"Whatever these paintings may have been to men who looked at them a generation back - today they are not only works of art. Today they are the symbols of the human spirit, and of the world the freedom of the human spirit made ... the freedom of the human spirit and human mind which has produced the world's great art and all its science - shall not be utterly destroyed."
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1941) |
Monuments Men with recovered works of art outside of the Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau, Germany
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Hitler at the Haus der Deutschen Kunst in Munich
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Over the course of Hitler's reign, he ordered and oversaw the purchase and confiscation of hundreds of thousands of works of art.
Hitler had an interest in art early on. He was furious when he was rejected from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. During the era of the Weimar Republic (from 1918 to 1933), art began to take a new shape, and movements like cubism and impressionism were brought to the foreground. Hitler thought of these styles as extravagant and sought to close schools promoting them and purify galleries containing such works. He was well aware that art and culture were very closely tied, and he wanted to be very careful about promoting things which supported his ideology.
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Hitler also wanted to transform Linz, Austria into the culture capital of the world. Some of the things he planned for the city included: -an opera house -a concert hall -cinemas -galleries -Das Führermuseum Linz Das Führermuseum Linz, although planned for the end of the war and never finished, was planned to be the greatest museum in the world. It was to be home to the most famous and expensive works of Aryan creation. Before the war began, Hitler's men began cataloging everything in museums across Europe and making plans for the art he wished to purchase, or, if necessary, steal. Hitler knew that creating all of this would unite the people, show his own power, and promote his beliefs. Hitler had three main groups working for him to steal art: the The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, Dienststelle Mühlmann, and SS troops accompanying Wehrmacht divisions. The ERR was the largest and most successful of the three. The Dienststelle Mühlmann focused mainly on the Netherlands, and the Wermacht divisions worked in Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Hungary, and North Africa. These men did whatever they had to to walk away with the art. They looted both public galleries and private collections alike. |
Top: plans for the museum as drawn by Hitler and Roderich Fick
Bottom: Plans for the city of Linz |
Part of Göring's personal collection.
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Hermann Göring and the Jeu de Paume
Göring was the Reichsmarschall under Hitler, and was also very interested in art. As he was so high up in command, he was also able to benefit from the process. He had his own men working to steal pieces for his own collection. Göring was a frequent visitor of the Jeu de Paume, a museum in France, where tens of thousands of stolen works were kept, cataloged, and put on private display. He was also a patron of the museum, and he was able to keep some of the pieces not on display for his personal collection. By the end of the war, it totaled more than 1,800 pieces. |
Degenerate Art
Hitler also collected what he considered to be “degenerate art,” or art which wasn't up to par with his standards. He rejected art from Jews and Bolsheviks as well as art from cubists, impressionists, and expressionists. 1,600 works were taken from galleries from Berlin and 900 from Hamburg. This art was either used to obtain works of greater value to Hitler, destroyed, or saved for the Exhibition of Degenerate Art which was put on across Germany and Austria in 1938 into January of 1939. |
Effects on the Art Market and on Artists
In some cases, the Nazis were willing to pay top prices to get their hands on works. This had a very positive impact on the art market. Many dealers were also willing to trade other works which the Nazis viewed as “degenerate,” as they were able to turn and sell them for much greater prices on other markets. The effect on individual artists however was everything but positive. Foreign artists fled the country, and others went underground or even committed suicide after losing their life's worth of work. |
Office of Strategic Services, ALIU Reports, DIRs, and CIRs
Once the Allies caught wind of the art being stolen, the Office of Strategic Services was formed to interrogate the people involved and write detailed reports of the stolen works. More than 2,000 people were questioned, and from this, many ALIU reports were written about the works and several other private collections. The Detailed and Consolidated Interrogation Reports were also written from these interviews. There were three published, including "Activity of the Einsatzstab Rosenberg in France," "The Goering Collection," and "Linz: Hitler's Museum and Library." They played an important role in the Nuremberg Trials of men such as Hermann Göring and Alfred Rosenberg, who were very involved in the theft. The reports also provided information about the economic status of the Reich and how that changed over time, as a large part of it had to do with art theft.
