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Goering's Man in Paris: The Story of a Nazi Art Plunderer and His World
A charged biography of a notorious Nazi art plunderer and his career in the postwar art world
Bruno Lohse (1911–2007) was one of the most notorious art plunderers in history. Appointed by Hermann Göring to Hitler’s special art looting agency, he went on to supervise the systematic theft and distribution of over 22,000 artworks, largely from French Jews; helped Göring develop an enormous private art collection; and staged twenty private exhibitions of stolen art in Paris’s Jeu de Paume museum during the war. By the 1950s Lohse was officially denazified but back in the art dealing world, offering looted masterpieces to American museums. After his death, dozens of paintings by Renoir, Monet, and Pissarro, among others, were found in his Zurich bank vault and adorning the walls of his Munich home.
Jonathan Petropoulos spent nearly a decade interviewing Lohse and continues to serve as an expert witness for Holocaust restitution cases. Here he tells the story of Lohse’s life, offering a critical examination of the postwar art world.
Bruno Lohse (1911–2007) was one of the most notorious art plunderers in history. Appointed by Hermann Göring to Hitler’s special art looting agency, he went on to supervise the systematic theft and distribution of over 22,000 artworks, largely from French Jews; helped Göring develop an enormous private art collection; and staged twenty private exhibitions of stolen art in Paris’s Jeu de Paume museum during the war. By the 1950s Lohse was officially denazified but back in the art dealing world, offering looted masterpieces to American museums. After his death, dozens of paintings by Renoir, Monet, and Pissarro, among others, were found in his Zurich bank vault and adorning the walls of his Munich home.
Jonathan Petropoulos spent nearly a decade interviewing Lohse and continues to serve as an expert witness for Holocaust restitution cases. Here he tells the story of Lohse’s life, offering a critical examination of the postwar art world.
456 pages, Hardcover
Published January 26, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
August 21, 2021
1-1/2 Stars
The book is very dense with details and names. It reads like a dissertation on Nazi art theft during and after WWII in general. Clearly there were many people involved in art looting during the war and the author seeks to name them – one and all.
While the author has obviously done a good amount of research he concentrates primarily on Bruno Lohse having actually interviewed the man several times during 1998 and 2007.
Pg.168 “But I was never sure if Lohse was telling the truth.”
Lohse is a consummate liar and spinner of tales making much of what comes out of his mouth open to question.
Facts: The man was a remorseless monster whose only interest was self-preservation and greed. A more unsavory character is hard to find.
Introduction - Page 15 “…Lohse ranks in the top five among history’s all-time art looters.”
There are several pages of photographs which tells a story all by themselves.
The author says he found the man “charming”, well he needed him for the creation of this book – and offers a picture showing himself with the man – both smiling like the best of chums. It made me gag.
I’m not sure what this says about the author but unless you are a scholar of the subject I suggest not buying this book, get it from a library like I did.
The book is very dense with details and names. It reads like a dissertation on Nazi art theft during and after WWII in general. Clearly there were many people involved in art looting during the war and the author seeks to name them – one and all.
While the author has obviously done a good amount of research he concentrates primarily on Bruno Lohse having actually interviewed the man several times during 1998 and 2007.
Pg.168 “But I was never sure if Lohse was telling the truth.”
Lohse is a consummate liar and spinner of tales making much of what comes out of his mouth open to question.
Facts: The man was a remorseless monster whose only interest was self-preservation and greed. A more unsavory character is hard to find.
Introduction - Page 15 “…Lohse ranks in the top five among history’s all-time art looters.”
There are several pages of photographs which tells a story all by themselves.
The author says he found the man “charming”, well he needed him for the creation of this book – and offers a picture showing himself with the man – both smiling like the best of chums. It made me gag.
I’m not sure what this says about the author but unless you are a scholar of the subject I suggest not buying this book, get it from a library like I did.
May 14, 2022
Intriguing. So many great ideas swirling in my mind. Also deals with the challenges of being a historian who knows your subjects.
July 27, 2021
This books stands as a rebuke to some of the other kinds of history books I’ve read this summer. It doesn’t claim to offer *the* historical record on the topic and if anything is underwrought (especially relative to Ben Macintyre’s books). The author doesn’t focus on big picture Holocaust issues; he talks about vague relationships and letters and hints over seven decades and doesn’t draw many conclusions. It’s complicated, messy, and confusing. The chapters are in chronological order but somehow the book feels like a spiderweb that requires hopping around to figure it out. It wasn’t until after page 200 that I had a real breathtaking moment - the author does an excellent job of baking the confusion of the art market and particularly the Nazi plundering into his writing. This book would’ve been easier to read if it had been more organized but that might’ve taken away from Peteopoulos’ end goal. If you can set aside the messiness, this is a fascinating read on a little talked about part of history and the epilogue in particular addresses many of the issues in looking back on history and casting judgment or drawing conclusions decades after events occur.
December 28, 2020
A fascinating book and gives a great insight into just how much there was plundered during this time. Certainly a different viewpoint on the war and a very interesting read.
