200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Black Friday Sale on Now! Save up to 25% off Books, Toys, Board Games, & Puzzles! ✨

The Book Thieves

The Nazi Looting of Europe's Libraries and the Race to Return a Literary Inheritance
By Anders Rydell
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.8 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 1,556 ratings, 309 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Book Thieves by Anders Rydell explores the largely untold history of the Nazis looting millions of books from libraries and private collections across Europe during World War II. The book delves into the motivations behind these book thefts, focusing on their aim to obliterate Jewish culture and intellect. Rydell travels across various countries uncovering the stories of those who have worked to return the stolen books to their rightful owners.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Book Thieves. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by history and intrigued by the lesser-known stories of World War II. It dives into the gripping tale of how the Nazis looted countless books across Europe, offering a unique perspective on their cultural impact and the effort to reclaim these stolen treasures. Ideal for those who appreciate narratives about art, cultural preservation, and the enduring power of knowledge.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

For readers of The Monuments Men and The Hare with Amber Eyes, the story of the Nazis' systematic pillaging of Europe's libraries, and the small team of heroic librarians now working to return the stolen books to their rightful owners.

While the Nazi party was being condemned by much of the world for burning books, they were already hard at work perpetrating an even greater literary crime. Through extensive new research that included records saved by the Monuments Men themselves — Anders Rydell tells the untold story of Nazi book theft, as he himself joins the effort to return the stolen books. When the Nazi soldiers ransacked Europe's libraries and bookshops, large and small, the books they stole were not burned. Instead, the Nazis began to compile a library of their own that they could use to wage an intellectual war on literature and history.

In this secret war, the libraries of Jews, Communists, Liberal politicians, LGBT activists, Catholics, Freemasons, and many other opposition groups were appropriated for Nazi research, and used as an intellectual weapon against their owners. But when the war was over, most of the books were never returned. Instead, many found their way into the public library system, where they remain to this day.

Now, Rydell finds himself entrusted with one of these stolen volumes, setting out to return it to its rightful owner. It was passed to him by the small team of heroic librarians who have begun the monumental task of combing through Berlin's public libraries to identify the looted books and reunite them with the families of their original owners. For those who lost relatives in the Holocaust, these books are often the only remaining possession of their relatives they have ever held. And as Rydell travels to return the volume he was given, he shows just how much a single book can mean to those who own it.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Anders Rydell's The Book Thieves is praised for being a compelling blend of intellectual history and detective story, revealing the systematic plundering of Jewish books by the Nazis. The book is described as a fascinating narrative that balances historical investigation with emotional restitution activism. Its engaging writing and thorough research make it both a chilling reminder of the past and an inspiring tale of justice and memory restoration.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780735221239

Publisher: Prentice Hall Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 February 2018

Country: United States

Imprint: Prentice Hall Press

Illustration: 18 Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 214.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 368

Collections

Anders Rydell Arts & Culture Education & Reference History & Archaeology History & Military Non-Fiction Penguin Books Science & Nature

About the Author

Anders Rydell is a journalist, editor, and author of nonfiction. As the Head of Culture at a major Swedish media group, Rydell directs the coverage of arts and culture in 14 newspapers. His two books on the Nazis, The Book Theives and The Looters, have been translated into 16 languages. The Book Thieves is his first work published in English. Henning Koch was born in Sweden but has spent most of his life in England, Spain, and Sardinia. Most recently he translated A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. He has also written a short story collection, Love Doesn't Work, and a novel, The Maggot People.

Also by Anders Rydell

View all
  • Heirloom Skills
    100 ways to embrace the simple life, with step-by-step instructions for keeping chickens, growing vegetables, making beer and wine, arranging flowers, soap making, and more! This is a home-management book for the twenty-first century. Alva Herdevall and Anders Rydell combine traditional methods with modern ideas to show that a higher degree of self-sufficiency is possible for everyone. You will learn...
    By Anders Rydell and Alva Herdevall
    Hardback
    $7400
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks

Browse lists from our team

The Latest at Book Hero

View all

More from History & Military

View all
  • Behind Enemy Lines
    New Release
    Behind Enemy Lines
    Archie Gibson's initiation into desert warfare almost proved to be his last. Barrelling through the sand dunes at the wheel of his truck, Gibson spied a searing flash of light up ahead, the signature of a feared German 88mm gun firing ... right at him. He leapt from his speeding vehicle just before it was torn apart and turned into...
    By Damien Lewis
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    The Cauldron
    How did an elderly cleric overthrow the Shah of Iran and change the world?Why did Bin Laden attack the USA - and why did the USA destroy Saddam?How did Britain and France carve up the Middle East - and why did the Kurds never get their own state? THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE MAKING OF TODAY'S MIDDLE EAST: A SPELLBINDING...
    By Simon Sebag Montefiore
    Hardback
    $4999
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    18% off
    Saving Elli
    One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...
    By Doug Gold
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    19% off
    Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Suicidal Empathy
    The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...
    By Gad Saad
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    The Race to the Top of the World
    The epic true story of George Mallory and Edmund Hillary and the quest to be the first to conquer Everest. A captivating story of adventure, daring, despair and triumph from Australia's favourite storyteller. Last century, two men, thirty years apart, set out to become the first to conquer the highest point in the world. Their names are synonymous with adventure...
    By Peter FitzSimons
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Man's Search For Meaning
    Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the author’s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...
    By Viktor E Frankl
    Paperback
    $1800
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    17% off
    The Wager
    THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'The beauty of The Wager unfurls like a great sail... one of the finest nonfiction books I've ever read' Guardian 'The greatest sea story ever told' Spectator 'I cannot think of anyone who would not love this book... It is an extraordinary true story, beautifully...
    By David Grann
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Signed
    On Sale
    16% off
    Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    The Chief and the Empire
    The Chief and the Empire uncovers the extraordinary true tale of Te Tai Tokerau rangatira Te Pahi - the first influential Māori leader to cross the Tasman - whose curiosity about the Pākehā world forged alliances, saved lives, and ultimately cost him his own. On a visit to Sydney in 1805, Te Pahi was feted as a celebrity, building close...
    By Eugene Bingham
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    Redwood
    From the multi-million-selling historian, the remarkable, unknown Cold War story of how one spy saved the world from nuclear war. The year is 1981. Tehran is in violent turmoil in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. The Soviets are planning to overthrow the Ayatollah's fledgling Islamist regime. If they do so, one response from America — unknown to the public...
    By Ben Macintyre
    Paperback
    $3399
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    30% off
    Discipline
    Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...
    By Randa Abdel-Fattah
    Paperback
    $2800
    Usually:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    23% off
    The Golden Menhir
    Assurancetourix is entering the legendary Gallic bards' competition to win the golden menhir. But with the Romans keeping a close watch, Asterix and Obelix must protect him at all costs. Their mission? Keep him safe-no matter what... even if it means risking their own ears! First released as a book-disc in 1967, this adventure soon became a rare treasure, long...
    By René Goscinny
    Hardback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Castles
    New Release
    Castles
    From the bestselling author of The Templars and Powers and Thrones, Dan Jones returns with Castles: a gripping history of the world told through over three thousand years of iconic strongholds. Castles have been built to defend humanity for millennia – from the walls of Troy and the desert bastion of Krak des Chevaliers in Syria, to Windsor Castle and...
    By Dan Jones
    Paperback
    $3399
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 200,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.