Freemasonry, Heritage Looting and Restitution: Unknown Aspects of the Second World War

A pioneering account of Nazi looting of Dutch Masonic heritage and the unresolved restitution of missing ritual objects.

Freemasonry is a centuries-old social network with a distinctive ritual tradition. During the Second World War, the Nazi regime directed its enemy image and propaganda against the lodges, portraying them as part of a "Jewish conspiracy". In reality, tolerant Freemasonry represented a potential source of resistance and therefore a threat.

In September 1940 the occupying aut...