Annotated Bibliography

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1 | Page The theft-dispersal and disposal of art works belonging to Jewish citizens in countries invaded by Germany in the Second World War.

Transcript of Annotated Bibliography

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The theft-dispersal and disposal of art works belonging to Jewish citizens in countries invaded by

Germany in the Second World War.

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Secondary Sources.

Texts.

Spotts, Federic. Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics. Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 2002.

Print.

The book Hitler and the power of aesthetics looks in to the life of Adolf Hitler and the vision

that his political effort should be an artistic achievement and his conviction to create the ultimate

cultured state of all time. The author uses an extensive range of sources to cover a number of topics

in relation to Hitler and his artistic visions for Germany. This article is useful to my research topic as

it covers a lot of information about the goals Hitler had for German in artistic cultured sense and

how he went about to achieve this as a reality, which touches on the theft of Jewish artworks. The

main limitation of this book is its main focus on Hitler and his visions for the Third Reich, not quite

covering in any detail the topic of stolen, dispersed and disposed of Jewish art. This book will not

form the basis of my argument but will be useful for supplementary information relating to why

these art crimes occurred.

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Texts.

Soltes, Z. “Politics, Ethics, and Memory: Nazi Art Plunder and Holocaust Art Restitution.”

Ethics and the Visual Arts. Ed. Elaine A. King and Gail Levin. New York: Allworth Press, 2006: 65-88.

Print.

In this article Soltes informs of a short history of ancient wartime plundering of art,

concentrating on the period of the Nazis. Beginning with why the Nazis looted art, what they did

with it, including the preservation ‘museum of an extinct race’, right through to the end of the war

when the Allies and Soviets came through and took artworks what they wanted. Soltes talks about

the ethics of the Americans, how they sought to distinguish themselves from the Nazi looters but

were also looters themselves. Towards the end of the article it is discussed why there was not much

concern directly after the war to find these looted Jewish artworks, and the landmark film that

sparked interest in the subject called ‘The rape of Europa’. Finalizing the argument, Soltes discusses

the role museums took upon themselves to deal with artworks held that had provenance issues, and

how they avoided handing back works. This article seems very useful in my research area; it provides

a wide scope on the ethics the art world came across during and after the Holocaust.

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Texts.

Chamberlin, R. Loot! The Heritage of Plunder. Japan: Dai Nippon, 1983. Print.

Chamberlin’s chapter titled Adolf Hitler reviews a broad range of lootings that happened

over the course of World War II. Mentioned is the recovery of art treasures buried in the Alt Aussee

saltmine in Austria, and the resistance movement created to save the treasures. Mentioned is also

how Jewish property fell forfeit to the state. Chamberlin points out the size comparison of looted

German art collections against the collections from the rest of the world. In discussions of post war,

Chamberlin makes reference to an organization entitled the Art Looting Investigation Unit by the US

and how it was considered of high political importance. Other relevant sections in this chapter found

was the problems with tracking down the Nazi loots, and also mention of certain laws in Austria over

items that, if remained unclaimed by 1970, would then become state property. Although this

chapter has some interesting topics, not enough detail is given, in any case it was useful to use as a

base for further research.

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Texts.

Sandholtz, Wayne. “Repercussions of Nazi Plunder: Internationalizing International Norms.”

Prohibiting Plunder: How Norms Change. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.

The chapter Repercussions of Nazi Plunder covers topics which deal with plundered artworks

during World War II including conflicts of state-to-state relations, private claims, national responses,

museums and Holocaust claims. While this source is not focused on Jewish artefacts, there is a

detailed outline to the conflict between Germany and Russia over ‘trophy brigades’. A case

mentioned is that of the ‘Gold Train’ where a train carrying the valuables including artworks

belonging to Hungarian Jewish families, was intercepted and confiscated by American army officers.

This source is potentially a valuable asset to my essay because of its dedication to changing national

restitution policies and the evolution of international norms when dealing with plundered art.

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Journal Articles.

Burris, Donald. Scgoenberg, E. Randol. “Reflections on Litigating Holocaust Stolen Art Cases.”

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 38, 2005: 1041-1049. Print.

This article reflects two major cases in the returning of stolen art during the Holocaust. The

first case is of an 89-year-old woman who vividly remembers the specific location in her uncle and

aunts residence. The second case concerns a Picasso painting, and it is this case, that shows many

steps and court procedures appealing all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Included in my essay,

this article can provide information on court proceedings relevant to Holocaust art that is caught in

endless debates over jurisdiction.

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Journal Articles.

Turner, Michelle I. “Innocent Buyer of Art Looted During World War II” Venderbilt Journal of

Transnational Law 32, 1999: 1511-1548. QxResearch; ProQuest Central. Web. 10 Apr 2012.

This article by Turner focuses on a wide variety of topics concerned with buyers of loot art

from World War II. Included in this article are discussions on different types of scenarios such as

looted art in the possession of museums, public institutions, thieves, knowledgeable buyers, and the

innocent buyers. The main emphasis of this paper is of disputes involving innocent buyers, and

introduces different case studies. Provided also is some of the legal frameworks that is involved in

the case of an innocent buyer. This topic of the innocent buyer will be a good argument to provide in

my chosen essay area.

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Journal Articles.

Grimsted, Patricia K. “The Post war fate of Esnsatzatab Reichsleiter Rosenburg Archival and

Library Plunder, and the dispersal of ERR Records.” Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 20.2, 2006: 278-

308. Web 10 Apr. 2012. http://hgs.oxfordjournals.org/content/20/2/278.full.pdf

The article dispersal of ERR records, provides a meticulous and detailed account in to the

dispersal of books and records that were plundered property during World War Two. While this

article focuses on the dispersal and recovery of plundered archives and books, it highlights the value

these records hold in terms of artwork restitution. The ERR and its records are an important source

for provenance research used by museums and law suits for missing art. This article will be of high

importance in my essay because it gives a detailed account of recovered archives and importance

they hold to plundered artwork and provenance information.

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Journal Articles.

Ben-Cavid, Calev. “The Great Art Treasure Hunt.” The Jerusalem Report Oct 31, 1996: 51.

OxResearch; ProQuest Central. Web 10 Apr. 2012.

The article by Ben-Cavid discusses the resistance shown by countries such as Russia, France,

Holland and even Germany when it comes to returning looted Jewish artworks from the Second

World War. Highlighted in Ban-Cavid’s argument, the landmark charity auction held in Vienna, where

a fraction of the vast amount of Jewish owned artwork seized by Nazis will be sold off and the

proceedings going to the Federation of Austrian Jewish Communities, which includes compensation

for Holocaust survivors. This information on the resistance countries displayed when faced with

returning looted art will be important to note throughout my essay.

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Journal Articles.

Morris, Nomi. “On the Trail of Looted Art.” Macleans 111 1998: 48. OxResearch; Proquest

Central. Web. 10 Apr 2012.

The article by Morris discusses the controversy that continues to plague the great works

plundered by the Nazis and how museum directors today are trying to come up with policies to deal

with their holdings of looted art. Included in the article is the subject on how major galleries are

deliberately deciding not to delve too deeply when investigating the provenance of art works they

hold. Mentioned in Morris’s article is the argument of opening a Pandora’s Box when it comes to

dealing with ownerships of objects that have been collected from the entire world. This article will

assist in my research area as it delves in to how museums are dealing with the touchy subject of

looted art.

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Journal Articles.

Aspen, Peter. “Catalogue Lists Art Looted by Nazis.” The Financial Times Limited, 2011: n/a.

OxResearch; ProQuest Central. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.

This article by Aspen announces the online international catalogue records of art looted by

the Nazis before and during the Second World War. Discussions in the article include how it will be

much easier for researchers to locate stolen art works through online records between 1939-61

listing perpetrators, artists and names of victims. While this article is only a small piece, its

information on the progress that has been made in today’s world concerning looted artefacts and

may well be something to add in my essay argument.

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Newspapers.

Pash, B. “Art of the Matter: Willy Korte’s mission to recover Jewish- owned artworks looted

by the Nazis during World War Two.” Baltimore Jewish Times, 234.14 (1997): 30. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.

http://searchproquest.com/docview/22282475?accountid=36155.

In this article Pash discusses briefly the investigations Willy Korte had made into the

recovery of looted art during World War II. Korte, a lawyer and historian whose focus is on stolen

artworks, finds himself on a trail that gets rather cold; investigations delve into Art Museums in Paris

to Banks of Switzerland. The article is useful to my research because it gives information as to where

Jewish looted artworks ended up, illustrating the hurdles one may come across to recovery them.

While it is great for outlining one person’s mission, it will not be used in great length for my research

assignment.

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Primary Sources.

Magazine Articles.

Robinson, Walter V. “Jewish Group Says Looted Artwork May Number 1700.” Boston Globe:

A.1. OxResearch; ProQuest Central. Dec 03 1998. Web. 11 Apr 2012.

The article written by Robinson is a report into a three day conference on Holocausts assets

with representatives from forty four nations present. This article became interesting to me because

of the general hostility and accusations that were brought up throughout the conference, including

accusations that the French government was hiding records that would reveal the identities of

Jewish persons whose looted artworks where currently displayed in French museums. The

conference organizers were scolded by the chairman of Holocaust Art restitution Project, for talking

about the rights or art claimants but refusing to invite along the victims of looting, or listening to

their concerns. Included in this report is the proposal to the forty four nations to open their archives

and seek to match claimants with their missing artworks. Though out this article there seems to be

an array of heated topics that may put an interesting spin on my essay argument.

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Magazine Articles.

Leibel, Aaron. “Museum Pays $19 Million for Nazi-Looted Painting.” Washington Jewish

Week: 9. OxResearch; Proquest Central. Jul 29 2010. Web. 10 April. 2012.

This article by Leibel, reports of a museum in Austria that paid nineteen million dollars to the

estate of a Jewish Austrian woman named Bondi Jaray. Bondi reported the painting titled ‘Portrait of

Wally’ stolen back in 1939. According to the report, the painting was seized in 1999 by U.S officials

while it was on loan in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and after a decade long court case it was

found that the Leopold Museum was to pay Bondi Jaray’s estate. This article I found interesting and

perhaps useful for my research topic as it is the end result of one Jewish woman’s plight to recover

her stolen painting.

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Transcripts.

“Gov. Schwarzenegger Returns Holocaust-Era Artworks to Heirs of Jewish Family.” US Fed

News Service, Including US State News: n/a. OxResearch, ProQuest Central May 26 2009. Web. 11

Apr. 2012.

This documented record of the presentation speech that was given to the public at Leland

Stanford Historic Park presents a positive outcome for the returning of stolen artworks to the Jewish

Oppenheimer Heirs. The speech tells of the journey the painting took before they were property of

the state of California in 1972 then returned to their rightful owners. Also discussed is the legal

journey the investigators took when dealing with problems such as which countries laws would

apply to the artwork. This transcript is a happy ending for one Jewish family regarding their lost

property, this may useful to add to my essay when making conclusions on returned property.

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Transcripts.

Ferris, William R. “On the Trail of Lost Art.” Humanities 2001: 4-9. OxResearch; ProQuest

Central. Web. 11 Apr 2012.

This source is the printed interview William Ferris gives to Historian Nicholas Lynn discussing

the disappearance of artwork during the Second World War and the ramifications caused in the art

world today. The interest in this interview is because historian Nicholas Lynn is the author of the

well-known book The Rape of Europa. The range of topics that are covered throughout the dialogue

including Nicholas knowledge about Max Friedlander, a Jewish art historian used by Goering,

Russians as looters, the ownership case of Landscape with Smokestacks, why was Nazi looting

different to that of loots done by Napoleon or Lord Elgin, and also discussions on cultural property

and national patrimony. Nicholas’s academic opinion and knowledge will be a good perspective to

look upon when researching the ramifications to the art world after World War Two.

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