Once the Allies caught wind of the art being stolen, the Office of Strategic Services was formed to interrogate the people involved and write detailed reports of the stolen works. More than 2,000 people were questioned, and from this, many ALIU reports were written about the works and several other private collections. The Detailed and Consolidated Interrogation Reports were also written from these interviews. There were three published, including "Activity of the Einsatzstab Rosenberg in France," "The Goering Collection," and "Linz: Hitler's Museum and Library." They played an important role in the Nuremberg Trials of men such as Hermann Göring and Alfred Rosenberg, who were very involved in the theft. The reports also provided information about the economic status of the Reich and how that changed over time, as a large part of it had to do with art theft.
With the war in Europe, many Americans were concerned that there could be an attack on U.S. soil. The art world, in particular, was quite afraid of the damage that could occur to the world’s cultural works. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, America’s museum leaders held a meeting on December 20, 1941, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where they created a plan of action to protect and preserve art in the event of war. Many in the museum scene believed the only way to successfully save both art and monuments in Europe and the United States during the war was to create a group of men who specialized in the conservation of art and architecture. One of the men leading this movement was George Stout, a conservator at Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum.
On June 23, 1943, the Roberts Commission was established by President Roosevelt. The purpose of this commission was to ensure the protection of cultural artifacts in war torn countries. The Roberts Commission was responsible for creating the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) Program. Known as the Monuments Men, this program was intended to fulfill the vision of those like George Stout by creating a group of art specialists to work in the field in battle areas. The task force for the first assignment of this group consisted of one man: Captain Mason Hammond. Without transportation, supplies, or orders from the U.S. Army, Hammond was sent into parts of Italy after the battles were over, where he found hardly anything left to protect. It was decided that this mode of operation was ineffective for achieving the true goal of the MFAA.
It wasn’t until March of 1944, in Shrivenham, England, that the Monuments Men became a somewhat organized unit. It consisted of only 15 members, including longtime proponent George Stout, but only 8 officers actually served in the field in Europe. They still lacked support from the military in terms of funding supplies, but the program had made great leaps from the original one-man team. The Monuments Men were awaiting the Allies’ invasion of France, whereupon they would enter the continent and split up to check the status of various monuments throughout Europe. They worked from a list of structures provided to them by museum curators in the U.S. and England.
Once the Monuments Men arrived in Europe, there task grew to include recovering artwork that had been stolen by Nazis in addition to protecting monuments and buildings. Second Lieutenant James L. Rorimer was the Monuments Man assigned to France. Through his investigations, he met Rose Valland, a volunteer custodian at the Jeu de Paume which had been taken over by Nazis during the occupation of France. Valland had catalogued each piece of art that passed through the museum and was sent to Germany for Hitler’s personal collection. She also knew that many pieces were being stored at Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau, Germany. Valland gave all of her information to Rorimer, who was able to recover over 6,000 artworks as well as obtain Nazi records of over 21,000 stolen pieces.
While Rorimer was in France, his comrades were spread throughout Germany searching for stolen art. There were more than 1,500 repositories in Germany alone. Hitler had the Nazis hide most of the stolen art in German mines. They were ideal hiding places, as they were far enough below the earth that they were safe from any damage caused by explosions. The Monuments Men were able to recover more than 14,171 pieces of art from mines in Germany, but some art was destroyed by the Nazis before it could be found.
Artwork stolen by the Nazis during World War II is still being found today, more than 70 years later. There were also some governments that confiscated Nazi-looted art after it was recovered. Many people are involved in legal battles to win back the artwork that belonged to their families before the war and should now rightfully belong to them.
On June 23, 1943, the Roberts Commission was established by President Roosevelt. The purpose of this commission was to ensure the protection of cultural artifacts in war torn countries. The Roberts Commission was responsible for creating the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) Program. Known as the Monuments Men, this program was intended to fulfill the vision of those like George Stout by creating a group of art specialists to work in the field in battle areas. The task force for the first assignment of this group consisted of one man: Captain Mason Hammond. Without transportation, supplies, or orders from the U.S. Army, Hammond was sent into parts of Italy after the battles were over, where he found hardly anything left to protect. It was decided that this mode of operation was ineffective for achieving the true goal of the MFAA.
