America and the Return of Nazi Contraband
The Recovery of Europe's Cultural Treasures
Published on 31. July 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
290 pages
978-0-521-13340-1 (ISBN)
Description
The Nazi war on European culture produced the greatest dislocation of art, archives, and libraries in the history of the world. In the ruins of the Reich, Allied occupiers found millions of paintings, books, manuscripts, and pieces of sculpture, from the mediocre to the priceless, hidden in thousands of secret hideaways. This 2006 book tells the story of how the American military government in Germany, spearheaded by a few dozen dedicated Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives officers and enlisted men, coped with restoring Europe's cultural heritage. Caught up in often bitter diplomatic wrangling during and after the war, the American restitution effort struggled to uncover what the Nazis had hidden and to equitably return all that was found. Based on the pioneering study of cultural restitution first published in 1985, America and the Return of Nazi Contraband presents insights into how the American government and Jewish organizations managed the painfully difficult problem of heirless Jewish cultural property.
Reviews / Votes
"Kurtz's discussion of cultural restitution during the last half-century underscores how war ravages and destroys humans as well as their artistic creations."-Choice "Although other books on Nazi looting have been published in the last decade, none has the breadth of Kurtz's work."
-Marilyn Henry, the author of Confronting the Perpetrators: The Jewish Claims Conference, CONGRESS MONTHLY "While other current publications deal with the restitution of looted art objects, none do so from the vantage point of the American military government, and it is this more than anything else that makes Kurtz's volume such a contribution to the field." -Dana Herman, The American Jewish Archives Journal
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
424 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-13340-1 (9780521133401)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Michael J. Kurtz currently serves as the Assistant Archivist for Records Services in Washington, DC, with responsibility for all records management, archival, and public outreach program functions performed by the National Archives and Records Administration in the nation's capital. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland's College of Information Studies, teaching a course on the management of cultural institutions. Dr Kurtz has published extensively in the areas of archival management and American history including: Managing Archival and Manuscript Repositories (2004) and Nazi Contraband: American Policy on the Return of European Cultural Treasures, 1945-1955 (1985). He served as chair of the Archives Management Roundtable of the Society of American Archivists, from 1987-2001.
Content
Part I. Crisis and Response: 1. Looting and restitution; 2. Nazi looting: the war against European culture, 1933-45; 3. Preservers and restorers; 4. Wartime frustrations: great power diplomacy; Part II. First Efforts: 5. Restitution imbroglio: the American dilemma in the first six months of occupation; 6. The allies agree on restitution; Part III. America Leads: 7. Cultural restitution in the American zone, 1946-9; 8. A special concern: the Jewish inheritance; Part IV. Cold War and Beyond: 9. Conflict and cooperation: the politics of restitution in the Cold War; 10. Restitution at home: the American scene; 11. Renewed ferment: restitution in the post Cold War era; 12. Past, present, and future: an evaluation.