“Stolen Silver: Nazi Plunder And The Unfinished Quest For Restitution” is the story of how, in 1939, Jews across Germany and Austria were forced to hand over their jewelry, gold, silver and other precious metals to the Nazis. Many of these were purchased by the Bavarian National Museum in Munich where they sat in a cupboard for decades. But one curator, Dr Matthias Weniger, took it upon himself to try and locate descendants and return these heirlooms to them.
I was asked by Ben Fox, who owns Shepherd.com – motto: “Like browsing the best bookstore in the world” – to select five of my favorite books on Berlin. Makes perfect sense since Stolen Legacy is rooted in the history of that city.
You can check out my selections and why I chose them here.
Monte Mallin – host of the podcast series So Important! – has interviewed me. In his billing for our talk, Mr Mallin writes:
This is a story of determination, commitment, and conviction, and never giving up when the cause is just. Dina’s story is an inspiration for all of us, and here it is in her own words.
Listen to our discussion here.
A feature article I wrote entitled Jewish German Fashion Industry Flourished, Then Perished Under Nazi Rule is the cover story for the Winter 2019 edition of the B’nai B’rith magazine. It is about how, beginning in the mid 1830s, Jewish German fashion designers and entrepreneurs made Berlin into a thriving hub of sophistication and glamour.
The concept of ready-to-wear clothing was invented by Jewish Berliners and by the middle of the 19th century some 100 Jewish fashion firms existed around Hausvogteiplatz in central Berlin’s Mitte district. By the 1890s a full 85% of all women’s fashion manufacturing companies had Jewish owners and “Berlin chic” enjoyed an international reputation.
By 1933, there were 2,700 Berlin-based Jewish fashion businesses – making the fashion trade, besides Paris, the largest exporter in Europe.
Uwe Westphal, author of “Fashion Metropolis Berlin: 1836-1939: The Story of the Rise and Destruction of the Jewish Fashion Industry”(to which I contributed a chapter), has studied the history of this once flourishing industry and what happened to it as soon as the Nazis came to power.
The central role of Jews in the German fashion industry, and how the Nazis utterly destroyed that legacy, is told in Mr. Westphal’s book. That history has been forgotten for far too long.
That is the question posed by Uwe Westphal in his piece for the Times of Israel entitled: He Helped Nazis Rob Jews: How is he ‘not an anti-Semite’?
Following the revelations contained in “Stolen Legacy” the University of Mannheim decided to change the name of the foundation and annual prize named in honor of Dr. Kurt Hamann – former chairman of the Victoria Insurance Company. Today it is called the Foundation for the Promotion of Insurance Science.
The once-secret report – commissioned by the university into the wartime role of Dr. Hamann – has now been released to the public.
Mr. Westphal’s question is spot on. The report’s author, Prof. Dr. Johannes Baehr, concluded that despite numerous instances of where Dr. Hamann “obviously had no scruples at all about doing business in which the Victoria profited from the persecution of the Jews” nevertheless “There’s no doubt [Dr. Hamann] was not an anti-Semite.”
A press release by the university at the time of taking its decision about a name change stated:
“…under Hamann’s chairmanship, the Victoria demonstrably took many properties from Jewish owners… With the change of name, the University of Mannheim would like to set an example; any person who lends his name to a prize awarded to excellent young academics should also be able to serve as an ethical role model.”
Anti-Semite or not? You decide.