February 3, 2024
Bruno Lohse was born in 1911. He worked as an art dealer in Berlin prior to the onset of World War II. Lohse ultimately joined the SS in 1933, and was subsequently drafted into the Luftwaffe. He officially joined the Nazi Party in 1937. His close proximity to Hermann Goring allowed him to be elevated to the position of working inside the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg. This was a special unit that appropriated (stole) cultural artifacts and artwork from those "undesirables" on the Nazi's target lists. In this capacity, he helped supply both Goring and Hitler with prized artworks and other collectables. He was imprisoned in the aftermath of World War II and tried for his crimes of looting and dealing in stolen items, but was able to continue on with his art dealings later in life. Lohse died in 2007.
This book was extremely interesting. It is commonly known that the Nazis and regular citizens stole from the apartments and homes of those who were abducted and deported by the Nazis. Those who were taken to concentration camps had their items stolen and sold as well- down to the gold in their teeth. The theft and crimes against humanity that were perpetrated during World War II are exceptional. It is staggering to consider how many precious artworks and artifacts have vanished or have been destroyed because of this. I enjoyed reading the Monuments Men book, and this book was suggested to me because Lohse was investigated by, and later friends with, some of the Monuments Men. If you are interested in this particular subject or in art history, I think you would enjoy this book.
This book was extremely interesting. It is commonly known that the Nazis and regular citizens stole from the apartments and homes of those who were abducted and deported by the Nazis. Those who were taken to concentration camps had their items stolen and sold as well- down to the gold in their teeth. The theft and crimes against humanity that were perpetrated during World War II are exceptional. It is staggering to consider how many precious artworks and artifacts have vanished or have been destroyed because of this. I enjoyed reading the Monuments Men book, and this book was suggested to me because Lohse was investigated by, and later friends with, some of the Monuments Men. If you are interested in this particular subject or in art history, I think you would enjoy this book.
January 26, 2021
I took it that "Enigma" by Robert Harris was suggesting the Nazis lost WW2 because they were wasting energy on the Final Solution, but that wasn't all they were doing. No, some were funding expeditions to find the tunnel into the North Pole that led to the world within Earth where the Aryan mother race were still living, or something, and a heck of a lot were looting Paris and the markets of a lot of art. A lot of it was about – with little else to spend money on, the rich were investing in the painting trade, and no end of art was stolen from the walls of Jewish galleries, collections and living rooms. This book looks at the life and times of one such dealer, who ended up being Goering's prime procurer, dallying round France and beyond getting artworks for Goering, Himmler, and Nazi museums of the future. He's not the one who had a maze of thousands of artworks stuffed secretly into his Munich apartment, who was revealed a few years back, but he's cut of the same cloth.
A much richer cut, mind. You could think to expect a major work of public acclaim where that hoarder was concerned, but our subject here has resulted in a very different book. This will probably want for the public acclaim, for it is definitely on the academic side. The chapter that seemingly wants to concentrate on Herr Lohse and two key years of his success, ends up giving more than a page to no end of similar people, contacts, rivals and compadres of his. A huge chunk of this is the notes and references. More importantly, it doesn't read as if it's catering to the average, general browser whatsoever.
But it also seems to fall down a little on the academic side – later on it tries to veer into being the Book Nobody Dare Write about a certain dynasty of dealers, but does it in a very woolly way with not enough connection to the prime subject. I must have come to this before the proof-readers, for my copy says Lohse both quit Paris on the 18th August, and that he was in Berlin for a fortnight until the 19th. Yes, it covers so, so much with forensic detail, but I was left wondering quite who the audience for this would be. For people building a library of Jewish issue books, this is too much involved in legalities, specifics and minutiae to appeal. For people on the art history side of things, this really does open up a world where thousands of inheritances have been shafted due to Nazi looting, and millions of provenances have a question mark, but does it in a way many will feel too restricting. I for one found it amazing how much of the dealers post-war were Jewish-owned firms, trading in loot stolen from Jews – but this was never raised, while the mountains of research took centre-stage. For a handful of people this is priceless, but from Joe Average's POV, this is little more than three stars.
A much richer cut, mind. You could think to expect a major work of public acclaim where that hoarder was concerned, but our subject here has resulted in a very different book. This will probably want for the public acclaim, for it is definitely on the academic side. The chapter that seemingly wants to concentrate on Herr Lohse and two key years of his success, ends up giving more than a page to no end of similar people, contacts, rivals and compadres of his. A huge chunk of this is the notes and references. More importantly, it doesn't read as if it's catering to the average, general browser whatsoever.
But it also seems to fall down a little on the academic side – later on it tries to veer into being the Book Nobody Dare Write about a certain dynasty of dealers, but does it in a very woolly way with not enough connection to the prime subject. I must have come to this before the proof-readers, for my copy says Lohse both quit Paris on the 18th August, and that he was in Berlin for a fortnight until the 19th. Yes, it covers so, so much with forensic detail, but I was left wondering quite who the audience for this would be. For people building a library of Jewish issue books, this is too much involved in legalities, specifics and minutiae to appeal. For people on the art history side of things, this really does open up a world where thousands of inheritances have been shafted due to Nazi looting, and millions of provenances have a question mark, but does it in a way many will feel too restricting. I for one found it amazing how much of the dealers post-war were Jewish-owned firms, trading in loot stolen from Jews – but this was never raised, while the mountains of research took centre-stage. For a handful of people this is priceless, but from Joe Average's POV, this is little more than three stars.
