tingra wrote:
A great book that keeps you captivated from start to finish....loved it
Hitler’s Holy Relics by Sidney Kirkpatrick
Thank you again for recommending this; it's an excellent book. I've been reading it while I'm in France, and I'm so glad I brought it with me.
Walter Horn, who's narrative drives the story, really was an exceptional person; the right person in the right place at the right time, as it were, to find what might otherwise have been lost. His academic background, and his coming from Germany, made him ideal for his task of tracking down the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire; and it was striking that, while he was properly loyal to his adopted country, and loathed nazi-ism, he also had great compassion for the suffering of the civilian population of Germany post-WWII, and much of the detail about what it was like to be in Germany in 1945 was also very interesting. It's also worth noting that his mission, and that of others like him, was as much about protecting the cultural heritage of Germany and Austria, as it was about repatriating works of art that had been looted by the Nazis from countries that they had occupied.
The focus on the occult aspects of Nazi-ism was very interesting, as was that on their appropriation and corruption of German academia in the 1930s. The chapters "Himmler's Scholars", and "Hitler's Fairytale Kingdom" were particularly interesting, as was that on Exernsteine, and Wewelsburg Castle. Perhaps because of the enormity of everything else they did, this aspect of the Nazi regime hasn't previously been given as much attention as it should have. This book does so, in a very sober, factual and non-excitable way.
A very good read. Thanks again.