Das Loot: WWII GI Returns Books Taken in Germany Six Decades Ago

Washington Post ^ | 10/8/2009 | Michael E. Ruane

[Saije]

Robert E. Thomas, 83, breezed into the National Archives on Tuesday with a smile on his face, a white hankie peeking out of his suit coat pocket and an old briefcase containing the two rare books he filched in Germany 64 years ago.

He was a World War II GI then, fresh from the horrors of combat. He had blundered into one of the notorious salt mines where the Germans stashed their national treasures. And this one contained books. Millions and millions of books from institutions across Germany.

Thomas poked around, saw two that looked old and took them.

Now, a lifetime later, in an ornate room with a fireplace and two chandeliers, and the German ambassador looking on, the retired optometrist from Chula Vista, Calif., was returning them.

"I've had these books since I was 18 years old," he told a group of officials from the archives, as he removed the plastic wrap covering the two boxes in an anteroom before the ceremony. "I'm relieved, for one. I wanted to return them to the original owners, but I had no clue where to start."...

German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth said the 16th-century volumes date back to the dawn of the Protestant Reformation when Germany was the book publishing center of the world.

One of the books, written in Latin and published in 1593 by legal scholar Johannes Borcholt, is a commentary on Roman law, Scharioth said. The other, written in German and published in 1578, dealt with court administration in the Duchy of Prussia.

[Saije]

Good for him.

[unkus]

Very interesting. It’s a neat story about when Generals Patton, Bradley and Eisenhower went down the “elevator” at the Mertz location and were shown what was down there.

[Gator113]

Enjoyable story.

[unkus]

Yes, Patton made Eisenhower nervous about “the cloth line parting”.

Good trivia.

[goat granny]

Baa humbug, he could have gotten some money for them on Ebay...

[death2tyrants]

Millions and millions of books from institutions across Germany.

[hinckley buzzard]

The extent of "looting" of Germany, acknowlegded to be serious, may never be known. On the other hand, the extent of destructon of cultural artifacts by the Nazis may never be equalled.

[IrishCatholic]

I get a lot of books on Ebay.
Those probably would have gone for thirty bucks each.

There was some guy on there selling leather books by the ton in Swedish. He was selling them as interior decorator items.

Probably they were the entire contents of the library at Alexandria in Swedish and they are going to grace the walls of someone like the “Housewives of Atlanta.”

[goat granny]

I get a lot of books at Goodwill Industries....hard cover 99 cents...soft cover 29 cents.....When done reading them take them back to Goodwill for a tax write-off...Works out well.....

Do not tell the IRS, I will deny it.....

[SunkenCiv]

· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·
	Gods Graves Glyphs	Nice. German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth said the 16th-century volumes date back to the dawn of the Protestant Reformation when Germany was the book publishing center of the world. One of the books, written in Latin and published in 1593 by legal scholar Johannes Borcholt, is a commentary on Roman law, Scharioth said. The other, written in German and published in 1578, dealt with court administration in the Duchy of Prussia. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
·Dogpile · Archaeologica · ArchaeoBlog · Archaeology · Biblical Archaeology Society · · Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google · · The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·