| Nazi Looting: The Plunder of Dutch Jewry During the Second World War Contributor(s): Aalders, Gerard (Author), Pomerans, Arnold (Translator), Pomerans, Erica (Translator) |
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ISBN: 1859737226 ISBN-13: 9781859737224 Publisher: Berg Publishers OUR PRICE: $158.40 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: January 2004 Annotation: The Nazi looting machine was notoriously efficient. In the Netherlands, 8.5 million citizens suffered losses estimated at 3.6 billion guilders. Approximately one-third of these losses were borne by Jews, who comprised only 1.6% of the total population. In today's terms, the German occupiers stripped the Jewish population of assets worth $7 billion. "Nazi Looting" offers a comprehensive history of the Dutch experience and demonstrates the ruthless efficiency of the Germans in robbing Dutch Jewry, for example attempts at "legitimacy" via fake bank accounts and phoney "sales." It also reveals how reputable indigenous institutions, including the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, insurance brokers and established banks acted as willing collaborators. More than fifty years after the war's end, 20% of the Netherlands' most important pre-war museum exhibits and approximately 80% of the less important works remain untraced. Painstakingly researched, "Nazi Looting" exposes a chillingly calculating and brutally destructive process that reverberates to this day. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Military - World War Ii - History | Jewish - General - History | Holocaust |
| Dewey: 940.531 |
| LCCN: 2003022156 |
| Lexile Measure: 1450 |
| Physical Information: 0.93" H x 6.18" W x 9.4" (1.44 lbs) 288 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1940's - Ethnic Orientation - Jewish - Topical - Holocaust |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The Nazi looting machine was notoriously efficient during the Second World War. In the Netherlands, 8.5 million citizens suffered losses estimated at 3.6 billion guilders. Approximately one-third of these losses were borne by Jews, who comprised only 1.6% of the total population. In todays terms, the German occupiers stripped the Jewish population of assets worth $7 billion.Nazi Looting offers a comprehensive history of the Dutch experience and demonstrates how reputable indigenous institutions acted as willing collaborators. Beginning with a survey of international law and various definitions of 'looting', the author shows how the Germans systematically robbed Dutch Jewry through a variety of means that gave the outward appearance of honest trading. Forced to sell under duress and at unreasonably low prices, few dared refuse the German on the doorstep when threatened with prison or incarceration in a camp.The plundering was total and systematic. In May 1940, a team of highly trained art historians, linguists, musicologists and literary experts arrived immediately behind the victorious German troops to catalogue the vast collections for Hitler. From 1941, Jews were compelled to deposit all their money into a bank called Lippmann, Rosenthal Co. The name of the bank itself was a cynical ploy since it was taken from a respected, Jewish-owned Amsterdam bank and presented as a new branch. This bank, however, simply channelled money into the Third Reich with the help of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, insurance brokers and other well-established Dutch banks. Once the Jews were deported, their houses were emptied and the contents used to re-furnish bombed out areas of the Reich. In common with many other formerly Nazi-occupied countries in Europe, the Netherlands has been unable to retrieve many of its pre-war assets. More than fifty years after the wars end, 20% of its most important pre-war museum exhibits and approximately 80% of the less important works remain untrace |
Contributor Bio(s): Aalders, Gerard: - Gerard Aalders is Senior Researcher, Netherlands Institute for War Documentation. |