--- title: 6 Books About the Things Nazis Stole description: Hitler's regime looted art, tchotchkes, furniture, anything of value — and the stories have served as source material for nonfiction books canonical: https://time.com/4656704/books-about-the-things-nazis-stole/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-25T15:01:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:59:07.039Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 6 Books About the Things Nazis Stole og:description: From 'The Book Thieves' to 'The Lady in Gold' og:url: https://time.com/4656704/books-about-the-things-nazis-stole/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 6 Books About the Things Nazis Stole twitter:description: From 'The Book Thieves' to 'The Lady in Gold' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 6 Books About the Things Nazis Stole by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Feb 25, 2017 3:01 PM UTC by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Feb 25, 2017 3:01 PM UTC The [Nazis](http://time.com/4498374/defying-the-nazis-virtual-reality/) famously confiscated and burned books they deemed subversive — but they also collected many of these “degenerate” works, as well as books that were worth a fortune. Swedish journalist Anders Rydell documents the regime’s pillaging, and follows new efforts to return the volumes to their rightful owners in his nonfiction work [_The Book Thieves_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735221227/?tag=timecom-20)_,_ out this month in the U.S. Books of course weren’t the only items Nazis stole. Hitler’s regime looted art, tchotchkes, furniture, anything of value — and the stories behind their pillaging have served as source material for a number of nonfiction books, blending the intrigue of mystery with the gravity of restoring justice. Here are 6 fascinating books about the things Nazis stole. ### _The Book Thieves_, 2017  Viking Nazis plundered texts by Jews, Catholics, Free Masons, “degenerates,” Communists and liberals, hanging on to them for their material value or for opposition research. Anders Rydell follows the librarians seeking to restore the millions of plundered books to their rightful owners. [_Get it now_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735221227/?tag=timecom-20) ### _The Orpheus Clock_, 2015  Scribner Simon Goodman’s grandparents died in the Holocaust, leaving behind an impressive art collection acquired by their ancestors and themselves during their lives as a wealthy German banking family. They owned works by Degas, Renoir, Botticelli and others, as well as a 16th century treasure known as the Orpheus Clock. The Nazis looted everything, some of which ending up in Hitler’s personal possession and much of it changing hands numerous times before ending up in Europe’s great museums. Goodman documents his family’s struggle to reclaim what was rightfully theirs in a battle that continues today. [_Get it now_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1451697635/?tag=timecom-20) ### _The Lady in Gold_, 2012  Vintage Gustav Klimt’s portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer has been widely praised as one of the great master works of the early 20th century. Sixty years after the Nazis stole it from the Bloch-Bauers, it became the centerpiece of a fight involving the descendants, the Austrian government and the U.S. Supreme Court. The story, documented here by American journalist Anne-Marie O’Connor, has since been turned into the Helen Mirren vehicle [_Woman in Gold_](http://time.com/3698817/woman-in-gold-clip/). [_Get it now_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1101873124/tag=timecom-20) ### _The Monuments Men_, 2009  Center Street While Hitler’s lackeys pillaged Europe, a dedicated group of Allied operatives, most of whom were art historians and museum curators, went behind enemy lines to save treasures of the culture world. Their story, told here by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter, has since been made into a feature film starring George Clooney, Matt Damon and Bill Murray. [_Get it now_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1599951509/?tag=timecom-20) ### _The Hare with Amber Eyes_, 2010  Picador The Ephrussi family was once a prominent Jewish banking clan, with offices around Europe and a rich collection of art. But after the Nazis ransacked Vienna, all that remained of their valuables was a collection of miniature Japanese carvings, called Netsuke, hidden in mattress by a maid. Edmund de Waal, a descendant who came into possession of the Netsuke, traces the history of the family and the figurines. [_Get it now_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312569378/?tag=timecom-20) ### _The Rape of Europa_, 1994  Vintage Lynn H. Nicholas give a more general overview of the thieving and counter-thieving that went on during and after WWII. Her history, involving everyone from Hermann Göring to Gertrude Stein, won a National Book Critics Circle award in 1994. [_Get it now_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0679756868/?tag=timecom-20) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4656704/books-about-the-things-nazis-stole/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4656704/books-about-the-things-nazis-stole/"},"headline":"6 Books About the Things Nazis Stole","datePublished":"2017-02-25T15:01:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:59:07.039Z","description":"From The Book Thieves to The Lady in Gold","url":"https://time.com/4656704/books-about-the-things-nazis-stole/","keywords":["Books","onetime","timeshop"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4656704/books-about-the-things-nazis-stole/","name":"6 Books About the Things Nazis Stole"}}]}] ```