February 27, 2021
An account of Bruno Lohse, Hermann Goring's main art agent in Paris, who oversaw operations at the Jeu de Paume which served as a depot for looted artworks, mostly confiscated from Jewish owners. The author has previously written several books on the intertwining of the Holocaust, Nazi art looting, and restitution efforts since 1945. This work focuses on the career of Lohse as exemplifying how many Nazi-associated art dealers managed to survive and prosper post-1945 even though some, like Lohse, suffered relatively minor punishments (he was imprisoned but eventually acquitted by a French court). The author established a relationship with Lohse (who died in 2007) and also discusses the dangers and pitfalls of interviewing former Nazis who have much to hide but also want to talk in order to control history's judgment of their actions. Lohse told many lies that Petropoulos is able to refute through his extensive archival research and interviews with Lohse's colleagues and adversaries. Quite apart from the Nazi connection, the author also describes the often secretive--and borderline illegal--operations of the international art dealer world with Swiss bank vaults filled with paintings, shell "foundations" in Liechtenstein for money laundering, and deliberately vague provenance descriptions in catalogs. This may be why Goring--a particularly rapacious collector of looted art--is quoted in the prefatory material of the book as saying in 1945 while in prison in Nuremberg: "I think my own experience shows that you've got to be damned careful when you associate with art dealers. They're in a class by themselves--I noticed that myself toward the end." An intriguing work that made me want to read another one of the author's book, Faustian Bargain: The Art World in Nazi Germany.
February 14, 2021
This is such a fascinating book, one which exposes the murky world of art dealing in all its shocking aspects. I think we are all familiar with the fact that the Nazis plundered art, especially Jewish art, during WWII, but I hadn’t realised the scale. And issues of restitution plague the art world to this day, with many pictures still missing. What this book does so expertly, and with such meticulous research, is explore who the key players were and how they managed to continue dealing in art even after the war. The author focuses on one such key player, Bruno Lohse, one of the most notorious art plunderers, with whom he developed a close relationship over many years, but the book is certainly not just about Lohse. Petropoulos goes into forensic detail and even my interested eyes glazed over at times with all the facts and figures, but the book remains such an important comprehensive work about the subject that any momentary longueurs are easily forgiven. In general the book is really an indictment of the amorality of the art world, a world in which obsession with acquisition and greed seem to outweigh all other concerns and a world in which it is not just the Nazis who were – or indeed are - guilty.
February 19, 2022
This is a diabolically badly written book. I should have known (there is a rule!) when the book 'intro' runs for an hour (of a 15 hour audiobook) the 'editor' was on holidays that day. What should have been a fascinating read, turned into a confusing mish-mash of bullet points. I know this story, yet three hours into the book, I had no clue what the hell was going on, who it was really about, or what the underlying 'story' (apart from the obvious) actually was.
It is like the author wrote a series of bullet points, and some one page articles, all on single pieces of paper, then dropped them, picked them up at random, and that's how they were published. Honestly, it is a shocker.
I won't go into the horrendous narration, or the many other faults of this book. Why list birth and death years of every single person? Why use German terms, then translate every one into English? If it's dumpling soup, just say so! It's almost as if the author is trying to impress us with his ability to speak another language! I read (aka listened to) 3 hours (so 20%) and pulled the pin.
Save yourself the pain, and look elsewhere.
It is like the author wrote a series of bullet points, and some one page articles, all on single pieces of paper, then dropped them, picked them up at random, and that's how they were published. Honestly, it is a shocker.
I won't go into the horrendous narration, or the many other faults of this book. Why list birth and death years of every single person? Why use German terms, then translate every one into English? If it's dumpling soup, just say so! It's almost as if the author is trying to impress us with his ability to speak another language! I read (aka listened to) 3 hours (so 20%) and pulled the pin.
Save yourself the pain, and look elsewhere.
February 25, 2021
I enjoyed reading Royals and the Reich so I had to read this one. Having worked on the Volcker Commission in Switzerland and seen the evidence of Nazi looted art I found this book very interesting. Whilst it focuses on one particular Nazi it does look at the Nazi looting issue in detail and the book is used to explore other problems. An excellent read.
July 5, 2021
Plenty of Nazis were absolute monsters. Plenty of the rest were maybe less overtly monstrous, but were still willing to go along with the monsters so as to profit from the destruction of the innocent.
Did I get that right? Because that's what I took away from this book. Of course, I also learned a lot about art, and people who deal in it, and the processes and agencies that allowed the Nazis to steal the belongings of those they deemed unworthy of possessing cultural treasures, and how easily some of the thieves managed to evade severe penalties or avoid being punished at all and hop back into polite society after war's end just as if nothing had ever happened and their hands weren't at best filthy and at worst dripping with blood.
This is a very interesting story of one man, Bruno Lohse, and his activities during and after World War II in Europe and the United States. Lohse is just one human being among the millions who lived through the war (and millions more who didn't), but his web of contacts in the worlds of art, law, and finance is extensive and dense, and his story demonstrates how people were able to parlay their ill-gotten gains into social connections, prominence in their fields, and, of course, fortunes in money and goods.