It wasn’t until March of 1944, in Shrivenham, England, that the Monuments Men became a somewhat organized unit. It consisted of only 15 members, including longtime proponent George Stout, but only 8 officers actually served in the field in Europe. They still lacked support from the military in terms of funding supplies, but the program had made great leaps from the original one-man team. The Monuments Men were awaiting the Allies’ invasion of France, whereupon they would enter the continent and split up to check the status of various monuments throughout Europe. They worked from a list of structures provided to them by museum curators in the U.S. and England.
Once the Monuments Men arrived in Europe, there task grew to include recovering artwork that had been stolen by Nazis in addition to protecting monuments and buildings. Second Lieutenant James L. Rorimer was the Monuments Man assigned to France. Through his investigations, he met Rose Valland, a volunteer custodian at the Jeu de Paume which had been taken over by Nazis during the occupation of France. Valland had catalogued each piece of art that passed through the museum and was sent to Germany for Hitler’s personal collection. She also knew that many pieces were being stored at Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau, Germany. Valland gave all of her information to Rorimer, who was able to recover over 6,000 artworks as well as obtain Nazi records of over 21,000 stolen pieces.
While Rorimer was in France, his comrades were spread throughout Germany searching for stolen art. There were more than 1,500 repositories in Germany alone. Hitler had the Nazis hide most of the stolen art in German mines. They were ideal hiding places, as they were far enough below the earth that they were safe from any damage caused by explosions. The Monuments Men were able to recover more than 14,171 pieces of art from mines in Germany, but some art was destroyed by the Nazis before it could be found.
Artwork stolen by the Nazis during World War II is still being found today, more than 70 years later. There were also some governments that confiscated Nazi-looted art after it was recovered. Many people are involved in legal battles to win back the artwork that belonged to their families before the war and should now rightfully belong to them.
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Resources
Son of Hilter's Art Dealer Dies, Leaves Behind Stolen Art Gallery of Recovered Artwork
Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of Hitler's Art Dealer, died in 2014 while This is a gallery of some of the more famous pieces
still in possession of art stolen by Nazis during World War II. The of artwork that were recovered by the Monuments
article is by BBC News. Men along with comments about each piece.
The Lost Museum The Last Prisoners of War
This is an article about Nazi art theft by Hector Feliciano. Feliciano This is an article written by Randy Schoenberg, attorney and President
writes about cultural affairs for The Washington Post & The Los of the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, in 2015 about stolen
Angeles Times. He has written a book about art during World War II. artwork that has still not been returned to its rightful owners.
Post-War Reports Inside Hitler's Fantasy Museum
This is a series of reports including the three Consolidated Interrogation This article is written by Noah Charney and discusses Hitler's
Reports and a few ALIU (Art Looting Intelligence Unit) Reports. The plans for the museum in Linz and what it really could have been like.
detail and the information on these people and works is quite impressive.
Son of Hilter's Art Dealer Dies, Leaves Behind Stolen Art Gallery of Recovered Artwork
Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of Hitler's Art Dealer, died in 2014 while This is a gallery of some of the more famous pieces
still in possession of art stolen by Nazis during World War II. The of artwork that were recovered by the Monuments
article is by BBC News. Men along with comments about each piece.
The Lost Museum The Last Prisoners of War
This is an article about Nazi art theft by Hector Feliciano. Feliciano This is an article written by Randy Schoenberg, attorney and President
writes about cultural affairs for The Washington Post & The Los of the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, in 2015 about stolen
Angeles Times. He has written a book about art during World War II. artwork that has still not been returned to its rightful owners.
Post-War Reports Inside Hitler's Fantasy Museum
This is a series of reports including the three Consolidated Interrogation This article is written by Noah Charney and discusses Hitler's
Reports and a few ALIU (Art Looting Intelligence Unit) Reports. The plans for the museum in Linz and what it really could have been like.
detail and the information on these people and works is quite impressive.
Research and Website Page by Hadriane Hatfield & Micaela Ellis