The riveting story of Hitler's obsession with art, how it fueled his vision of a purified Nazi state, and the fate of the artwork that was hidden, stolen, or destroyed to "cleanse" German culture
The story of art is integral to the story of the rise of Nazi Germany. Adolf Hitler, an artist himself, was obsessed with art--in particular, the aesthetic of a purified regime, scoured of "degenerate" influences that characterized Germany during the 1920s and 1930s.
The Germany of Cabaret, hyperinflation, and Rosa Luxemburg was a society in turmoil, and among those who reveled in the discord were a generation of artists for whom art was a political weapon. They were fierce, inspired, and rebellious, but to Hitler, they were anathema. When they came to power in 1933, Hitler and Goebbels set their aesthetic vision into motion and removed degenerate art from German life: artists fled the country; museums were purged; and great works disappeared, only a fraction of which were rediscovered at the end of the Second World War. Most remained in garrets and cellars, the last hostages of the era of the Reich.
In 2014, 1290 works by Chagall, Picasso, Matisse, Otto Dix, Max Beckmann and others were rediscovered. In Hitler's Last Hostages , Mary Lane brilliantly tells the story of art and the Third Reich, and the fate of Germany's great era of artists as they fought to survive the Nazi era.
About the Author
Mary M. Lane (b. 1987) is a nonfiction writer and journalist specializing in Western art,Western European history, and anti-Semitism. Lane received one of five Fulbright Journalism Scholarships at 22 years old, gained international recognition as the chief European art reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and published numerous exclusive Page One articles on the art trove of Hildebrand Gurlitt.
Since leaving the Journal, Lane has been a European art contributor for the New York Times. She splits her time between Berlin and Virginia
Industry Reviews
"A compelling and vibrant portrait."
--Historical Novels Society
"Congratulations to Mary Lane...the author of the compelling, chilling and thoroughly researched Hitler's Last Hostages... It's a must-read."--Financial Times
"A detailed and intensely researched book."
--Artnet
"A scrupulous account of Hitler's abiding obsession with art and Germany's cultural patrimony...a convincing, full-throated case for the German government to amend its laws and practices regarding looted property."--New York Times Book Review
"An excellent book...It really is a fascinating story of how history plays into modern politics. Well worth the read. Mary's a terrific reporter."--Ben Shapiro, The Daily Wire
"Essential reading...Hitler's Last Hostages is revelatory."--New City Lit
"In this valuable study of an important piece of history, Mary M. Lane tells a shocking story of theft, horror, and lack of redemption."--Laurence Rees, author of Auschwitz and The Holocaust: A New History
"Lane engagingly recounts how dealers who formerly represented avant-garde artists quickly adapted and dumped their 'degenerate' modernist clientele, except for purchases at knock-down prices for their private collection[s]. . . . A gripping, original contribution to a still-unresolved Nazi crime."--Kirkus Reviews, starred
"Mary M. Lane skillfully chronicles the saga of a huge trove of art that had seemingly disappeared during World War II and the Holocaust. It's a gripping tale punctuated by plunder, profiteering, and self-serving rationalizations. Most chillingly, the outright deceptions continued long after the collapse of Hitler's Third Reich."--Andrew Nagorski, author of 1941: The Year Germany Lost the War and Hitlerland
"The revelatory saga of a monumental Nazi art theft and all the perpetrators, from Hitler to the modern museum directors who ignored the glaring signs of looted art. This riveting unraveling of one of the most outrageous and monumental chapters in stolen art is a must-read art crime chronicle."--Anne-Marie O'Connor, author of The Lady in Gold