The author explores Lohse's entry into the ERR, an agency responsible for the getting and dispersing of art and culturally significant objects, and his time in Paris as the man responsible for building Hermann Goering's art collection. Armed with a sort of license from the Luftwaffe chief, Lohse could pull works from the vast quantities that passed through ERR premises at the Jeu de Paume museum and put them aside for Goering's consideration during his visits to Paris. Lohse also traveled to the Netherlands and elsewhere to obtain art he felt might interest Goering. Did he actually assist in the plundering and "Aryanization" that resulted in a huge stockpile of stolen art? Did he just stand by, waiting for the trucks to pull up at the Jeu de Paume, and then go to work? So much time has passed, so many people who might have known the truth are gone, so many records were destroyed; we will probably never know the answers. But we do know that Lohse amassed a pretty impressive collection of art and objects himself, and that he managed to live quite comfortably in Munich after the war, working as an art consultant and sometime dealer.
Lohse did spend time -- about five years -- in Allied custody after the war, and he was tried for his offenses by a French court, and he was (shockingly) acquitted. Even the US personnel who encountered him in their efforts to collect and return works of art stolen from all over Europe remained friendly with him after the interrogations and proceedings were over, staying in touch with him as they were in positions where they might help him professionally or socially, by buying art from him or by facilitating new social connections that might benefit him later. Was this because he was a relatively benign actor, who was known to have helped save the lives of Jewish people? Was it because the Americans hoped to keep lines of communication open, in hope of one day learning more about his activities and the works he dealt in, so as to be able to return things to their rightful owners? Again, people who might know have died, and we may never find out.
The author does touch upon the pitfalls of connecting with what he (and they) call "Old Nazis," acknowledging the difficulties of balancing hard questions with the amicable relations needed to keep the subjects willing to meet and speak openly. And he deals at length with the connections between the plunderers and their victims, some of whom were also profiteers themselves, and the complexity of these links, as one group sought to regain their legitimacy and the other could look the other way as looted art passed through their businesses. Ambivalent, ambiguous -- yeah, it all is. And it's all horrible, no matter how you choose to interpret people's actions.
As I said, I learned a lot from this; my only quibble is that it's hard to keep track of art works and people, because they show up again and again in the story, and it seems that you hear part of the information about them and then later another part, which means things get repetitious and you wish there were a way to cover one person or topic in depth when they first come up and then just refer back to them later...I don't know, but I found it hard to remember who I was hearing about and had to keep looking at the index. And there are A LOT of people in this book. On the whole, though, I'm glad I read it because I picked up a lot of info and because I have more reading to do, thanks to an online bibliography provided by the author.
Did I get that right? Because that's what I took away from this book. Of course, I also learned a lot about art, and people who deal in it, and the processes and agencies that allowed the Nazis to steal the belongings of those they deemed unworthy of possessing cultural treasures, and how easily some of the thieves managed to evade severe penalties or avoid being punished at all and hop back into polite society after war's end just as if nothing had ever happened and their hands weren't at best filthy and at worst dripping with blood.
This is a very interesting story of one man, Bruno Lohse, and his activities during and after World War II in Europe and the United States. Lohse is just one human being among the millions who lived through the war (and millions more who didn't), but his web of contacts in the worlds of art, law, and finance is extensive and dense, and his story demonstrates how people were able to parlay their ill-gotten gains into social connections, prominence in their fields, and, of course, fortunes in money and goods.
The author explores Lohse's entry into the ERR, an agency responsible for the getting and dispersing of art and culturally significant objects, and his time in Paris as the man responsible for building Hermann Goering's art collection. Armed with a sort of license from the Luftwaffe chief, Lohse could pull works from the vast quantities that passed through ERR premises at the Jeu de Paume museum and put them aside for Goering's consideration during his visits to Paris. Lohse also traveled to the Netherlands and elsewhere to obtain art he felt might interest Goering. Did he actually assist in the plundering and "Aryanization" that resulted in a huge stockpile of stolen art? Did he just stand by, waiting for the trucks to pull up at the Jeu de Paume, and then go to work? So much time has passed, so many people who might have known the truth are gone, so many records were destroyed; we will probably never know the answers. But we do know that Lohse amassed a pretty impressive collection of art and objects himself, and that he managed to live quite comfortably in Munich after the war, working as an art consultant and sometime dealer.
Lohse did spend time -- about five years -- in Allied custody after the war, and he was tried for his offenses by a French court, and he was (shockingly) acquitted. Even the US personnel who encountered him in their efforts to collect and return works of art stolen from all over Europe remained friendly with him after the interrogations and proceedings were over, staying in touch with him as they were in positions where they might help him professionally or socially, by buying art from him or by facilitating new social connections that might benefit him later. Was this because he was a relatively benign actor, who was known to have helped save the lives of Jewish people? Was it because the Americans hoped to keep lines of communication open, in hope of one day learning more about his activities and the works he dealt in, so as to be able to return things to their rightful owners? Again, people who might know have died, and we may never find out.
The author does touch upon the pitfalls of connecting with what he (and they) call "Old Nazis," acknowledging the difficulties of balancing hard questions with the amicable relations needed to keep the subjects willing to meet and speak openly. And he deals at length with the connections between the plunderers and their victims, some of whom were also profiteers themselves, and the complexity of these links, as one group sought to regain their legitimacy and the other could look the other way as looted art passed through their businesses. Ambivalent, ambiguous -- yeah, it all is. And it's all horrible, no matter how you choose to interpret people's actions.
