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The Book Thieves: The Nazi Looting of Europe's Libraries and the Race to Return a Literary Inheritance Hardcover – February 7, 2017

by Anders Rydell (Author), Henning Koch (Translator)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 120 ratings
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"A most valuable book." —Christian Science Monitor

For readers of The Monuments Men and The Hare with Amber Eyes, the story of the Nazis' systematic pillaging of Europe's libraries, and the small team of heroic librarians now working to return the stolen books to their rightful owners.

While the Nazi party was being condemned by much of the world for burning books, they were already hard at work perpetrating an even greater literary crime. Through extensive new research that included records saved by the Monuments Men themselves—Anders Rydell tells the untold story of Nazi book theft, as he himself joins the effort to return the stolen books. When the Nazi soldiers ransacked Europe’s libraries and bookshops, large and small, the books they stole were not burned. Instead, the Nazis began to compile a library of their own that they could use to wage an intellectual war on literature and history. In this secret war, the libraries of Jews, Communists, Liberal politicians, LGBT activists, Catholics, Freemasons, and many other opposition groups were appropriated for Nazi research, and used as an intellectual weapon against their owners. But when the war was over, most of the books were never returned. Instead many found their way into the public library system, where they remain to this day.

Now, Rydell finds himself entrusted with one of these stolen volumes, setting out to return it to its rightful owner. It was passed to him by the small team of heroic librarians who have begun the monumental task of combing through Berlin’s public libraries to identify the looted books and reunite them with the families of their original owners. For those who lost relatives in the Holocaust, these books are often the only remaining possession of their relatives they have ever held. And as Rydell travels to return the volume he was given, he shows just how much a single book can mean to those who own it.
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  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Viking
  4. Publication date
    February 7, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0735221227
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0735221222
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Rydell’s tale is a fascinating blend of intellectual history, detective story, and “restitution activism” that cannot help but inspire its readers.” —LA Review of Books

"A chilling reminder of Hitler’s twisted power." —BBC

"This history can still startle and surprise us; that, as researchers ask new questions and follow new leads, revelations are still possible . . . Rydell's passion for the subject is undeniable. Serving as a courier, he manages to convey the emotional power of returning even a single book to a grateful descendant who has lost so much else.” —The Chicago Tribune

"Reader-friendly and a riveting account, the book deserves a large readership." —Jack Fischel, The Jewish Book Council

"An erudite exploration of the systematic plundering of libraries and book collections by Nazi invaders. Looting books by mainly Jewish owners, collections, and libraries was an effective way of stealing Jewish memory and history, as this thorough work of research by Swedish journalist and editor Rydell attests . . . An Engrossing, haunting journey for bibliophiles and World War II historians alike." —Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

About the Author

Anders Rydell is a journalist, editor, and author of nonfiction. As the Head of Culture at a major Swedish media group, Rydell directs the coverage of arts and culture in 14 newspapers. His two books on the Nazis, The Book Theives and The Looters, have been translated into 16 languages. The Book Thieves is his first work published in English.
 
Henning Koch was born in Sweden but has spent most of his life in England, Spain, and Sardinia. Most recently he translated A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. He has also written a short story collection, Love Doesn't Work, and a novel, The Maggot People.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking; First English Edition (February 7, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0735221227
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0735221222
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.22 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 120 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Henning Koch

    Henning Koch
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    Henning Koch was born in Sweden but at an early age moved to England. After studying English Literature at London University, he spent a decade traveling and working in Asia, the United States, Spain and South America. He has a strong interest in literary translation and he has introduced a number of Swedish writers on the international stage. His love for Mediterranean and Hispanic culture has been a strong influence in his writing. His short story collection "Love Doesn't Work" and his novel "The Maggot People" are both published by US independent publisher Dzanc, and his novel "A Bit of Black" is available on Kindle.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Anders Rydell

    Anders Rydell
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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
120 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Elyn
5.0 out of 5 stars Reading this book in today's political climate is both informative and chilling.
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2017
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"BOOK THIEVES" by Anders Rydell. "The Nazi Looting of Europe's Libraries and the Race to Return a Literary Inheritance." Translated by Henning Koch. Viking. 2017.

I'm only half way through and I am fascinated and outraged, in tears and terrified.

A very thorough and detailed account of the gradual, focused and relentless Nazi looting of all books that they encountered - whether they were in world-renowned collections, private libraries, local schools or the stack of books left on bedside tables of those who were "transported" and murdered.

As the Nazis slowly gained power, they recognized "accepted" and "unacceptable" writers. Unacceptable writers began to have trouble getting their work published. Then some book subjects were deemed "unacceptable" and they were removed from public shelves. The local Nazis suggested either sending the "unacceptable" books to their collection centers or using them to create an event to bring the "community" together.
The legendary book-burnings were carefully staged for maximum propaganda effect.

The looting gained speed and momentum.

In reality, the Nazi hierarchy created vast personal libraries including many, many rare and unique volumes for personal gain and pleasure. And, more importantly, the books were used to research and study to try to further justify and expand their murderous "cleansing" philosophy.

