Nazi Art Theft: The History of Germany’s Confiscation and Destruction of European Artworks during World War II

Looting and the acquisition of plunder have long been crucial features of war. Removing an enemy’s portable wealth is a way of ensuring they lack the resources to create a new army while making it possible for members of the victorious army to be suitably rewarded. In the past, that plunder tended to be in the form of coinage, precious stones, gold, and silver. The removal of artwork for its own sake (rather than for the intrinsic value of the materials from which they were made) was relatively rare. This began to change in the early 19th century when Napoleon began acquiring artwork from conquered territories. Following the French Revolution, the practice of displaying artwork in public became a notable feature, and large museums, such as the Louvre in Paris, put vast numbers of paintings and sculptures on display in an effort to educate and enlighten the general public. Even after Napoleon established himself as the virtual dictator of France, he retained the revolutionary notion of the public display of art, and when French armies began campaigns of conquest that saw them take control of many European countries, Napoleon ordered his forces to seize notable artworks for display in France. Wars would continue to rage well after Napoleon was deposed, but World War II would dwarf everything that came before it. The Nazi regime that came to power in Germany under the leadership of Adolf Hitler in 1933 made it clear from the beginning that they intended to refight World War I, and this time they fully intended to win. At a time when most other countries were focused on the maintenance of peace and the reduction of armed forces, Germany underwent a period of rearmament that saw its military, the Wehrmacht, become the most modern and powerful fighting force in the world. In the long history of Europe, no country established such complete domination of the continent as the Nazis had by the summer of 1941. Before the war, Germany used the threat of the army rather than direct conflict to achieve territorial gains in Austria and Czechoslovakia. In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, triggering the war, and by June 1940, German forces had occupied Poland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, and large parts of France. By the spring of 1941, Greece, Serbia, and Yugoslavia were also occupied by Nazi forces. Italy, Hungary, Romania, Spain, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Finland, and Croatia were all either in alliance with Germany or subject to German control. Furthermore, by the winter of 1941, German forces were close to Leningrad and Moscow. With that, Germany directly controlled virtually all of Europe, from Norway in the north to Greece in the south, from the Atlantic coast of France in the west to the outskirts of Moscow in the east. Even Napoleon's campaigns had not conquered such vast tracts of territory so quickly or completely, and only Britain and Russia stood against Germany. Britain was in no position to mount an invasion of the continent, and most people assumed the defeat of Russia was simply a matter of time as Nazi forces rolled ever further east. At the end of 1941, it seemed to many people, especially in Germany, that the war was virtually over, and some began to consider what a post-war Europe would look like after a Nazi victory. A few thought about culture and how the new Berlin Hitler was planning should also become a new world center for art, and with nothing to stop them, the Nazis became the most rapacious looters of art the world had ever seen, to the extent that it has been estimated that the Nazis may have acquired up to 20% of all art in Western Europe. Some works were returned after the war, many disappeared, and still others have become the subject of intense speculation. In This Groundbreaking Book, Distinguished Historian Gotz Aly Addresses One Of Modern History's Greatest Conundrums: How Did Adolf Hitler Win The Allegiance Of Ordinary Germans For His Program Of Mass Murder And Military Conquest? The Answer Aly Provides Is As Shocking As It Is Persuasive. By Engaging In A Campaign Of Theft On An Almost Unimaginable Scale, And By Channeling The Proceeds Into A Succession Of Generous Social Programs, Hitler Literally Bought The Consent Of The German People. Drawing On Secret Nazi Files And Unexamined Financial Records, Aly Shows That While Jews And Citizens Of Occupied Lands Suffered Crippling Taxation, Mass Looting, Enslavement, And Destruction, Most Germans Enjoyed A Marked Improvement In Their Standard Of Living. He Documents The Many Millions Of Packages Soldiers Sent From The Front Stuffed With Valuables And Provisions; The Systematic Plunder Of Conquered Territory For Raw Materials, Industrial Goods, And Food Supplies; And The Disappearance Of Jewish Property And Fortunes Into German Homes And Pockets Across The Reich. Whatever Moral Qualms Germans May Have Felt Toward Nazi Policies Were Swept Away By Waves Of Government Handouts, Tax Breaks, And Preferential Legislation. Aly Depicts A Nazi Leadership Addicted To The Spoils Of Invasion, Annexation And Dispossession. He Shows That The Pace And Timing Of Nazi Conquests-from The Anschluss Of Austria To The Annexation Of The Czech Sudetenland-were Dictated By The Rapidly Escalating Financial Needs Of The German War Machine. Time And Again, Warnings Of An Imminent Financial Collapse Spurred The Third Reich To Ever More Desperate And Brazen Acts Of Thievery And Destruction. A Gripping Work Of Scrupulous Erudition And Great Historical Importance, Hitleralʼs Beneficiaries Explains The Inexplicable, Making A Radically New Contribution To Our Understanding Of Nazi Aggression, The Holocaust And The Complicity Of A People. From The Book Jacket. Includes Information On Anti-semitism, Atonement Payments, Banque De France Bank Of Greece, Belgium, Consumer Goods, Currency, Debt And Credit, Eastern Europe (front), Forced Labor, France, Joseph Goebbels, Gold, Hermann Goring, Government Bonds, Greece, Adolf Hitler, Holland (netherlands), Responsibility For Holocaust, Hungary, Inflation, Italy, Jewish Assets, Jews, Deportation Of Jews, National Socialist German Workers Party (nazi Party), Occupation Costs, Poland, Reich Credit Banks (rreichkreditkasse), Reichsbank, Romania, Schwerin Von Krosigk (count Lutz), Social Welfare System, Soldiers, Soviet Union, Taxes And Tax Policy, Vichy France, Wehrmacht, Working Classes, World War I, World War Ii, Etc. Part I Political Opportunists In Action -- 1 The Dream Of A Peopleʼs Empire -- 2 The Accommodating Dictatorship -- Part Ii Subjugation And Exploitation -- 3 With Unwavering Efficiency -- 4 Profits For The People -- 5 The Mainstay: Western Europe -- 6 Room For Expansion: Eastern Europe -- Part Iii The Dispossession Of The Jews -- 7 Larceny As A State Principle -- 8 Laundering Money For The Wehrmacht -- 9 Subsidies To And From Germanyʼs Allies -- 10 The Trail Of Gold -- Part Iv Crimes For The Benefit Of The People -- 11 The Fruits Of Evil -- 12 Speculative Politics -- 13 Nazi Socialism -- A Note On Calculations -- Currency Exchange Rates. Götz Aly ; Translated By Jefferson Chase. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [399]-416) And Index.