As I said, I learned a lot from this; my only quibble is that it's hard to keep track of art works and people, because they show up again and again in the story, and it seems that you hear part of the information about them and then later another part, which means things get repetitious and you wish there were a way to cover one person or topic in depth when they first come up and then just refer back to them later...I don't know, but I found it hard to remember who I was hearing about and had to keep looking at the index. And there are A LOT of people in this book. On the whole, though, I'm glad I read it because I picked up a lot of info and because I have more reading to do, thanks to an online bibliography provided by the author.
March 20, 2023
A friend kindly gave me two Petropoulos books, this one and “Royals and the Reich.” (In fairness to my friend, he had not read either).
I’ve spent a lot of time researching Göring, his life and particularly his first wife Carin’s life in Sweden. It was Carin who began Göring’s education in art, informing his taste as the two explored the cultural offerings of a post World War I artistic Munich.
Carin found the 27 year old Göring’s lack of aesthetic education something to be remedied as he had experienced only military training. Bright and quick to learn, Göring was a good student with a natural sensibility for the subject, and Carin, a baroness who associated with Stockholm’s artistic salons, was willing to guide him. Finnish painter Richard Hall created two portraits of her, and her brother in law, Seth Roland Martin, was a professional painter. She was artistic as well, and Göring kept her floral studies on display at Carinhall.
Petropoulos does not consider her influence. Indeed, in both books, he downplays positive feminine influences, making vulgar comments about appearance instead, dismissing and ignoring significant contributions made by women.
The author’s clear admiration for Bruno Lohse, “Göring’s man,” clouds his judgment. I did not enjoy reading about how the author kissed up to Lohse and his arrogance in thinking he was special when in reality, Lohse played him as he had so many others.
Remember that Bruno Lohse was an SS-Hauptsturmführer, not just an art plunderer for the Reichsmarshall. In other sources he comes across as a cunning if charming and elegant sociopath. He beat Jewish owners and looted art objects on an epic scale. He would certainly delight in allowing the author to underestimate him and accept his version of events. Perhaps the kindest thing one might say is Petropoulos was extraordinarily naïve.
Aside from the inescapably smug tone, the book really goes nowhere. I kept hoping the author would develop at least one line of thought and stick with it, but he did not. In its chronology, the presentation is confusing as it jumps back and forth with much “more about this later.”
Petropoulos does not mention how Göring’s rapacious taste to acquire art objects began, and a lack of exploring motivations generally is a serious flaw in this work.
The book could have been far shorter and better organized in the hands of a clever editor, and with a better author, so interesting. Lohse exerted his influence in times of great change, high drama, danger, and risk. He worked for a profoundly evil yet by many accounts intensely likable megalomaniacal war criminal. How then can this story be so boring?!
In fine, because Petropoulos a ponderous academic writer who makes potentially exciting subjects dreadfully dull.
I’ve spent a lot of time researching Göring, his life and particularly his first wife Carin’s life in Sweden. It was Carin who began Göring’s education in art, informing his taste as the two explored the cultural offerings of a post World War I artistic Munich.
Carin found the 27 year old Göring’s lack of aesthetic education something to be remedied as he had experienced only military training. Bright and quick to learn, Göring was a good student with a natural sensibility for the subject, and Carin, a baroness who associated with Stockholm’s artistic salons, was willing to guide him. Finnish painter Richard Hall created two portraits of her, and her brother in law, Seth Roland Martin, was a professional painter. She was artistic as well, and Göring kept her floral studies on display at Carinhall.
Petropoulos does not consider her influence. Indeed, in both books, he downplays positive feminine influences, making vulgar comments about appearance instead, dismissing and ignoring significant contributions made by women.
The author’s clear admiration for Bruno Lohse, “Göring’s man,” clouds his judgment. I did not enjoy reading about how the author kissed up to Lohse and his arrogance in thinking he was special when in reality, Lohse played him as he had so many others.
Remember that Bruno Lohse was an SS-Hauptsturmführer, not just an art plunderer for the Reichsmarshall. In other sources he comes across as a cunning if charming and elegant sociopath. He beat Jewish owners and looted art objects on an epic scale. He would certainly delight in allowing the author to underestimate him and accept his version of events. Perhaps the kindest thing one might say is Petropoulos was extraordinarily naïve.
Aside from the inescapably smug tone, the book really goes nowhere. I kept hoping the author would develop at least one line of thought and stick with it, but he did not. In its chronology, the presentation is confusing as it jumps back and forth with much “more about this later.”
Petropoulos does not mention how Göring’s rapacious taste to acquire art objects began, and a lack of exploring motivations generally is a serious flaw in this work.
The book could have been far shorter and better organized in the hands of a clever editor, and with a better author, so interesting. Lohse exerted his influence in times of great change, high drama, danger, and risk. He worked for a profoundly evil yet by many accounts intensely likable megalomaniacal war criminal. How then can this story be so boring?!
In fine, because Petropoulos a ponderous academic writer who makes potentially exciting subjects dreadfully dull.
