Preview | Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief (Part Two)
Preview: Season 22 Episode 6 | 32sVideo has Closed Captions
Historian Jonathan Petropoulos investigates the post-war life of former Nazi art dealer Bruno Lohse.
Historian Jonathan Petropoulos investigates former Nazi art dealer Bruno Lohse’s role in post-war America. Lohse established relationships with curators at some of the nation’s most important cultural institutions and became an invisible hand, dealing in looted art – even as the families of the original owners pursued the restitution of works rightfully theirs.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
SECRETS OF THE DEAD is made possible, in part, by public television viewers.
Preview | Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief (Part Two)
Preview: Season 22 Episode 6 | 32sVideo has Closed Captions
Historian Jonathan Petropoulos investigates former Nazi art dealer Bruno Lohse’s role in post-war America. Lohse established relationships with curators at some of the nation’s most important cultural institutions and became an invisible hand, dealing in looted art – even as the families of the original owners pursued the restitution of works rightfully theirs.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Where to Watch Secrets of the Dead
Secrets of the Dead is available to stream on pbs.org and the PBS app.
Buy Now
Egypt's Darkest Hour
Follow a team of archaeologists as they examine a rare mass grave dating to the collapse of ancient Egypt’s Old Kingdom when political infighting and a changing climate brought down an empire.Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- On "Secrets of the Dead"... - At war's end, Bruno Lohse is a former Nazi, he's an art plunderer -- but he was acquitted.
- And he was free to do what he wanted.
- He knows that to revive his career, he needs to go to America.
The museum world just explodes.
They need works to exhibit.
- There was too much money to be made, and there were no consequences.
- If Lohse's life is indicative of anything, it's that the crime of plunder pays for itself.
[propulsive music]
The Gutmann Family’s Tragic Loss
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S22 Ep6 | 4m 58s | Simon Goodman recounts the story of his grandparents’ tragic deception by Nazi forces. (4m 58s)
How Americans Profited Off Looted Art
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S22 Ep6 | 1m 46s | With the explosion of American museums in the 1950s, provenance took a backseat. (1m 46s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
Support for PBS provided by:
SECRETS OF THE DEAD is made possible, in part, by public television viewers.