Lauren has finally gotten Isabella Fletcher to agree to an interview. She has been trying to track down this daughter of Hanna Fleischmann for some time now in order to verify her suspicions: that Hanna Fleischmann collaborated with the Nazis during WWII and profited from the public rejection and destruction of what Hitler, in his infinitely narcissistic manner, deemed “Degenerate”art (any art of which he did not approve). What is told, by details revealed in the interview and by going back in time to the life of Hanna Fleischmann, is a bold and fascinating history of the art world during Hitler’s reign as well as a dramatic personal saga of a woman trying to survive.
This was a painful reminder of the additional crime against humanity, the destruction of thousands of treasured paintings and sculptures, perpetrated by Adolph Hitler. This historical fiction account of the Degenerate Art show and the profiting by the Nazis of the selling and then the destruction of the art enables the reader to truly appreciate the impact of the harm caused by this monstrous lunatic.
I especially loved the passages about the character of Hanna. She was extremely adventurous, brave and had a love for art that was contagious. The passages of the interview between Lauren and Isabel were more stilted and not as smooth, in my opinion. The 2 current day characters were not as endearing and I found myself hurrying through these parts to get back to Hanna’s saga.
But on the whole, this was a book worth reading — for the beauty of the story as well as for the historical importance.
kindread spirits 