Steal and Deal

Unlike the practices of the Soviet trophy commissions, the great American art theft of 1945 consisted of many small, systematic raids. In the Federal Republic of Germany,the defeated accepted their fate and kept the subject under wraps for decades. This book breaks that silence. Drawing on twenty-fi ve compelling case studies, Dr Richard Hüttel takes an unfl inching look at the immense cultural loss that has, until now, been largely repressed. Many thousands of looted works of art are still in the USA today - often hidden away in private collections or museums, far from their true home. Stolen artworks often only resurface when they are put up for sale through reputable art dealers - particularly in the UK. This makes the restitution of these artworks costly and is usually only possible with private funding. Across the Atlantic, however, the art market that has developed in this way has become a business model.