| Description |
x, 278 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
1. Plunder and restitution : an historical overview -- 2. Nazi looting : the war against European culture, 1933-1945 -- 3. Preservers and restorers : response to crisis -- 4. Wartime frustrations : great power diplomacy and cultural restitution -- 5. Restitution imbroglio : the American dilemma in the first six months of occupation -- 6. The Allies agree on restitution -- 7. Cultural restitution in the American zone, 1946-1949 -- 8. A special concern : the Jewish inheritance -- 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. Looking ahead -- App. Washington conference principles on Nazi-confiscated art |
| Summary |
"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, sculptures, books, and manuscripts, from the mediocre to the priceless, hidden in thousands of secret hideaways. This 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 resorting 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 |
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Based on the pioneering study of cultural restitution first published in 1985, America and the Return of Nazi Contraband presents new insights into how the American government and Jewish organizations managed the painfully difficult problem of heirless Jewish cultural property."--BOOK JACKET |
| Notes |
Formerly CIP. Uk |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-253) and index |
| Subject |
Cultural property -- Repatriation.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Destruction and pillage -- Europe.
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Art thefts -- Europe.
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Military government -- Germany -- History -- 20th century.
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| LC no. |
2005009622 |
| ISBN |
9780521849821 hdbk |
|
0521849829 hdbk |
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