
Extended Preview | Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief
Preview: Season 22 Episode 5 | 2m 49sVideo has Closed Captions
Historian Jonathan Petropoulos investigates the life of former Nazi art dealer Bruno Lohse.
Historian Jonathan Petropoulos investigates the life of Bruno Lohse and his role in the Nazi looting operation, interviewing Lohse himself, as well as curators, art investigators, Lohse’s associates, and descendants of the victims of Nazi art theft. With a look at stunning masterpieces and a deep archive of personal letters, Plunderer reveals the dark underbelly of the international art world.
SECRETS OF THE DEAD is made possible, in part, by public television viewers.

Extended Preview | Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief
Preview: Season 22 Episode 5 | 2m 49sVideo has Closed Captions
Historian Jonathan Petropoulos investigates the life of Bruno Lohse and his role in the Nazi looting operation, interviewing Lohse himself, as well as curators, art investigators, Lohse’s associates, and descendants of the victims of Nazi art theft. With a look at stunning masterpieces and a deep archive of personal letters, Plunderer reveals the dark underbelly of the international art world.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipI first met Dr. Bruno Lohse in June 1998, and I remember every single detail.
You know, after all, it's not every day you meet an old Nazi.
We arranged to have lunch together, and he said he would pick me up from the Central Institute for Art History, in the heart of Munich.
It had been an old Nazi building.
And I remember thinking this was actually appropriate.
And as the moment drew nearer, I think my heart started to beat even more and more quickly.
And then I do recall this extraordinary moment when a massive Mercedes pulled up.
In front, there was a driver.
He appeared to be a kind of chauffeur.
The back door swung open and there he was... the last Nazi art plunderer still alive.
He motioned for me to get in the car, and off we went.
He had a, a presence.
He had a, an aura, if you will.
I knew that Lohse was a member of the SS.
I also knew that he was a real player in the post-war art world, especially in America.
But I didn't realize that our relationship would continue for years and years and that, you know, it would take me to another world... To his apartment, filled with valuable artworks.
To a Swiss bank, that concealed stolen pictures.
[speaking German] And even to the contemporary art world, where Nazi looted art is still traded... [gavel slams] ... and still concealed.
It's the greatest art scandal of the 20th century.
But one doesn't trifle with Lohse without consequences.
I had no idea what I was getting into.
The ERR and the Nazi Party’s Systematic Looting of Europe
Video has Closed Captions
During WWII, the ERR operationalized Nazi art looting on an industrial scale. (3m 13s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipSECRETS OF THE DEAD is made possible, in part, by public television viewers.