audiobook Stolen Legacy: Nazi Theft and the Quest for Justice at Krausenstrasse 17/18; Berlin by Dina Gold in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Excellent bookBy P. Blevins.Stolen Legacy: Nazi Theft and the Quest for Justice at Krasenstrasse 17/18; Berlin was written by Dina Gold. It is a nonfiction book about the quest of Dina Gold to reclaim a six-story building once owned by her family in Berlin.Dina Gold came from a wealthy Jewish family in pre-Hitler Germany. Her great-grandfather; Victor Wolff; was a fur trader. In 1908-1909; he had architect Friedrich Kristeller design a building for him in Berlin. It was six stories high and a full block in length. It was a grand building. They first used it for their fur business and when the economy shrank; they rented the spaces out to others. When the Nazis came into power; the building was confiscated and turned over to the Transportation division of the government. Dina took on the daunting task of re-claiming the building as part of the Jewish reclamation movement in Berlin.The book tells of Dina’s search for documentation as to her trying to get the building returned to her family. Searching for old records proving her family owned the building and then showing how it went through the changes until the present time. Would she find all the records and would they be believed and she could get the building back? Would she be able to get it back? Was it worth it?It is a fascinating book.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. If you liked "The Lady in GoldBy Ronald J. GertsThe reader is lucky that the descendant of the family whose property was taken by the Nazis is an accomplished researcher; reporter; and writer. If you liked "The Lady in Gold;" you will love this book. Dina Gold takes you back into the history of a wealthy family in Berlin in the early 20th century; their flight from the Holocaust to Palestine and England; and into the 1990's and early 21st century when the author makes a claim for compensation for the theft of her family's grand office building still in use today. She must trace her family's history; find wills; battle family animosity; and struggle through the German bureaucracy before finally winning her case. In contract to similar stories in which Jews seeking property or compensation have been met with anti-semetic attitudes; the author finds unexpected help during her struggle. A great book.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK -- IT'S RIVETING!!!By DSAWATTUntil now; no book has been written about winning a fight for a property. And what a tour de force! Revelation follows revelation. The author’s family in pre-war Berlin was prosperous and; in their minds; wholly German. But…. they were Jews. And from that everything else follows. They lost their worldly wealth and some of them lost their lives. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989; Dina Gold had nothing to support her grandmother’s reminiscences of a huge building; just beyond Checkpoint Charlie; that had once belonged to the family and which was her mother’s rightful inheritance. But having no documents did not deter her and she was soon in hot pursuit to track down whatever material was necessary to prove a rightful claim.And what an ending! I did not see that coming. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.