July 21, 2022
Today's post is on Goering's Man in Paris: The Story of a Nazi Art Plunderer and His World by Jonathan Petropoulos. It is 408 including notes and it is published by Yale University Press. The cover is a picture of a living room with a red picture in a frame on the wall. The intended reader is someone who is interested in Nazi art plundering, those who did it, and what happened to them after the war. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the dust jacket- Bruno Lohse (1911-2007) was one of the most notorious art plunderers in history. Appointed by Herman Goering to Hitler's art looting agency in Paris, he went on to help supervise the systematic theft and distribution of more than thirty thousand artworks, taken largely from French Jews, and to assists Goering in amassing an enormous private collection. By the 1950s Lohse was officially denazified but was back in the art dealing world, offering masterpieces of dubious origin to American museums. After his death , dozens of painting by Renoir, Monet, and Pissarro, among others, were found in his Zurich bank vault and adorning the walls of Munich home. Jonathan Petropoulos spent nearly a decade interviewing Lohse and continues to serve as an expert witness for Holocaust restitution cases. Here he tells the story of Lohse's life, offering a critical examination of the postwar art world.
Review- This a in depth look into one man's life and the people around him after World War 2. Bruno Lohse was a Nazi, who worked for Herman Goering, to help identify important works of art and get them to Hitler or Goering. Lohse was small time art dealer who became a very important man in Paris and a very mysterious one after the war. Lohse knew everyone who was involved in the art theft, hiding the art post-war, and in general still being a Nazi but in a silent way. The thing to remember when reading in this book, know that the reader is going to meet more than just Lohse, Petropoulos brings a lot of characters from the art plundering into the world, as they revolve around Lohse. So there are many different people and many different stories going on in this book. It gives a very full look into the art plunderers and their lives before, during, and after the war but at times it can be too much and I just wanted to get back to Lohse and what he was doing. If you are looking for a unique way to example the Nazi art plunder and those involved, then you should read this book.
I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.
From the dust jacket- Bruno Lohse (1911-2007) was one of the most notorious art plunderers in history. Appointed by Herman Goering to Hitler's art looting agency in Paris, he went on to help supervise the systematic theft and distribution of more than thirty thousand artworks, taken largely from French Jews, and to assists Goering in amassing an enormous private collection. By the 1950s Lohse was officially denazified but was back in the art dealing world, offering masterpieces of dubious origin to American museums. After his death , dozens of painting by Renoir, Monet, and Pissarro, among others, were found in his Zurich bank vault and adorning the walls of Munich home. Jonathan Petropoulos spent nearly a decade interviewing Lohse and continues to serve as an expert witness for Holocaust restitution cases. Here he tells the story of Lohse's life, offering a critical examination of the postwar art world.
Review- This a in depth look into one man's life and the people around him after World War 2. Bruno Lohse was a Nazi, who worked for Herman Goering, to help identify important works of art and get them to Hitler or Goering. Lohse was small time art dealer who became a very important man in Paris and a very mysterious one after the war. Lohse knew everyone who was involved in the art theft, hiding the art post-war, and in general still being a Nazi but in a silent way. The thing to remember when reading in this book, know that the reader is going to meet more than just Lohse, Petropoulos brings a lot of characters from the art plundering into the world, as they revolve around Lohse. So there are many different people and many different stories going on in this book. It gives a very full look into the art plunderers and their lives before, during, and after the war but at times it can be too much and I just wanted to get back to Lohse and what he was doing. If you are looking for a unique way to example the Nazi art plunder and those involved, then you should read this book.
I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.
April 24, 2022
Having read my fair share about the major war criminals -- including the concentration camp commandants and the Einsatzgruppen commanders -- decided to read about those who were involved in the mass pillaging of art works. Goering's man may have been called Lohse but he was an undeserving winner throughout his life save a few years spent incarcerated in Paris at war's end. He merits no sympathy for those few years in prison for he was a willing participant in the Nazi crimes -- he may not have been responsible for rounding up Jews and others or worked in the camps but many of those whose art he plundered were sent to their deaths. He remained an admirer of Goering's to his dying day -- and he lived to a grand old age surrounded by paintings of dubious provenance. Petropoulos does as good a job as he can of getting to the nub of what made Lohse tick and how much he really knew during WWII but he was a slippery character. Speerlike in only admitting to a certain amount of guilt...Petropoulos is remarkably restrained given this and only once concedes when meeting another old Nazi Wilhelm Hottl, who was a close associate of two who were hanged, Ernst Kaltenbrunner and Adolf Eichmann, that he "reflected on how easy it would be to stand up and punch him in the face." However, he opts against it. The extent of the pillaging is beyond comprehension -- also an eye opener there was a group dedicated to even emptying the apartments/houses of the Jews of their furniture. What is even more upsetting is that this ring of art experts stroke pillagers stayed together after the war and flourished in Munich in particular -- the only saviours the Monuments Men such as Theodore Rousseau Jr and the remarkable French woman Rose Valland. It is astonishing too how difficult it was for those who had lost their artworks to regain ownership and reflects badly on the Swiss art galleries in particular. There is also a question mark over the closeness of Lohse and the Wildenstein family and their galleries which Petropoulos examines in fascinating detail. All in all a very interesting and well written read, sometimes guilty of repetitions but one is thankful as it is hard to keep track of the roll call of names and their exact roles.
July 2, 2023
This is my second reading Of "Goring's Man In Paris" by Jonathan Petropoulos. I re-read it on the heels of "The Vanished Collection". I wondered why "The Vanished Collection" was such a let down, so I picked my copy of GMIP and set to work.
