(no subject)
Mar. 27th, 2013 11:55 amSo it took me a really long time, but I finally vinished Stolen Treasure: The Hunt for the World's Lost Masterpieces by Grigory Kozlov and Akinsha Konstantin, which was recommended to me by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
iamshadow.
The book is an account of the Red Army's -- well, depending on who you believe, they were either looting Germany's art treasures, taking restitution in kind, or "protecting" the treasures of German museums in the last days of the second world war. The truth falls somewhere between the first two, at least according to the book; it's difficult to call it restitution when it was done half in secret and usually without any valuation or documentation, side by side with the genuine looting of personal belongings. It also describes what happened to much of the art after the war, and the conspiracy of silence surrounding large caches of the looted art.
( Review of Stolen Treasure, by Grigory Kozlov and Akinsha Konstantin )
Final Verdict: Stolen Treasure is a book for people who are pretty hardcore into the history of art looting during WWII, or who are interested in Soviet history between 1945 and 2005. It's a pretty dense book and not an easy read, but I found it enjoyable nonetheless. It's written from a viewpoint I haven't often encountered, and the stories are very deftly told.
iamshadow. The book is an account of the Red Army's -- well, depending on who you believe, they were either looting Germany's art treasures, taking restitution in kind, or "protecting" the treasures of German museums in the last days of the second world war. The truth falls somewhere between the first two, at least according to the book; it's difficult to call it restitution when it was done half in secret and usually without any valuation or documentation, side by side with the genuine looting of personal belongings. It also describes what happened to much of the art after the war, and the conspiracy of silence surrounding large caches of the looted art.
( Review of Stolen Treasure, by Grigory Kozlov and Akinsha Konstantin )
Final Verdict: Stolen Treasure is a book for people who are pretty hardcore into the history of art looting during WWII, or who are interested in Soviet history between 1945 and 2005. It's a pretty dense book and not an easy read, but I found it enjoyable nonetheless. It's written from a viewpoint I haven't often encountered, and the stories are very deftly told.
