The Nazi war on European culture produced the greatest dislocation of art, archives, and libraries in the history of the world. In the ruins of the Reich, Allied occupiers found millions of paintings, books, manuscripts, and pieces of sculpture, from the mediocre to the priceless, hidden in thousands of secret hideaways. This 2006 book tells the story of how the American military government in Germany, spearheaded by a few dozen dedicated Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives officers and enlisted men, coped with restoring Europe's cultural heritage. Caught up in often bitter diplomatic wrangling during and after the war, the American restitution effort struggled to uncover what the Nazis had hidden and to equitably return all that was found. Based on the pioneering study of cultural restitution first published in 1985, America and the Return of Nazi Contraband presents insights into how the American government and Jewish organizations managed the painfully difficult problem of heirless Jewish cultural property.

The Nazi war on European culture produced the greatest dislocation of art, archives, and libraries in the history of the world. In the ruins of the Reich, Allied occupiers found millions of paintings, books, manuscripts, and pieces of sculpture, from the mediocre to the priceless, hidden in thousands of secret hideaways. This 2006 book tells the story of how the American military government in Germany, spearheaded by a few dozen dedicated Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives officers and enlisted men, coped with restoring Europe's cultural heritage. Caught up in often bitter diplomatic wrangling during and after the war, the American restitution effort struggled to uncover what the Nazis had hidden and to equitably return all that was found. Based on the pioneering study of cultural restitution first published in 1985, America and the Return of Nazi Contraband presents insights into how the American government and Jewish organizations managed the painfully difficult problem of heirless Jewish cultural property.

Rev. Robert B. Lantz-A Transformative Life tells the story of a most uncommon man, Robert Bryan Lantz. He was a complex, driven man who overcame economic hardships and parental neglect to transform his life into one of service in the field of pastoral counseling. Countless individuals were assisted through the programs he established in clinical pastoral education (CPE) and in his private counseling. Many other lives were transformed through the efforts of the men who had Robert Lantz as their CPE supervisor. In many ways the trainees themselves were most affected by their quiet but demanding mentor. Robert Lantz used his outstanding financial skills, unique for a clergyman, to provide long-term growth and stability for those Lutheran institutions and professional organizations to which he was most committed. Intensely loyal, rigorously principled, and determined to chart his own course Robert Lantz often went against accepted "norms." Though reserved and personally gracious he fought tenaciously for what he believed his vocation and profession demanded. An avid boater all his life, Robert B. Lantz had as his banner freedom, personal responsibility, and service to God's people. He said it all when he wrote at the top of an early resume-"No Miracle-Just Hard Work."