First off, the massive scale of the Nazi's plan to collect the world's art treasures plundered from museums, churches, and Jewish collections was highly organized. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that their looting was strategic. "Göring's Man in Paris: The Story of a Nazi Art Plunderer and His World" is a remarkable account that exposes the dark underbelly of Nazi looting. Petropoulos's thorough research and engaging narrative shed light on a little-known aspect of World War II and the profound impact it had on the art world. This book stands as an important reminder of the ongoing efforts to rectify the cultural losses incurred during this tumultuous period in history.
One of the strengths of Petropoulos's work is his ability to combine extensive historical research with compelling storytelling. He weaves together the personal and professional lives of Lohse and other key individuals, painting a vivid picture of the motivations and moral dilemmas they faced. By delving into Lohse's background and providing insights into his personality, the author humanizes a man responsible for countless acts of cultural theft and destruction, making the narrative all the more chilling. Also, the author is able to ferret out details about the post-war/ongoing sales of some of looted art.
In summary, "Göring's Man in Paris: The Story of a Nazi Art Plunderer and His World" is a remarkable account that exposes the dark underbelly of Nazi looting. Petropoulos's thorough research and engaging narrative shed light on a little-known aspect of World War II and the profound impact it had on the art world. This book stands as an important reminder of the ongoing efforts to rectify the cultural losses incurred during this tumultuous period in history.
First off, the massive scale of the Nazi's plan to collect the world's art treasures plundered from museums, churches, and Jewish collections was highly organized. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that their looting was strategic. "Göring's Man in Paris: The Story of a Nazi Art Plunderer and His World" is a remarkable account that exposes the dark underbelly of Nazi looting. Petropoulos's thorough research and engaging narrative shed light on a little-known aspect of World War II and the profound impact it had on the art world. This book stands as an important reminder of the ongoing efforts to rectify the cultural losses incurred during this tumultuous period in history.
One of the strengths of Petropoulos's work is his ability to combine extensive historical research with compelling storytelling. He weaves together the personal and professional lives of Lohse and other key individuals, painting a vivid picture of the motivations and moral dilemmas they faced. By delving into Lohse's background and providing insights into his personality, the author humanizes a man responsible for countless acts of cultural theft and destruction, making the narrative all the more chilling. Also, the author is able to ferret out details about the post-war/ongoing sales of some of looted art.
In summary, "Göring's Man in Paris: The Story of a Nazi Art Plunderer and His World" is a remarkable account that exposes the dark underbelly of Nazi looting. Petropoulos's thorough research and engaging narrative shed light on a little-known aspect of World War II and the profound impact it had on the art world. This book stands as an important reminder of the ongoing efforts to rectify the cultural losses incurred during this tumultuous period in history.
May 3, 2021
This is a thorough but still readable book about a German art historian who was the spider in the Parisian web of German looted art during World War II. It is non-fiction, a special history book. The persecution of the Jews paved the way for the Nazis to steal works of art from Jewish families. This happened not only in France, but just as well in the Netherlands and in other occupied countries. Bruno Lohse leads the operation in Paris in 1942-1943 and manages to become a confidant of Herman Goering, who had an insatiable desire for art. The author, Jonathan Petropoulos, is an expert in the field of looted art and, on the basis of interviews and written sources, knows how to paint a very credible picture of how the art theft and the resale to Goering actually worked. But then the war comes to an end. Lohse is arrested. And from the moment of the German capitulation, works of art regularly appear of which it is not always clear whether they were obtained honestly or unfairly. Bruno Lohse, who is finally released after five years in prison, picks up the thread of life and returns to his profession, the art trade. He does this under the radar as much as possible, and in doing so manages to gain the trust of the rich in the world. Petropoulos describes that as best as possible. But he also repeatedly indicates that art dealers understand the art of keeping a secret perhaps best. Little by little, new information is released. However, it will be a long time before this book by Petropoulos is due for an update, because of the thoroughness with which he substantiates his findings and his report is written. This book is therefore an absolute must for museum people, historians or other people who want to know more about the way in which Nazi Germany dealt with looted art. And not only during the war, but especially in the decades that followed, up to the present day. No easy read but nevertheless: recommended!
March 2, 2021
Absolutely fascinating account of a clever art dealer who survived his past. Bruno Lohse was a member of the SS before he began to work for Goring. He was an art historian and became one of the heads of the German ERR at the Jeu de Palme during the Nazi era. He was imprisoned for 5 years after the war in France, but after his release, he continued to be an art dealer. Several former Monuments Men who knew Lohse later became curators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They helped Lohse gain back the credibility he lost after WWII. The author, Jonathan Petropoulos, interviewed Lohse over a period of time. He bends over backwards to create a truthful account of this complex man. Art plunderers were not as guilty as concentration camp guards. They did not seem to have blood on their hands, but they did pillage many Jewish households, both large and small. The book is extremely well documented.
August 26, 2021
First and foremost I feel the need to qualify my five star rating of Jonathan Petropoulos book, Goering's Man in Paris: The Story of a Nazi Art Plunderer and His World. Within the title of this book is the entirety of it's contents. I say what may be presumed but , alas, we are not dealing with a title such as World War II 1939-1945. What we have in Petropoulos work is an exhaustive, technical, and minute swath of academic research that, to my knowledge, has few if any equals. However, the work is laser focused ! If a person has a desire for a scholarly portrayal of Bruno Lohse and his cohorts and networks regarding the plundering of art by the Nazis and it's subsequent redistribution, than one will find no finer work. If, on the other hand, one has perhaps a cursory interest in such matters than the five star rating will not be appreciated. This work is very specific, it's appeal and review reflect such.