There is no way of knowing how many books were stolen or destroyed - estimates are well in excess of tens of millions - and only a few hundred have been returned to their original owners.

This book has meticulous and carefully researched details. Many personal interviews with various librarians, collectors and historians. Generous footnotes provide ample backup and detailed sourcing of numbers and data.

Reading this book in today's political climate is both informative and chilling.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
13 people found this helpful
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Joseph Tatone
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2017
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very well written and researched
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John D. Cofield
5.0 out of 5 stars Recovering A Stolen Heritage
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2017
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Books about the Nazi pillaging of Europe before and during World War II have usually focused on valuable paintings and statues that make for huge headlines when they are recovered. Among the best of those books are Robert Edsel's The Monuments Men, Lynn H.Nicholas' The Rape of Europa, and The Amber Room by Catherine Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy. Anders Rydell's The Book Thieves covers another aspect of World War II era looting: the widespread and systematic seizure of books. Millions of volumes, some valuable and many not, were taken from libraries across Europe before and during the war. Over seventy years later many of those books remain lost, boxed up in warehouses awaiting examination for names, bookplates, or anything that might reveal their original owners. Rydell's book makes the looting really come home: I'm sure very few of his readers are wealthy enough to be able to own artwork that might have caught the acquisitive eye of some highly placed Nazi, but practically every body can afford to buy and cherish books, and therefore feel pain when someone steals them.

The Nazi pillaging of libraries began shortly after Hitler's ascension to power in January, 1933. Partly out of a desire to prove their race-based anthropological and historic theories and partly out of sheer acquisitiveness, leading Nazis like Heinrich Himmler and Alfred Rosenberg were responsible for the confiscation of libraries belonging to wealthy Jews and Jewish institutions throughout Germany. After World War II began the Nazi book collectors expanded their reach throughout Europe, seizing millions of volumes in Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, Poland, and the Soviet Union. Many of these books came from the homes of ordinary people who had been arrested and sent to concentration camps. They weren't valuable in and of themselves, but they became symbols of the lives that were altered and lost forever.

After the war ended in May 1945 the book pillaging continued, this time by the victorious Allies. The most egregious acts of thievery were committed by the Soviets, but many volumes and even whole libraries eventually ended up in French and British hands or even in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Seventy years later the process of trying to identify these stolen books and track down their rightful owners is ongoing, carried on by dedicated researchers often working in the face of public and official indifference or even hostility.

Before I read The Book Thieves I had no idea of the scope of the Nazis' book-collecting mania, nor did I realize the vast number of books still waiting to be reunited with their rightful owners. It was heartbreaking to read about books which had been given as gifts by parents to young children who, the records reveal, later grew up to be gassed or shot, but it was heartwarming to read of the joy felt by children and grandchildren of some of the war's victims when they were given their lost forebear's long lost book.

In an age when the last of the Holocaust's survivors are soon to pass away, and at a time when some loud and angry voices deny the Holocaust even happened, it is important to remember the truth. These often unremarkable books written by long forgotten authors sitting waiting in libraries or warehouses to be identified and returned provide lasting testimony to that truth.
28 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars All so unbelievable
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2023
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The incredible number of missing books, etc, will stay with me. This book was so good, such research! Read on my Kindle.
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Christopher A. Carbott
3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Historical Reference
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2017
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An excellent historical reference work, but not necessarily an enjoyable read. It was worthwhile for a student of WWII history, as it told in great detail what has been an under-reported tragedy of the war. However, the author's style becomes tedious as he repeats himself in each subsequent chapter which highlights a "new theft" from a different location. I think the editors could have done a better job in helping to consolidate this story to make it more readable, but I recognize that that effort might have come at the expense of details that might be useful in tracking down individual works by descendants of the original owners.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

T. Quiring
5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking But Highly Receommended
Reviewed in Canada on March 6, 2017
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This book broke my heart - not just for all of the lives needlessly lost, but for all of the knowledge that was lost, all in the name of the fanatical delusions held by one group whose beliefs permeated society like a poisoned spider web. I was disappointed that the returning of books and documents has not taken a position of high importance in many government department agendas and that many agencies refuse to even participate in the effort, meaning that many of the stolen artifacts will probably never be found - never mind all of the items that were burned, pulped or left to rot. This book is obviously very well researched; I hope that it becomes very widely read and that more people will become interested in not only locating the missing collections and returning them to the libraries, schools, archives and families to which they once belonged, but in saving other collections around the world before they too are lost forever.
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Kate Costelloe.
4.0 out of 5 stars We must never forget.
Reviewed in Canada on February 25, 2018
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Very in depth book on how determined the Nazi’s were to both destroying the Jewish peoples as well as gathering all their treasures for their
there one demented use. A wicked plan that thankfully did not work. Showing how normal citizens can be drawn into genocide happening all around them and being willing to be part of it.
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F. Jean. T.
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating book although dealing with a subject which can only ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2017
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Fascinating book although dealing with a subject which can only make you angry at long years of injustice both by the Nazi regime and subsequent European governments. Knowing the family who had a book restored brought tears as I relived their story.
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Leslie
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 18, 2017
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Worth while buying lovely book
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