Theft of medieval art from Quedlinburg

The theft of medieval art from Quedlinburg was perpetrated by United States Army Lieutenant Joe T. Meador in the days prior to the end of World War II in Europe. Precious church objects stored near Quedlinburg, Germany, were found by the U.S. Army. They were placed under guard, but eight extremely valuable objects went missing, including a 9th-century illuminated manuscript gospel book, the Samuhel Evangeliar (English: Samuhel Gospel), and a printed evangeliary (book of gospel readings for services) dating to 1513 (the Evangelistar aus St. Wiperti), both with jewelled book-covers,^[1] as well as reliquaries, an ivory liturgical comb, a perfume-flask made out of rock crystal and other irreplaceable artifacts of historical importance.

The most famous illuminated manuscript associated with the town, the 5th-century Quedlinburg Itala fragment, once in the church, had been moved to a museum in Berlin and was not stolen.

The missing artifacts started resurfacing in 1987. After various lawsuits against and negotiations with the heirs of the by-then deceased Meador, they were restored to their rightful owners. William Honan, an author and journalist working for The New York Times, published in 1997 an account of the theft and how he traced it to the Meador family. Art researcher Willi Korte was significantly involved in this, as was Quedlinburg pastor Friedemann Goßlau.^[2]