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“This is a meticulous and finely written account of Dina Gold’s struggle to seek belated justice for her mother, with all the twists and turns one would expect from a fictional detective story — but it is all true.”

—E. Randol Schoenberg
Attorney (“Woman in Gold”)

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About the Book

When Dina Gold was a little girl, her grandmother told her stories about the glamorous life she had led in pre-war Berlin and how she dreamed of one day reclaiming the grand building that had housed the family business.

Dina’s grandmother died in 1977, leaving behind no documents, not even an address, to help locate the property or prove its ownership. But when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Dina had not forgotten her grandmother’s tales and set out to find the truth.

In 1990, Dina marched into a German government ministry at Krausenstrasse 17/18, just two blocks from Checkpoint Charlie, and declared:

“I’ve come to claim my family’s building.”

And so began her legal struggle — to reclaim the building that had belonged to her family.

The six-story office block had been the headquarters of the H. Wolff fur company, one of the most successful Jewish fashion firms in Germany. Built by Dina’s great-grandfather in 1910, it was foreclosed on by the Victoria Insurance Company in 1937. Ownership was transferred to the Deutsche Reichsbahn, Hitler’s railways, that later transported millions of Jews to death camps.

Today the Victoria is part of ERGO, a leading German insurance company. Few are aware that the Victoria was once chaired by a lawyer with connections to the top of the Nazi party. The Victoria was also part of a consortium that insured SS-owned workshops using slave labor at Auschwitz and other concentration camps.

Dina has delved deep into archives across the world and made shocking discoveries. What she found has repercussions even in today’s Germany.

In a major victory, Dina persuaded the German government to put up a plaque in July 2016 acknowledging in both German and English the history of “The Wolff Building.”

But the story is STILL not over.

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News

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Events

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Media

Mannheim acknowledges “Stolen Legacy.”

Written by Dina Gold on January 13, 2019. Posted in News

The University of Mannheim has posted on the Dr. Kurt-Hamann Foundation website its recognition of the role of “Stolen Legacy” in leading to the proposed change of name.

Mandel JCC, Boynton Beach

Written by Dina Gold on January 8, 2019. Posted in News

It was another great turnout at the Mandel JCC for the second talk on the Destruction of the Jewish German Fashion Industry. This was our second lecture for the Speaker Series of The Gross Family Center for the Study of Antisemitism and the Holocaust. Two local sheriffs joined me, Uwe Westphal and Lauren Gross.

Mandel JCC – Palm Beach Gardens

Written by Dina Gold on January 6, 2019. Posted in News

It was a full house today for the event entitled “The Destruction of the Jewish German Fashion Industry” presented by me alongside journalist and author Uwe Westphal – who had been flown in from Berlin. Our lecture was part of The Gross Family Center for the Study of Antisemitism and the Holocaust 2018-2019 Speaker Series.

The talk was introduced by Annette Klein, German Consul General for Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Based in Miami she had come especially in order to speak to the large audience of 376 people in the tightly packed hall.

Fundraising Event with Robert Siegel

Written by Dina Gold on September 30, 2018. Posted in News

Today I took part in a fundraising event for the Brandeis National Committee Scholarship Fund and Beth El Youth held at Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia.

I joined two other authors – former Congressman Steve Israel and Chicago trial attorney Ronald H. Balson.

Each author spoke for half an hour about their books and then answered questions from both the audience as well as the delightful moderator Robert Siegel.

2018 JUF Annual Campaign

Written by Dina Gold on April 15, 2018. Posted in News

I was the guest speaker at Congregation Beth Shalom in Naperville, Il which was hosting the 2018 Jewish United Fund Annual Campaign. The JUF of Metropolitan Chicago impacts every aspect of local and global Jewish life, providing human services for Jews and others in need, creating Jewish experiences and strengthening Jewish community connections. Brunch was held in the Social Hall, followed by a Holocaust Remembrance service in the Sanctuary. My presentation was next. The audience was boosted by the attendance of the cheder pupils. They were remarkably attentive and then proceeded to ask me questions – gratifyingly intelligent ones at that!