Witnessing the Robbing of the Jews

Reviews / Votes

"This is a rich volume that encourages us to look closely at the photographs and "read" them in detailed historical context, revealing layers of meaning for countless ordinary lives, which Gensburger painstakingly attempts to redeem from their silence." * Holocaust and Genocide Studies * Sarah Gensburger's comments on each photograph are fascinating in light of the reproductions [...] The great value of this publication lies in providing original material on the history of the plundering, while cultivating prudence and distance in its gaze. Thus, it gives us access both to the traces of the past and to the work of the historian, who explores, supposes, deduces and sometimes lets a healthy doubt linger. -- Claire Zalc * Vingtieme Siecle. Revue d'histoire * The album, which was kept in the German Federal Archives in Koblenz, depicts furniture and crates being loaded into trucks, as well as these images of everyday household objects, assembled in massive groups. . .Looked at this way, a photo of a room full of bedding is also an image of the erasure of Jewish homes. * Slate's "The Vault" * The material for Sarah Gensburger's study is for the most part previously unseen: a collection of eighty-five photos taken in France during the Occupation [...] These are particularly powerful images. They are all the more so because of the meaning that is given to them through the analysis and historical commentary of the author -- Anne Grynberg * Etudes Photographiques * The book serves as an important source for anyone interested in the Holocaust in France, looting, forced labor, or reading images as historical source. * H-France * [Gensburger] masterfully turns this album of photographs into a dynamic history of Nazi looting, making it essential for both scholars and teachers of Holocaust history. * German Studies Review *