THE NAZIS AND BAKELITE VERMEER
How a book dedication turned a hero into a foe.
Shortly after the end of the SecondWorld War, during the inspection of the wrecked interior of Berlin Reichskanzlei, Allied soldiers searched through Hitler’s private library. One book was soon to raise particular interest: a collection of poems by a Dutch Nazi author, illustrated by one Han van Meegeren.
It was a gift from the latter. And the inscription (in German) left no doubts as to the sentiment he had for the Nazi leader: “To my beloved Führer in grateful tribute, from H. van Meegeren, Laren, North Holland, 1942.”
Yet at the same time, in a manner as baffling as it was enthusiastic, Han van Meegeren - legendary Vermeer forger and incredibly skilled conman - was celebrated in Holland as a hero. It turns out that the man who allegedly fooled Hermann Göring had as many fake cracks and shadows as the works he forged.
To find out more, listen to the gripping story told by Tim Harford in his brilliant podcast “Cautionary Tales” (do follow for more!):
Thank you.
Harford is a master of the craft and this is a particularly good episode.
I am also inordinately fond of the art form and believe that you have once again identified a key reason why.
I, too, grew up in a household where the radio was virtually always on (with the exception of meal times) and the favored stationa always favored news and discussion, not music.
Podcasts are thus a very welcome return to an aural environment that is intensely comfortable, while at the same time offering a degree of choice unimaginable with radio.