Hitler's Art Thief: Hildebrand Gurlitt, the Nazis, and the Looting of Europe's Treasures

by Susan Ronald

Overview

The sensational story of a cache of masterpieces not seen since they vanished during the Nazi terror—a bizarre tale of a father and aged son, of secret deals, treachery and the search for truth.

The world was stunned when eighty-year old Cornelius Gurlitt became an international media superstar in November 2013 on the discovery of over 1,400 artworks in his 1,076 square-foot Munich apartment, valued at around $1.35 billion. Gurlitt became known as a man who never was - he didn't have a bank account, never paid tax, never received social security. He simply did not exist. He had been hard-wired into a life of shadows and secrecy by his own father long before he had inherited his art collection built on the spoliation of museums and Jews during Hitler's Third Reich. The ensuing media frenzy unleashed international calls for restitution, unsettled international relations, and rocked the art world.

Susan Ronald reveals in this stranger-than-fiction-tale how Hildebrand Gurlitt succeeded in looting in the name of the Third Reich, duping the Monuments Men and the Nazis alike. As an "official dealer" for Hitler and Goebbels, Hildebrand Gurlitt became one of the Third Reich's most prolific art looters. Yet he stole from Hitler too, allegedly to save modern art. Hitler's Art Thief is the untold story of Hildebrand Gurlitt, who stole more than art-he stole lives, too.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250096678
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/31/2017
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	381,559
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Born and raised in the United States, SUSAN RONALD has lived in England for more than twenty-five years. She is the author of Heretic Queen, The Pirate Queen, The Sancy Blood Diamond, and France: Crossroads Of Europe. Ronald owns a film production company and is a screenwriter and film producer.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

On Names and Acronyms xv

Prologue 1

Part I The Unmaking of the Man

1 New York, May 1944 9

2 At the Beginning-Germany, 1907 14

3 From The Hague to Vienna 24

4 Cause and Effect 33

5 War 42

6 Gurlitt's Struggle 54

7 Peace 71

8 Aftermath 82

9 Weimar Trembles 91

Part II Art and Politics

10 Rebels with a Cause 103

11 Hopes and Dreams 115

12 From New York to Zwickau 119

13 The Mysterious Mr. Kirchbaeh 125

14 The Root of Evil 133

15 Chameleons and Crickets 142

16 The First Stolen Lives 153

Part III World War and Wilderness

17 Chambers of Horrors 165

18 The Four Horsemen 174

19 Tradecraft 183

20 The Treasure Houses 190

21 The Posse Years 202

22 Swallowing the Treasure 212

23 Viau 225

24 King Raffke 231

25 Quick, the Allies Are Coming! 246

26 Surrendered … or Captured? 253

Part IV The Stolen Lives

27 House Arrest 265

28 Under the Microscope 280

29 Dusseldorf 295

30 Aftermath and Munich 302

31 The Lion Tamer 308

32 Feeding Frenzy 314

Glossary 321

Notes 325

Selected Bibliography 359

Index 369

Editorial Reviews

[A] riveting portrait of Gurlitt, who detested the Nazis, and stole from them, but did their bidding in the name of ‘saving modern art’.” —The New Yorker

“Susan Ronald tells the back story of what may be the most startling art-world bust in modern history.” —USA Today

“One man’s extraordinary career of thievery . . . an exhaustively researched and well written book that has a cautionary tale for all of us.” —Forbes

“Ronald situates Gurlitt’s life and career amid the turmoil of Weimar Germany and then the evolution of Nazi art-looting campaigns from the late 1930s to the end of World War II, [adding] many new details about Gurlitt’s dealings.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Another chapter in the unfolding story of Holocaust art and its provenance, Hitler’s Art Thief provides the background of a story that came to light when more than a thousand works of art, valued at more than $1.35 billion, were found in a tiny Munich apartment.” —The Jewish Week

“Outstanding . . . Hitler's Art Thief brilliantly examines the motivating forces, both internal and external, that led Hildebrand Gurlitt to go work for the Führer.” —The Jerusalem Post

“Absolutely gripping from start to finish. Susan Ronald holds nothing back as she lays bare in merciless detail the cunning, greed and hypocrisy that allowed Hitler's willing accomplices, like the notorious Hildebrand Gurlitt, to feed off human misery to their heart's content. Everyone should read this book.” —Amanda Foreman, bestselling author of A World on Fire and columnist for The Wall Street Journal and Smithsonian Magazine

“Experts are still piecing together this complex history (and restituting the stolen works). Ronald’s sweeping, and indeed, galloping narrative, breaks new ground in helping to understand this fascinating figure and the historical context in which he operated.” —Jonathan Petropoulos, author of Royals and the Reich and John V. Croul Professor of European History at Claremont McKenna College

“A thrilling voyage into the largest theft in history that started during early Nazi terror and went dormant after the war. . . . A must-read masterpiece, exposing the unsavory reality of the insatiable Nazi greed for art and the continuing resistance to return artifacts to the victims.” —Mel Urbach Esquire, International Holocaust Restitution Lawyer and Lecturer

“Susan Ronald has written what will prove to be one of, if not the, definitive accounts of the whole Gurlitt saga. Giving its readers a thorough overview of the 19th- and 20th-century Gurlitt dynasty's engagement in art – as scholars, dealers and collectors – yet never losing its lightness of touch, deftly managing to span place and time with abundant insight, the book is a pleasure to read.” —Richard Aronowitz, Director & Head of Sotheby’s Europe Restitution Department for Europe

From the Publisher

09/01/2015
In 2013, more than 1,400 pieces of art were discovered in the modest Munich apartment of 80-year-old Cornelius Gurlitt, son of Hitler's "art dealer" Hildebrand Gurlitt. The art was valued at more than $1.35 billion, but to the reclusive Cornelius, they weren't just paintings—they were "friends." For victims of the greatest art heist in history, however, they were stolen tokens of the Third Reich. Ronald (The Pirate Queen) provides a remarkably comprehensive telling of the Nazi's massive looting of treasured artworks and the pivotal role the Gurlitts played. Although considered Hitler's art dealer, Hildebrand is best described in the book's title. Ronald's narrative follows Hildebrand from student to thief and eventually finds its end in Cornelius's mysterious apartment. VERDICT There are countless works related to Nazi Germany, but Ronald's account provides an additional layer of knowledge that's worth adding to your collection. Readers will gain a larger understanding of how art threads through society, what it means when those threads are unraveled, and the tragic effects of having your culture stolen and repurposed. They aren't just paintings, indeed. [See Prepub Alert, 4/20/15.]—Erin Entrada Kelly, Philadelphia

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