Plunder and Survival
Suzanne Loebl, Abigail Wilentz, Suzanne Loebl,Abigail Wilentz
Stories of Theft, Loss, Recovery, and Migration of Nazi Uprooted Art
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Release Date: 25/12/2025
Stories of Theft, Loss, Recovery, and Migration of Nazi Uprooted Art Written by a Holocaust survivor whose family collected art, Plunder and Survival tells the stories of principal figures, events, and artworks that contribute to the intricate story of the ruthless Nazi attack on modern art and the art world’s subsequent repositioning in America.
The complex and riveting stories of art uprooted during World War II and recovered through the efforts of a host of colorful, courageous, and dedicated champions.
Each chapter focuses on a selection of artworks, the individuals who owned or acquired them, and those who decided their fate. Since the book spotlights Hitler’s crusade against “degenerate” art, readers will encounter many Expressionist works, but they will also find old masters stolen by the Nazis and later restituted.
The author has also added a personal element to the text, incorporating autobiographical anecdotes on relatives' special relationships to art, their voyage from Germany to America, and the fate of their collections.
Illustrations appear throughout the book, and following the main text, 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.