books whose content enriched the science curriculum of middle schools. In 1975, long before the subject became an acceptable topic for this age group, I wrote about conception and contraception for young adults. This got me interested in infertility. Why Can't We Have a Baby?, co-authored with fertility specialist Albert Decker, MD, was one of America's first patient education books dealing with the topic. Actually, its publication date was also the birthday of the first test-tube baby. When my mother-in-law died of a fatal drug interaction, I spent five years developing The Nurse's Drug Handbook, whose seven editions—350,000+ copies—taught generations of nurses to become more cognizant of the benefits and pitfalls of modern pharmacology.
Arthritis has been called the world’s oldest disease. Fortunately, its treatment progressed dramatically while I was the science editor of The Arthritis Foundation. During my seven-year-long tenure I witnessed the development of new surgical techniques that allow surgeons to replace diseased hips, knees and other joints destroyed by the disease. The treatment of arthritis with drugs and physical therapy also improved dramatically. All this new information resulted in two books dealing with rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, which I coauthored with physicians practicing at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Art and its history always fascinated me. America's Medicis: The Rockefellers and Their Astonishing Cultural Legacy (HarperCollins, 2010) examines the entirety of the art-related donations the family made to their native land. America's Art Museums: A Travelers Guide to Great Collections Large and Small (W.W. Norton, 2002) is my "love letter" to 160 museums scattered across America. One reader e-mailed me that the book inspired him to embark "on the trip of his lifetime."
My two memoirs are the books closest to my heart. At the Mercy of Strangers: Growing Up on the Edge of the Holocaust (1997) draws upon a diary I kept as a hidden child in Belgium during World War II. The book was the 1998 "Best Book for the Teen Age" choice of the New York Public Library, The Mothers' Group: Of Love, Loss and AIDS chronicles the lives of mothers and their fatally ill children at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. It is also a memoir to my son David, who did not let his illness dim his exuberance. Both books were translated into German.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 6, 2025
This is an intimately personal, yet sweeping account of the lost art of World War II. The many anecdotes about families working to recover their late ancestors' collections were powerful, and the author does a great job celebrating successful restitutions, while shining a light on the wrongs of the post-War handling of stolen art and the works that are still missing. The inclusion of personal stories about the author's own family and her relation to the art world were fascinating and made for a unique perspective for the reader. I really enjoyed this book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
August 7, 2025
This book is more than an art historical novel. It is almost a memoir; a great rediscovery of the many lives of Jewish and so-called "degenerate," unwanted art looted during Nazi Germany. What stands out is the story's focus on the collectors, artists, and fascist art dealers, who, through vivid and engaging storytelling, seem to come to life once more.
The book is deeply tied to the author's own life - from fleeing Germany, to surviving the Holocaust, and migrating to the United States, while always staying connected with her deep interest in and devotion to art - making it a read with a lot of resonance that lingers for a long time after reading. This engaging approach to telling her story and the story of many others inextricably ties the history of the 20th century to the present day, illuminating the ongoing struggles that Holocaust survivors, artists, and art collectors still face in the present day.
Although this book was a very engaging read, I feel a little ambivalent about the many characters and historical figures introduced in this book. And sometimes, it was a little overwhelming. I wish that the connection between the many people would have been elaborated on, as I believe it would have increased the plot's clarity. If that was the case, I would have loved to read even more about the individual stories. However, diving into the story of rather minor historical figures seemed a little superficial and disturbing to the general reading flow.
Other than that, I can recommend this compellign introduction to anyone interested in Jewish-German art history, as well as German Expressionism, Impressionism, and Bauhaus, as well as the stories of various other artworks deemed "degenerate."
The book covers the broad history and art history of the 20th century across Germany, Europe, and the United States, while raising essential questions about justice that remained unsolved even today.
The book is deeply tied to the author's own life - from fleeing Germany, to surviving the Holocaust, and migrating to the United States, while always staying connected with her deep interest in and devotion to art - making it a read with a lot of resonance that lingers for a long time after reading. This engaging approach to telling her story and the story of many others inextricably ties the history of the 20th century to the present day, illuminating the ongoing struggles that Holocaust survivors, artists, and art collectors still face in the present day.
Although this book was a very engaging read, I feel a little ambivalent about the many characters and historical figures introduced in this book. And sometimes, it was a little overwhelming. I wish that the connection between the many people would have been elaborated on, as I believe it would have increased the plot's clarity. If that was the case, I would have loved to read even more about the individual stories. However, diving into the story of rather minor historical figures seemed a little superficial and disturbing to the general reading flow.
Other than that, I can recommend this compellign introduction to anyone interested in Jewish-German art history, as well as German Expressionism, Impressionism, and Bauhaus, as well as the stories of various other artworks deemed "degenerate."
