Stolen treasure: The hunt for the world's lost masterpieces

by Konstantin Akinsha, Akinsha Konstantin

Just as Nazi Germany appropriated works of art - paintings, sculptures and antiques - from all over Europe in 1939 and 1940, so the Soviet army set up "trophy brigades" to transport the same works of art, and many more, to Moscow and Leningrad in 1945. This book by two Russian art historians sets out to reveal how they did this and what happened to these works of art. With the end of the Soviet Union, many of these stolen works are now likely to go on display in Russia or be returned to their rightful owners in Europe. This book will be of interest to those who want to know what there is and where it is.

Genres: Nonfiction, Germany

289 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Cold War Conversations Podcast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly difficult to get hold of now, but for anyone reading The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History here's what happened on the Soviet side, where special teams collected art as "trophies" for exhibition in Soviet museums.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most extraordinary thing about this book is that it is actually by two people and is properly titled 'Akinsha, Konstantin and Grigorii Kozlov. Stolen treasure: the hunt for the world’s lost masterpieces. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1995' but I have been unable to find this edition or even the author Grigori Kozlov anywhere on Goodreads - so it is not infallible - though Amazon and Abebooks and others have no problem tracking it correctly.

Anyway it is a very interesting account, the first proper one, of the 'trophy art' held in the former Soviet Union and the question of restitution. The problem is the whole subject has moved on considerably since this was published or I first read it in 2014. it is still a very good introduction to the subject.