Nazi Plunder: Great Treasure Stories Of World War II

by Kenneth D. Alford

World War II was the most devastating conflict in human history, but the tragedy did not end on the battlefields. During the war, Germany -- and, later, the Allies -- plundered Europe's historic treasures. Between 1939 and 1945, German armed forces roamed from Dunkirk to Stalingrad, looting gold, silver, currency, paintings and other works of art, coins, religious artifacts, and millions of books and other documents. The value of these items, many of which were irreplaceable, is estimated in the billions of dollars. The artwork alone, looted under Hitler's direction, exceeded the combined collections of the Metropolitan Museum, the British Museum, and the Louvre. As the war wound to its conclusion in 1945, occupying forces continued the looting. The story of these celebrated works of art and other vanished treasures -- and the mystery of where they went -- is a remarkable tale of greed, fraud, deceit, and treachery. Kenneth Alford's Nazi Plunder is the latest word on this fascinating subject.

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually a pretty good, fast read. It details the plundering of Europe, but the focus is mainly on the plundering the Allies did, which makes it stand out a bit more. The weakest chapter is the one about the horses – not so much that it is wrong, but it is rather simplistic in terms of the Lippizans. While the US did take some of the Lipizzans to the US, in most cases it wasn’t looting, but a thank you for the saving the stud.
Still, nicely varied and told. Each chapter is a story. It is well done and nicely illustrated.