The book covers the broad history and art history of the 20th century across Germany, Europe, and the United States, while raising essential questions about justice that remained unsolved even today.
October 21, 2025
Among the many crimes and horrors of the Nazi Regime was the widespread looting of the wealthy in the countries under their power. This systematized program was brought to widespread attention by books like Lynn H. Nicholas's The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War and Hector Felicicano's The Lost Museum: The Nazi Conspiracy To Steal The World's Greatest Works Of Art. Suzanne Loebl's Plunder and Survival joins these prior works, contributing to progress or judicial difficulties in the quest for some families to find restitution.
Plunder and Survival is a blend of historical research, biography and contemporary issues. At its center are the artworks that fueled Nazi greed and the lives and deaths of artists and their collectors. Much of the seized artworks came from Jewish families and were part of their dispossession for those able to escape or looted from their estates after their deaths in the systematized killing. Loebl's own story of surviving in hiding and what her family lust to the plundering.
Overall, chapters are arranged topically, focusing on a specific country under occupation or some of the notable families and collectors. Due to this structure, much of the narrative reads as a reference book, favoring comprehensive coverage over detailed accounts. There are many profiles, and an appendix to help readers know who is who, and the length of the book makes its flow critical. But it is no breezy read. Some of the major sections focus on the duality of Nazi hate and lust for art, the Degenerate Art exhibition, Expressionism, the documentary work of Rose Valland, and many many brief biographies.
I was left wanting to know more about Loebl's family survival as their are little snippets scattered as transitions or the beginnings of chapters. Much of the rest of the coverage being familiar to me, having read the two books mentioned above. The new content was centered on how families have had to fight with museums and nations to recover the artworks from their current homes, demonstrating that they were stolen from their families or sold under duress. All this despite the legal fictions used by Nazis or gaps in provenance ignored or waived off in the process. A frequent trend is for the family to struggle for years to restore ownership only to have to sell the work(s) once they were returned to cover the costs of the legal fights.
Recommended to readers new to the topic of Nazi Art theft, the legacies of World War II or the challenges and small victories in restitution.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
Plunder and Survival is a blend of historical research, biography and contemporary issues. At its center are the artworks that fueled Nazi greed and the lives and deaths of artists and their collectors. Much of the seized artworks came from Jewish families and were part of their dispossession for those able to escape or looted from their estates after their deaths in the systematized killing. Loebl's own story of surviving in hiding and what her family lust to the plundering.
Overall, chapters are arranged topically, focusing on a specific country under occupation or some of the notable families and collectors. Due to this structure, much of the narrative reads as a reference book, favoring comprehensive coverage over detailed accounts. There are many profiles, and an appendix to help readers know who is who, and the length of the book makes its flow critical. But it is no breezy read. Some of the major sections focus on the duality of Nazi hate and lust for art, the Degenerate Art exhibition, Expressionism, the documentary work of Rose Valland, and many many brief biographies.
I was left wanting to know more about Loebl's family survival as their are little snippets scattered as transitions or the beginnings of chapters. Much of the rest of the coverage being familiar to me, having read the two books mentioned above. The new content was centered on how families have had to fight with museums and nations to recover the artworks from their current homes, demonstrating that they were stolen from their families or sold under duress. All this despite the legal fictions used by Nazis or gaps in provenance ignored or waived off in the process. A frequent trend is for the family to struggle for years to restore ownership only to have to sell the work(s) once they were returned to cover the costs of the legal fights.
Recommended to readers new to the topic of Nazi Art theft, the legacies of World War II or the challenges and small victories in restitution.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
September 13, 2025
I received an early copy of Suzanne Loebl’s remarkable book Plunder and Survival. It is simultaneously memoir and history, one that is insightful and accessible – and above all fascinating. Loebl mingles her memories of hearing Hitler on the radio in her parents’ home in her native Germany with the biographies of some of the leading Jewish art collectors of her time and also of the art experts who aided the Nazis in looting some one million pieces of art, reselling some works, allocating others (particularly old master paintings) for a museum the Nazis hoped to build, and acquiring some of the works themselves for future dealings. Loebl has a special knack for explaining history or describing artwork in a matter-of-fact tone that is erudite without being intimidating. And throughout, we are always aware how close the history Loebl is describing remains to her own biography. It reminded me of the way blue-blood journalist Anderson Cooper interweaves his historical account of the Vanderbilts and the Astors with personal boyhood memories of their worlds.
With poignant understatement Loebl describes her family fleeing her native Germany via Frankfurt airport, just as the city was preparing for a visit by Hitler, without bidding her grandfather goodbye. “We would never see him again.” She writes simply. In their new refuge in Belgium, her family is almost immediately arrested as foreign enemies when Germany invades Belgium. She, her sister and mother are let go. Not so her father whom they learn had been incarcerated in the French Pyrenees. “We would not see him again for six years,” she notes dryly.
