The Rembrandt Affair

by Daniel Silva

  While many Swiss firms have been willing proliferators—and no doubt remain so today—there is little disagreement among intelligence officials as to which Western European country has the most firms involved in the lucrative clandestine trade in nuclear materials. That dubious distinction belongs to Germany. Indeed, according to a very senior American intelligence official I spoke with while researching The Rembrandt Affair, much of the material required for Iran’s secret nuclear program has been happily supplied by German high-tech firms. When I asked this official why German industrialists would be willing to sell such dangerous material to so unstable a regime, he gave me a somewhat puzzled look and responded with a single word: “Greed.”

  One would think that businessmen from Germany, the country that carried out the Holocaust, would have at least some qualms about doing business with a regime that has spoken openly about wiping the State of Israel from the face of the map. One would think, too, that Switzerland, the country that profited most from the Holocaust, would have similar reservations. But apparently not. If Iran succeeds in developing nuclear weapons, other countries in the region will surely want a nuclear capability of their own. Which means there is the potential for enormous future profits for firms willing to sell sensitive, export-restricted material to the highest bidder.

  The intelligence services of three countries—the United States, Israel, and Great Britain—have worked the hardest to prevent such critical material from reaching Iran. The extent to which they have been successful is an open question. A senior American intelligence official with whom I spoke in the autumn of 2009 told me in no uncertain terms that Iran had other secret enrichment plants in addition to Qom—sites that could not have been constructed without at least some Western technology. And in March 2010, as I was completing this manuscript, the New York Times reported that Iran appears to be building at least two “Qom look-alikes” in defiance of the United Nations. The story was based on interviews with intelligence officials who insisted on anonymity because the information they were disclosing was based in part on “highly classified operations.” No mention was made of a long-lost portrait by Rembrandt, a corrupt Swiss financier known to all the world as a saint, or a man of medium build with gray temples often seen hiking alone along the sea cliffs of Cornwall.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This novel, like the previous books in the Gabriel Allon series, could not have been written without the assistance of David Bull, who truly is among the finest art restorers in the world. Usually, David advises me on how to clean paintings. This time, however, he assisted me in devising a plausible method for hiding a secret inside one. The technique known as a blind canvas is rarely used by modern restorers, though it turned out to be perfect for the task at hand. Also, I will forever be indebted to the brilliant Patrick Matthiesen, who instructed me in the sometimes wicked ways of the art world and helped to inspire one of my favorite characters in the series. Rest assured Patrick has few things in common with Julian Isherwood other than his passion for art, his sense of humor, and his boundless generosity.

  Several Israeli and American officials spoke to me on background, and I thank them now in anonymity, which is how they would prefer it. Roger and Laura Cressey tutored me on American anti-proliferation efforts and helped me to better understand the ways of Washington’s sprawling national security structure. A very special thanks to M, who taught me how to “own” a mobile phone or laptop computer. I don’t think I will ever think of my smart phone in quite the same way, and neither should anyone else for that matter.

  Anna Rubin, director of the New York State Banking Department’s Holocaust Claims Processing Office, spoke with me about restitution issues and provenance searches. Peter Buijs taught me how to use the databases of the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam while Sarah Feirabend of the Hollandsche Schouwburg memorial answered some final questions on the theater’s terrible history. Sarah Bloomfield and Fred Zeidman, my colleagues at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., were a source of constant inspiration and encouragement. As always, I stand in awe of those who dedicate their lives to preserving the memory of the six million lost to the fires of the Shoah.

  Yoav Oren gave me a terrifying tutorial in Krav Maga, though somehow he managed to make it look less like a lethal form of martial arts and more like ballet. Gerald Malone advised me on the wiretapping authority of the British government and provided much-needed laughter. Aline and Hank Day graciously allowed me to stage yet another high-level intelligence conference at their beautiful home. Marguerita and Andrew Pate made the twelve-hour flight to Argentina so Gabriel wouldn’t have to.

  I consulted hundreds of books, newspaper and magazine articles, and websites while preparing this manuscript, far too many to name here. I would be remiss, however, if I did not mention the extraordinary scholarship and reporting of Jacob Presser, Debórah Dwork, Diane L. Wolf, Jean Ziegler, Isabel Vincent, Tom Bower, Martin Dean, Lynn H. Nicholas, David Cesarani, Uki Goñi, Steve Coll, and David Albright. David E. Sanger and William J. Broad of the New York Times have done an exemplary job of covering Iran’s seemingly unstoppable march toward a nuclear weapon, and their learned, well-reported articles were an invaluable resource. So, too, were the authoritative reports issued by the Institute for Science and International Security and the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control.

  A special thanks to the National Gallery in London. Also, to the staffs of the Hotel de l’Europe in Amsterdam, the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, and the Grand Hotel Kempinski in Geneva for taking good care of my family and me while I was conducting my research. Deepest apologies for running an intelligence operation from the rooms of the Kempinski without management’s permission, but given the time constraints, it wasn’t possible to make other arrangements. Habitués of Geneva probably know it would not be possible to see the fictional home of Martin Landesmann from even the upper floors of the Hôtel Métropole. It was one of many liberties I granted myself.

  Louis Toscano, my dear friend and personal editor, made many improvements to the manuscript, as did my copy editor, Kathy Crosby. Obviously, responsibility for any mistakes or typographical errors that find their way into the finished book falls on my shoulders, not theirs. A special thanks to the remarkable team at Putnam, especially Ivan Held, Marilyn Ducksworth, Dick Heffernan, Leslie Gelbman, Kara Welsh, David Shanks, Meredith Phebus Dros, Kate Stark, Stephanie Sorensen, Katie McKee, Stephany Perez, Samantha Wolf, and Victoria Comella. Also, to Sloan Harris, for his grace and professionalism.

  We are blessed with many friends who fill our lives with love and laughter at critical junctures during the writing year, especially Sally and Michael Oren, Angelique and Jim Bell, Joy and Jim Zorn, Nancy Dubuc and Michael Kizilbash, Elliott and Sloan Walker, Robyn and Charles Krauthammer, Elsa and Bob Woodward, Rachel and Elliott Abrams, Andrea and Tim Collins, Betsey and Andy Lack, Mirella and Dani Levinas, Derry Noyes and Greg Craig, Mariella and Michael Trager, and Susan and Terry O’Connor.

  I am deeply indebted to my children, Lily and Nicholas, who spent much of last August on a research trip that stretched from the glaciers of Les Diablerets to the cliffs of Cornwall. They helped me to steal priceless works of art from Europe’s finest museums, fictitiously of course, and listened patiently while I conceived and discarded several different versions of the plot, usually during yet another endless train ride. Finally, my wife, Jamie Gangel, helped me find the essence of the story when it eluded me and skillfully edited the pile of paper I euphemistically refer to as a “first draft.” Were it not for her patience, attention to detail, and forbearance, The Rembrandt Affair would not have been completed before its deadline. My debt to her is immeasurable, as is my love.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Daniel Silva is the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Unlikely Spy, The Mark of the Assassin, The Marching Season, The Kill Artist, The English Assassin, The Confessor, A Death in Vienna, Prince of Fire, The Messenger, The Secret Servant,
Moscow Rules, and The Defector. He is married to NBC News Today correspondent Jamie Gangel. They have two children, Lily and Nicholas. In 2009, he was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council.