The pillage of Europe’s bells

Carla Shapreau cited in Musicology Now, March 23, 2015

“Of the approximately 9,000 bells in the Netherlands before the war, an estimated 6,500 were seized, with approximately 1,840 returned after the war. The Third Reich shipped the bells to several German refineries; two of the largest were in the Hamburg area. The newer bells were the first to the smelter.”