But mostly, Loebl’s book paints a broad canvas that depicts not only the world of Jewish art collectors, and of progressive German museums that were divested of their “degenerative” works but also of the systematic way the Nazis went about discrediting modern art, the lengths they went to stop “degenerative” artists from painting (i.e. by forbidding them to buy paint and canvases or from selling their work).
She also describes in detail the experts the Nazis hired to deal with the art they looted, and gives a vivid sense of the extent of the plunder. She explains, step-by-step, the measures the Nazis took against art they did not approve. Herein lies a cautionary tale. In 1937, they removed “degenerative art” from German museums and dismissed museum directors who favored adding “degenerative art” to the museum’s collection before turning up the heat on the artists themselves.
Loebl sprinkles her account with fascinating little but illuminating facts. One that will remain with me for a long time is that it was it was none other than one of these “degenerates” – Bauhaus architect Franz Erlich who was forced while interred to design the gates of Birkenau – the death camp within Auschwitz concentration camp.
Ultimately, the book lives up as much to the “survival” aspect of its title as to the “plunder” aspect, with lively accounts of the daring steps collectors and art lovers took to save works they cared deeply about. Loebl also details the efforts, particularly successful in more recent decades, to return works to their rightful owners or their descendants. The bottom line is that a large portion of the most precious paintings, once the owners have been compensated, have ended up in museums, mostly in the United States, where the public can view them.
With poignant understatement Loebl describes her family fleeing her native Germany via Frankfurt airport, just as the city was preparing for a visit by Hitler, without bidding her grandfather goodbye. “We would never see him again.” She writes simply. In their new refuge in Belgium, her family is almost immediately arrested as foreign enemies when Germany invades Belgium. She, her sister and mother are let go. Not so her father whom they learn had been incarcerated in the French Pyrenees. “We would not see him again for six years,” she notes dryly.
But mostly, Loebl’s book paints a broad canvas that depicts not only the world of Jewish art collectors, and of progressive German museums that were divested of their “degenerative” works but also of the systematic way the Nazis went about discrediting modern art, the lengths they went to stop “degenerative” artists from painting (i.e. by forbidding them to buy paint and canvases or from selling their work).
She also describes in detail the experts the Nazis hired to deal with the art they looted, and gives a vivid sense of the extent of the plunder. She explains, step-by-step, the measures the Nazis took against art they did not approve. Herein lies a cautionary tale. In 1937, they removed “degenerative art” from German museums and dismissed museum directors who favored adding “degenerative art” to the museum’s collection before turning up the heat on the artists themselves.
Loebl sprinkles her account with fascinating little but illuminating facts. One that will remain with me for a long time is that it was it was none other than one of these “degenerates” – Bauhaus architect Franz Erlich who was forced while interred to design the gates of Birkenau – the death camp within Auschwitz concentration camp.
Ultimately, the book lives up as much to the “survival” aspect of its title as to the “plunder” aspect, with lively accounts of the daring steps collectors and art lovers took to save works they cared deeply about. Loebl also details the efforts, particularly successful in more recent decades, to return works to their rightful owners or their descendants. The bottom line is that a large portion of the most precious paintings, once the owners have been compensated, have ended up in museums, mostly in the United States, where the public can view them.
December 2, 2025
Plunder and Survival is one of those rare books that manages to be both deeply personal and historically expansive, pulling you into the world of modern art, war, loss, and the long, winding journey of restitution.
What struck me immediately was how rich and layered this book is. Each chapter weaves together artworks, the people who loved them, the individuals who looted them, and the complicated paths these pieces ended up taking. There’s a strong focus on Hitler’s war against so-called “degenerate art.” Still, it also reaches far beyond that, touching on Old Masters, stolen collections, museum politics, and the ways art has been reshaped in America because of wartime displacement.
What stayed with me was the personal side of the story. The way the author talks about growing up in a home filled with art, and then threads that into their family’s journey from Germany to America, gives the whole book an emotional anchor. It doesn’t read like distant history at all; it feels like someone quietly opening the door and letting you step into their lived experience.
The chapters about the Nazi cultural purge were honestly shocking. I knew about the idea of “degenerate art,” but seeing how museums were emptied, how specific dealers walked such morally messy lines, and how auctions like the one in Lucerne played out… It really drives home just how much culture was stolen, scattered, or destroyed and how deeply those losses were felt by the families who cherished these works.
I’d happily recommend it to anyone curious about wartime art theft, the cultural damage inflicted by the Nazis, and the ongoing fight to return stolen pieces to the families they were taken from. It’s powerful, illuminating, and very human at its core.
