Stolen Legacy: Nazi Theft and the Quest for Justice at Krausenstrasse 17/18, Berlin

by Dina Gold, Stuart E. Eizenstat (Foreword)

Stolen Legacy is a non-fiction historical narrative centered on a Jewish family s legal battle to reclaim ownership of a building stolen from them by the Nazis in the 1930s. The building at Krausenstrasse 17/18 in Berlin was seized by a German businessman with direct ties to the very top of the Nazi Party hierarchy and German Railways, the state-owned organization that transported millions of Jews across Europe to the death camps. He was the head of the Victoria Insurance Company, then and now one of Germany's top insurance companies which, according to the book, played a role in insuring the Auschwitz death camp during World War Two. The book, written by the daughter of one of the original owners of the building, details the history of the Wolff family's ownership of the building, its confiscation by the Nazis, and the family's legal fight to reclaim it. There has been no previous written account of a successful claim of a property seized by the Nazis in Germany. The U.S. Special Adviser on Holocaust Issues, Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat, has written the book's foreword."

Genres: Nonfiction, History, World War II, European History, Holocaust

270 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2015

About the author

Dina Gold was born in Britain and now lives in Washington DC, where she is on the board of the DC Jewish Community Center and co-chair of the celebrated Washington Jewish Film Festival. A senior editor at Moment, the largest independent Jewish magazine in North America, she started her career at the Investors Chronicle in London as a financial journalist after postgraduate studies at London University and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Later, joining the BBC, she worked as an investigative journalist, television producer and ombudsman.

Reviews

[Ruth Stern · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a very interesting read. I enjoy nonfiction when it is told as a story rather than a list of facts.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stolen Legacy: Nazi Theft and the Quest for Justice at Krausenstrasse 17/18, Berlin is by Dina Gold with Stuart E. Eizenstat writing the Forward. This book is about a Jewish family who lost their property but tries to prove it was theirs after the war.
Dina Gold heard stories all her life about the huge store her family owned in Berlin and how her Grandmother was the belle of the ball when she attended. Her Great-grandfather ran H. Wolff fur company out of the building. Wolff was one of the finest furriers in the world. Of course, her Great-grandfather had the store insured by the best insurance company at the time, Victoria Insurance Company. During the rise of Hitler, the Insurance company foreclosed on the mortgage of the building and “resold” everything to the Third Reich. After the war, the building still stood; but it was in East Berlin, just on the other side of Checkpoint Charlie.
Dina set out to prove the building was rightly her families and the Insurance company had no reason nor right to take the building and contents and use them as they did. Does she have enough to prove it and does she have enough money and time to prove it.
This book helps one to see how difficult it was for anyone to get their property back after the war when most of the paperwork was missing and people didn’t want to lose their “golden artifacts”

[Ruqaiyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not surprised that the writing is magnificent-- succinct and compelling. Dina is a top rate journalist and the story is dramatic enough that the straightforward telling makes Stolen Legacy a riveting page-turner. A difficult read that will tear at your emotions, you may have to put the book down from time to time to try and digest the injustice of it all. It is hard to stomach that this is a book of non-fiction, but then again, any book about The Holocaust is hard to stomach. Dina's humble heroism pulls you through and it's worth an entire read through the end. You will cry, and you will be angry, but you will be left with the hope and knowledge that fighting for what is right and true is honorable and always worth it-- despite the shocking number of odds that pile up against you.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Stolen Legacy' by author Dina Gold is a nonfiction story about how the Nazi party at the start of World War II forcibly took possession of a large Berlin building owned by a Jewish man. The Third Reich was defeated in 1945, but because the building was located in East Berlin under the Communist rule, it was unable to be reclaimed. Decades later, Gold is at the heart of the legal battle to reclaim ownership of her great grandfather's building. Her message is to honor the memory of her ancestors and fight to overturn injustice. Gold tells this story which is another way the legacy of the Nazi party still lingers today. Her book is thoroughly researched, carefully crafted, and includes an impressive bibliography. Her writing tells the story of not just the history of the building and her lengthy struggle for restitution, but also her family and their plight during the world war. It is an interesting story that captures the reader and has the reader cheering on the writer in her pursuit of justice.

[Jenni Schell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What an amazing book. This is one that because of the horror you are almost afraid to read it. Don't be. It is worth every second.

