NOTE: This exhibit is in Swedish and is also called Plundring – Början Till Ett Folkmord.
Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazis carried out the largest looting of cultural objects in world history. Millions of works of art, antiques and over 100 million books were stolen across Europe. Special looting units were sent out to confiscate the most important and valuable art collections, libraries and archives. Masterpieces by Rembrandt, Rubens and van Gogh were stolen but also children’s books, pianos, jewelry and cover letters.
The looting is part of the Holocaust. A way to wipe out a people by depriving them of its history, culture and humanity. Millions of items never returned to their owners after World War II. Today, Holocaust survivors and descendants’ struggle to recover these items forms an important part of a personal and historical reconciliation process.
The exhibition “Plundring” (“Looting” in Engish) is based on author Anders Rydell’s award-winning books “The Looters – How the Nazis Stole Europe’s Art Treasures” (Ordfront, 2013) and “The Book Thieves. The hunt for the lost libraries” (Norstedts, 2015). It has been produced by the Living History Forum in collaboration with Folkets Hus och Parker.
Note that the on-site VR exhibit can also be experienced at home with the excellent (and free) Plundering app.