August 26, 2022
As several other reviewers noted, this book reads like a dissertation. It's not suitable for general audiences, but it has some value for somebody looking for details on WW II and stolen art. If The 11-page prologue would be enough for a general audience to get a gist of the whole business; yet one fully understand that introduction only after having read the whole book, and that's what I did. Only after having read about all the real characters over and over, I started understanding and appreciating the whole story; so after the epilogue, I reread the prologue.
The author sprinkles the book with German words and expressions here and there, sometime making mistakes, and gives the impression of a show off, because they don't really enrich the story or an understanding of it.
The author sprinkles the book with German words and expressions here and there, sometime making mistakes, and gives the impression of a show off, because they don't really enrich the story or an understanding of it.
August 24, 2021
This is not a book for someone who is not well versed in nazi art looting. Massive amount of details in a well researched book, but rather dense.
Author tries to walk the thin line of being objective and showing both sides, even where in the case of Lhose and the Wildensteins, there really is only one side.
Also, would have preferred that the author clarify that Alfred Rosenberg, Stiebel adn Rosenberg and Paul Rosenberg are not related, instead of just using "Rosenberg". Confusing... but not for me because I am Paul Rosenberg's grand-daughter and thus would have preferred clarification that he was a victim of the looting and exodus from France.
Author tries to walk the thin line of being objective and showing both sides, even where in the case of Lhose and the Wildensteins, there really is only one side.
Also, would have preferred that the author clarify that Alfred Rosenberg, Stiebel adn Rosenberg and Paul Rosenberg are not related, instead of just using "Rosenberg". Confusing... but not for me because I am Paul Rosenberg's grand-daughter and thus would have preferred clarification that he was a victim of the looting and exodus from France.
August 15, 2023
A very interesting, well written book, if you're already knowledgable about the subject matter - otherwise, it's quite dense and academic so may be too much for the casual reader (though can anyone read about the Holocaust casually?). The photographs included in the book, as a previous reviewer noted, tell a story unto themselves. I'm glad to have read it, and there are some ethical elements that I know will stick with me, but I don't regret borrowing it from the library instead of purchasing; Lohse is someone I'd rather keep off my bookshelf.
April 26, 2024
Understanding Nazi plundering of art and priceless items from occupied Europe was part of my reason for grabbing this book. I also wanted some additional insight into the Reichsmarshall's own plundering. Even though I've read several biographies on him, they do not get into as much detail on this topic or on Lohse's acitvities.
This does give a lot of information. But the author gives a lot of 'maybe this maybe that' conjecture throughout the book. It doesn't feel like the story is done. I feel like I'd need to find another subsequent text to satisfy my curiosity.
This does give a lot of information. But the author gives a lot of 'maybe this maybe that' conjecture throughout the book. It doesn't feel like the story is done. I feel like I'd need to find another subsequent text to satisfy my curiosity.
July 21, 2021
Although I am fascinated to a degree with art and the story of the Rape of Europe by the Nazis, this book was far too detailed for anyone, ( IMO), but a true art expert and professional.
I read about a third and skimmed the other two thirds.
The author obviously did an enormous amount of research, but this time would be better as a doctoral dissertation rather than leisure reading
I read about a third and skimmed the other two thirds.
The author obviously did an enormous amount of research, but this time would be better as a doctoral dissertation rather than leisure reading
July 14, 2021
Fascinating
A very interesting book, detailed, don’t even try to remember who’s who. Eye opening regarding art acquisitions, the Old Nazi’s, art dealers,etc. You’ll never look at a famous painting without wondering, who really owns it.
A very interesting book, detailed, don’t even try to remember who’s who. Eye opening regarding art acquisitions, the Old Nazi’s, art dealers,etc. You’ll never look at a famous painting without wondering, who really owns it.
August 16, 2022
An impressive account of art trade during and especially after WWII. Much more than a story about one Nazi artdealer but rather a story about a web of dealers, many with connections going back to the holocaust era. Can highly reccomend it.
October 15, 2021
Thoroughly researched and well-written, this will become a definitive text on the Nazis' art looting.
December 27, 2021
Very detailed and thorough.
Interesting read
Interesting read
February 13, 2022
I gave up reading halfway through. It as confusing and quite difficult to het hugh.Once got to the acquittal in 1950 I couldn't be bothered t read moe.
September 21, 2024
3.5 stars
September 15, 2021
I think the summary of this book comes from “Justins“ review: “complicated, messy, and confusing“.
It does paint a picture of a dark and secretive high end European art market dominated by egos, lawyers and very questionable ethics, in which the author involves himself and while striving to maintain his ethical standing while still earning a cut of the sale of a Camille Pissarro painting. Does this sound like a difficult task? It is. I got the feeling that the book was written for two reasons and one of them was that he wanted to tell his side of the story and explain his actions which are still complicated, messy and confusing.
It does paint a picture of a dark and secretive high end European art market dominated by egos, lawyers and very questionable ethics, in which the author involves himself and while striving to maintain his ethical standing while still earning a cut of the sale of a Camille Pissarro painting. Does this sound like a difficult task? It is. I got the feeling that the book was written for two reasons and one of them was that he wanted to tell his side of the story and explain his actions which are still complicated, messy and confusing.
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