[Dawn Henri · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, on page 55, it's the same old same old pattern of the holocaust series. I've read all the Azrieli series. First, they are wealthy, happy, upper class in Germany, then, all is taken away. Some get away some don't. This story interested me for the estate litigation issue. How to get back what was stolen? I'm not there yet - Lawyers and Wills. I only wish I had such interesting anecdotes about my family's relatives. Gold has more memoir stories than I have about my family. My mother is gone now and so are her friends. I am searching for her cousins who might have something to add to the bigger picture. I am reading the library copy and there are few so I expect I will be unable to renew so I will have to do a super power read to get through it in time.

[Gershon Lehrer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book.
The author starts by introducing her family and their background.
The author continues the book in which she tells the story about how she and her family proceeded in order to get the ownership of the building back.
The author then continues to focus on some historical facts she has mentioned in the book's earlier chapters, such as how Fritz last years probably have looked like. About the Victoria INsurance company role before and after the war, etc.

[Marc Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterwork of detective non-fiction. Dina Gold was like a dog with bone, never resting until all of the pieces of her family's puzzle came together, and she got full compensation for the Nazi theft of her family's property. Well-deserved, and bravo to Ms. Gold for her gumption. A very good read.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

The research and dedication in bringing the story to the writing word is something that takes love and digging through a past most would rather not look at. Dina Gold has done a wonderful job telling this story of her family’s stolen past and property to the world—giving us a much better understanding of the theft perpetrated on the victims of the Nazis. A heart felt yet educational read.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific story; amazing history

Dina Golds book is both a fascinating read and incredible research. I learned so much about this additional aspect of Jewish life Pre-WWII in Berlin and about yet another aspect of winning back more of what the Nazis had stolen. Bravo Dina!

[Natalie L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible journey for justice. Well written by Dina Gold, a journalist.

[Adam Hummel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and phenomenally researched. Well worth the read.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the Holocaust-related shelves burdened so much, the mediocre book has to rightly struggle, and to some unfortunate extent this does. There should be a very interesting story regarding the inheritance from Nazi and Federal occupancy of a huge Berlin office block, and to some extent there is, but there are also difficulties with the telling. The narrative loops from one aspect to another, so we get neither a proper timeline nor anything to respond to the cliff-hangers the author tries to enforce on proceedings. Better editing would have helped – just count the number of times the enforced Israel/Sara details are thrust in our faces. To some extent this is a Lady in Gold-styled look at restitution, to some extent an investigation of family secrets in the archives. In trying to cover all bases, the book loses a lot of urgency, never really justifies the way the story was resolved so long ago yet has only just been published, and falls too far down a hole called 'middle ground', both in content and quality.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating story about an accomplished BBC reporter's quest to recover her family property after the Berlin Wall fell. I'm an attorney whose specialized in Holocaust-era property and art claims since 1999. Reading a non-lawyer's perspective was amazing, as is the fact that she was successful! (Sorry for that spoiler.)

Anyone at all interested in the Holocaust, WWII, Berlin or restitution will enjoy this well-written book. The author was vulnerable but showed tremendous grit. She faced off against the German bureaucracy to get some modicum of justice for what was taken from her family. The story is accurate, insightful and moving. I especially loved how the author described piecing together key information based on the stories she heard as a girl.

Highly recommend.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about a woman's personal family history and her struggle to prove to the courts that a building in Berlin legally belonged to her family. The building was illegally stolen from her family by the Nazi Party during World War II. It is an absolute shame that people are still having to suffer the consequences of the actions of people seventy years ago. I wonder how many thousands of other families are like hers, with missing assets that they have to fight for or reconcile as losses. It was truly disgusting what happened to so many people.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was enjoyable not only for the historical account of a German family's attempt to be compensated for a building lost to the Nazis but also for the history of the family itself and the dysfunctional relationships of the siblings. The writer could have ended the book sooner as some of the last few chapters did nothing to further the storyline

[Donia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always learn something new about history each time I read books such as this and I deeply appreciate the amount of effort put forth to create such a document. I couldn't seem to connect with the Wolff family and their various issues though I have always been totally sickened by the Nazi's having seized Jewish property of all kinds large and small.

[C K P · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book that makes one contemplate both the past and the present. Worth a read, even if you're not particularly interested in art.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing and true story!
Once you get started, you will want to read to the end--immediately!
When it comes to bravery and guts and persistence- this lady has it all!
Inspiring story of how one person , knowing they are right, can achieve what they set out to do!

[The Jewish Book Council]

Review by Carl J. Rheins for the Jewish Book Council.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

greed a dirty word. Wars are always about power, geography, money or religion.