And a big thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
What struck me immediately was how rich and layered this book is. Each chapter weaves together artworks, the people who loved them, the individuals who looted them, and the complicated paths these pieces ended up taking. There’s a strong focus on Hitler’s war against so-called “degenerate art.” Still, it also reaches far beyond that, touching on Old Masters, stolen collections, museum politics, and the ways art has been reshaped in America because of wartime displacement.
What stayed with me was the personal side of the story. The way the author talks about growing up in a home filled with art, and then threads that into their family’s journey from Germany to America, gives the whole book an emotional anchor. It doesn’t read like distant history at all; it feels like someone quietly opening the door and letting you step into their lived experience.
The chapters about the Nazi cultural purge were honestly shocking. I knew about the idea of “degenerate art,” but seeing how museums were emptied, how specific dealers walked such morally messy lines, and how auctions like the one in Lucerne played out… It really drives home just how much culture was stolen, scattered, or destroyed and how deeply those losses were felt by the families who cherished these works.
I’d happily recommend it to anyone curious about wartime art theft, the cultural damage inflicted by the Nazis, and the ongoing fight to return stolen pieces to the families they were taken from. It’s powerful, illuminating, and very human at its core.
And a big thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
November 6, 2025
This is a very well-researched and developed non-fiction, the art history is rich and in-depth, it contains so many references to personal links throughout the research, adding a layer of intricacy to the work. While subjectivity can affect the nature of a non-fiction work, particularly on art history and history, I think in this instance it enhances it, and given the topic and theme, voices like these should not be silenced.
It is divided into coherent chapters each linking to the others throughout, it is well structured and easy to follow and understand. The elements of Germany's politics during this period are touched on where necessary throughout and do not require you to have an understanding of them prior to reading this work.
I found this incredibly interesting, a piece of a wider history that was entirely new to me, a really thoughtful and interesting read!
It is divided into coherent chapters each linking to the others throughout, it is well structured and easy to follow and understand. The elements of Germany's politics during this period are touched on where necessary throughout and do not require you to have an understanding of them prior to reading this work.
I found this incredibly interesting, a piece of a wider history that was entirely new to me, a really thoughtful and interesting read!
October 22, 2025
It has been long established my hyperfocus on WWII, is the spying and looted art. A dream job would be to work for The Monuments Men Foundation. To say I am fascinated by the looted art is an understatement. This book is a wonderful family history and art lesson. Plunder and Survival is at the bare bones an account of the lost art of World War II with autobiographical antidotes. It could be dry at times, but if it a subject you enjoy, I think you will enjoy it.
Bonus there are two appendices offer a listing of 100 Nazi-stolen artworks currently housed in U.S. museums and capsule biographies of people discussed in the book. (We love this!)
Thank you Bloomsbury Academic, and NetGalley #PlunderandSurvival #NetGalley.
Bonus there are two appendices offer a listing of 100 Nazi-stolen artworks currently housed in U.S. museums and capsule biographies of people discussed in the book. (We love this!)
Thank you Bloomsbury Academic, and NetGalley #PlunderandSurvival #NetGalley.
October 31, 2025
Taking the author's memories as the start point, this book offers an overview of the many, many pieces of art stolen in the WW2, the history of their owners and the incredible struggle of their heirs to reconnect again with their families' possessions.
I would have loved to see more pictures featured in the book, as I had to do hundred of Google searches in order to understand better the subject, this book is invaluable for the great mission it proposes. It's interesting to see just how immense this theft was, how geographically vast and how incredibly slow the world, and especially museums have reacted in returning the art work.
I am very grateful to have received this in order to share my view on it, it's a mandatory read to anyone interested in the subject.
I would have loved to see more pictures featured in the book, as I had to do hundred of Google searches in order to understand better the subject, this book is invaluable for the great mission it proposes. It's interesting to see just how immense this theft was, how geographically vast and how incredibly slow the world, and especially museums have reacted in returning the art work.
I am very grateful to have received this in order to share my view on it, it's a mandatory read to anyone interested in the subject.
November 29, 2025
In addition to mass murder and other despicable acts, the Nazis also looted, stole, and sold incredible amounts of art in Europe. This book is a personal story of a family who lost their art to the Nazis. This is an extraordinary and informative look at how this took place, and what has taken place to make restitution to some of the ancestors of these persecuted people. I highly recommend this book and plan to reread it one day.
Netgalley
Netgalley
January 16, 2026
An engaging look at the art plundered by the Nazis. The author’s family story was very compelling and a nice lead in to the topic.
Thanks Bloomsbury Academics and Netgalley for the advance read.
Thanks Bloomsbury Academics and Netgalley for the advance read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews