confiscations and contributions

"As the most destructive war in history ravaged Europe, many of the world's most cherished cultural objects were in harm's way. 'The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History' recounts the . . . true story of eleven men and one woman who risked their lives amidst the bloodshed of World War II to preserve churches, libraries, monuments, and works of art that for centuries defined the heritage of Western civilization. As the war raged, these American and British volunteers--museum curators, art scholars and educators, architects, archivists, and artists, known as the Monuments Men--found themselves in a desperate race against time to locate and save the many priceless treasures and works of art stolen by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Robert M. Edsel . . . brings this story to young readers for the first time in a[n] . . . adventure detailing [the] . . . treasure hunt"--Provided by publisher.

"As the most destructive war in history ravaged Europe, many of the world's most cherished cultural objects were in harm's way. 'The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History' recounts the . . . true story of eleven men and one woman who risked their lives amidst the bloodshed of World War II to preserve churches, libraries, monuments, and works of art that for centuries defined the heritage of Western civilization. As the war raged, these American and British volunteers--museum curators, art scholars and educators, architects, archivists, and artists, known as the Monuments Men--found themselves in a desperate race against time to locate and save the many priceless treasures and works of art stolen by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Robert M. Edsel . . . brings this story to young readers for the first time in a[n] . . . adventure detailing [the] . . . treasure hunt"--Provided by publisher.

"As the most destructive war in history ravaged Europe, many of the world's most cherished cultural objects were in harm's way. The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History recounts the astonishing true story of eleven men and one woman who risked their lives amidst the bloodshed of World War II to preserve churches, libraries, monuments, and works of art that for centuries defined the heritage of Western civilization. As the war raged, these American and British volunteers--museum curators, art scholars and educators, architects, archivists, and artists, known as the Monuments Men--found themselves in a desperate race against time to locate and save the many priceless treasures and works of art stolen by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Robert M. Edsel, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Monuments Men, brings this story to young readers for the first time in a sweeping, dynamic adventure detailing history's greatest treasure hunt"--.

American soldiers, aided by an Austrian colonel who was both an Olympian and a trainer of Lipizzaners, attempt to kidnap horses that had been taken by Nazis "for the glorification of the Third Reich" and smuggle them to safety.

"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. ... 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. ... But when the war was over, most of the books were never returned. ... 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. ... 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"--Amazon.com.

Traces Hitler's efforts to build a master race of the finest purebred horses and the heroic achievements of American soldiers to rescue imperiled stolen equines from a hidden Czechoslovakian farm during a 1945 battle between Third Reich and Allied forces.

"The world was stunned when eighty-year old Cornelius Gurlitt became an international media superstar in November 2013 on the discovery of over 1,400 artworks in his 1,076 square-foot Munich apartment, valued at around $1.35 billion. Gurlitt became known as a man who never was - he didn't have a bank account, never paid tax, never received social security. He simply did not exist. He had been hard-wired into a life of shadows and secrecy by his own father long before he had inherited his art collection built on the spoliation of museums and Jews during Hitler's Third Reich. The ensuing media frenzy unleashed international calls for restitution, unsettled international relations, and rocked the art world. Ronald reveals in this stranger-than-fiction-tale how Hildebrand Gurlitt succeeded in looting in the name of the Third Reich, duping the Monuments Men and the Nazis alike. As an "official dealer" for Hitler and Goebbels, Hildebrand Gurlitt became one of the Third Reich's most prolific art looters. Yet he stole from Hitler too, allegedly to save modern art. This is the untold story of Hildebrand Gurlitt, who stole more than art-he stole lives, too"--.

Provides an overview of the World War I, military battles, American involvement, heroism, war weapons, military uniforms and its effects on American mainland during that period.

Presents an account of those who were part of a special force of American and British curators, art historians, museum curators, and other experts who risked their lives to prevent the destruction of cultural artifacts and structures while also trying to locate missing items that had been stolen by the Nazis during World War II.

Presents an account of those who were part of a special force of American and British curators, art historians, museum curators, and other experts who risked their lives to prevent the destruction of cultural artifacts and structures while also trying to locate missing items that had been stolen by the Nazis during World War II.