0
*
0
*
1450
2025
book-filter
Edition cover

The Orpheus Clock

  • Simon Goodman

0

0 ratings

The passionate, true story of one man's quest to reclaim what the Nazis stole from his family--their beloved art collection--and to restore their legacy. Simon Goodman's grandparents came from German Jewish banking dynasties and perished in concentration camps. And that's almost all he knew--his father rarely spoke of their family history or heritage. But when he passed away, and Simon received his father's papers, a story began to emerge. The Gutmanns, as they were known then, rose from a small Bohemian hamlet to become one of Germany's most powerful banking families. They also amassed a world-class art collection that included works by Degas, Renoir, Botticelli, and many others, including a Renaissance clock engraved with scenes from the legend of Orpheus. The Nazi regime snatched everything the Gutmanns had labored to build: their art, their wealth, their social standing, and their very lives. Simon grew up in London with little knowledge of his father's efforts to recover their family's possessions. It was only after his father's death that Simon began to piece together the clues about the stolen legacy and the Nazi looting machine. He learned much of the collection had gone to Hitler and Goring; other works had been smuggled through Switzerland, sold and resold, with many pieces now in famous museums. More still had been recovered by Allied forces only to be stolen again by bureaucrats-- European governments quietly absorbed thousands of works of art into their own collections. Through painstaking detective work across two continents, Simon proved that many pieces belonged to his family, and successfully secured their return-- the first Nazi looting case to be settled in the United States. Goodman's dramatic story reveals a rich family history almost obliterated by the Nazis. It is not only the account of a twenty-year long detective hunt for family treasure, but an unforgettable tale of redemption and restoration.

Genres

  • Jewish bankers
  • Art collections
  • Investigation
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • Art thefts
  • Reparations
  • Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
  • Biography
  • History
  • BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs
  • ART / History / General
  • HISTORY / Military / World War II
  • Bankers
  • Germany, biography
  • Jews, biography
  • World war, 1939-1945, reparations
  • Art treasures in war
  • World war, 1939-1945, confiscations and contributions
  • Jewish art
  • Collectors and collecting
  • Economic aspects
  • Family
  • Art and the war
  • Destruction and pillage
  • Cultural policy
Already read

0

people already read

Currently reading

0

people are currently reading

Want to read

0

people want to read

About the author

  • Simon Goodman

    born 1948

    0

    0 ratings · 2 works

Editions

  • Edition cover

    First Scribner hardcover edition.

    Scribner

    2015