Stolen Harmonies: The Pianos Stolen By the Nazis

In May 1940 the Nazis invaded France. And by the middle of June they had entered and occupied Paris. Shortly afterwards under the auspices of the “Sonderstab Musik” (trans. Special Command for Music) the German occupiers set about looting cultural items including musical manuscripts, books, instruments and recordings.

It is estimated that around 8,000 pianos were stolen by the Nazis. Most of the looted instruments came from Jewish apartments. It is thought that around 38,000 properties in Paris were systematically plundered.

Most of the pianos were shipped back to Germany by train. The finer instruments ended up in the homes of Nazi dignitaries, some were sent to the garrisons of the supreme command of the Wehrmacht, and others simply to German households. A large number however went into storage in places such as castles, monasteries, salt mines, and railway tunnels so as to avoid Allied bombing.

At the end of the war the Allies set abut repatriating all the cultural items they could find. And amazingly they were able to round up over 2,200 stolen instruments in Paris. And of these 1,356 were returned to their owners or relatives thereof.

An Extraordinary New Book

All this is documented in an incredible new book by Caroline Piketty “Harmonies volées” (trans. Stolen Harmonies).

The book, subtitled “Spring 1945: the return of the pianos looted by the Nazis”, tells the forgotten and often harrowing story of these instruments and their owners in considerable detail. There are many personal accounts of the traumas and tragic losses (both of human life and physical possessions) that were endured at the time, but there is also explicit coverage of how the pianos were returned to their rightful owners after the war – if they survived!

Historian, archivist and author Caroline Piketty is the Honorary Curator of the French National Archives. Since 2019 she has been classifying and inventorying the family papers deposited at the Holocaust Memorial. She is also a keen amateur pianist.

The book’s preface is written by pianist and composer Jean-François Zygel, well known to listeners of France Musique and France Inter radio stations and for his appearances on state broadcaster France Télévisions.

“Harmonies volées” is currently only available in French, and is published by L’Archipel price €19.90 (paperback) and €13.99 (digital). ISBN 978-2-8098-5227-1. More information and a sample chapter can be found on the Lisez.com website.