The spellbinding story, part fairy tale, part suspense, of Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, one of the most emblematic portraits of its time; of the beautiful, seductive Viennese Jewish salon hostess who sat for it; the notorious artist who painted it; the now vanished turn-of-the-century Vienna that shaped it; and the strange twisted fate that befell it.
 
The Lady in Gold, considered an unforgettable masterpiece, one of the twentieth century’s most recognizable paintings, made headlines all over the world when Ronald Lauder bought it for $135 million a century after Klimt, the most famous Austrian painter of his time, completed the society portrait.
 
Anne-Marie O’Connor, writer for The Washington Post, formerly of the Los Angeles Times, tells the galvanizing story of the Lady in Gold, Adele Bloch-Bauer, a dazzling Viennese Jewish society figure; daughter of the head of one of the largest banks in the Hapsburg Empire, head of the Oriental Railway, whose Orient Express went from Berlin to Constantinople; wife of Ferdinand Bauer, sugar-beet baron.
 
The Bloch-Bauers were art patrons, and Adele herself was considered a rebel of fin de siècle Vienna (she wanted to be educated, a notion considered “degenerate” in a society that believed women being out in the world went against their feminine “nature”). The author describes how Adele inspired the portrait and how Klimt made more than a hundred sketches of her—simple pencil drawings on thin manila paper.
 
And O’Connor writes of Klimt himself, son of a failed gold engraver, shunned by arts bureaucrats, called an artistic heretic in his time, a genius in ours.
 
She writes of the Nazis confiscating the portrait of Adele from the Bloch-Bauers’ grand palais; of the Austrian government putting the painting on display, stripping Adele’s Jewish surname from it so that no clues to her identity (nor any hint of her Jewish origins) would be revealed. Nazi officials called the painting, The Lady in Gold and proudly exhibited it in Vienna’s Baroque Belvedere Palace, consecrated in the 1930s as a Nazi institution.
 
The author writes of the painting, inspired by the Byzantine mosaics Klimt had studied in Italy, with their exotic symbols and swirls, the subject an idol in a golden shrine.
 
We see how, sixty years after it was stolen by the Nazis, the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer became the subject of a decade-long litigation between the Austrian government and the Bloch-Bauer heirs, how and why the U.S. Supreme Court became involved in the case, and how the Court’s decision had profound ramifications in the art world.
 
A riveting social history; an illuminating and haunting look at turn-of-the-century Vienna; a brilliant portrait of the evolution of a painter; a masterfully told tale of suspense. And at the heart of it, the Lady in Gold—the shimmering painting, and its equally irresistible subject, the fate of each forever intertwined.

In this groundbreaking book, distinguished historian Gotz Aly addresses one of modern history's greatest conundrums: How did Adolf Hitler win the allegiance of ordinary Germans for his program of mass murder and military conquest? The answer Aly provides is as shocking as it is persuasive. By engaging in a campaign of theft on an almost unimaginable scale, and by channeling the proceeds into a succession of generous social programs, Hitler literally bought the consent of the German people. Drawing on secret Nazi files and unexamined financial records, Aly shows that while Jews and citizens of occupied lands suffered crippling taxation, mass looting, enslavement, and destruction, most Germans enjoyed a marked improvement in their standard of living. He documents the many millions of packages soldiers sent from the front stuffed with valuables and provisions; the systematic plunder of conquered territory for raw materials, industrial goods, and food supplies; and the disappearance of Jewish property and fortunes into German homes and pockets across the Reich. Whatever moral qualms Germans may have felt toward Nazi policies were swept away by waves of government handouts, tax breaks, and preferential legislation Aly depicts a Nazi leadership addicted to the spoils of invasion, annexation and dispossession. He shows that the pace and timing of Nazi conquests-from the Anschluss of Austria to the annexation of the Czech Sudetenland-were dictated by the rapidly escalating financial needs of the German war machine. Time and again, warnings of an imminent financial collapse spurred the Third Reich to ever more desperate and brazen acts of thievery and destruction. A gripping work of scrupulous erudition and great historical importance, Hitleralʾs Beneficiaries explains the inexplicable, making a radically new contribution to our understanding of Nazi aggression, the Holocaust and the complicity of a people. From the book jacket Includes information on anti-Semitism, atonement payments, Banque de France Bank of Greece, Belgium, consumer goods, currency, debt and credit, Eastern Europe (Front), forced labor, France, Joseph Goebbels, gold, Hermann Goring, government bonds, Greece, Adolf Hitler, Holland (Netherlands), responsibility for Holocaust, Hungary, inflation, Italy, Jewish assets, Jews, deportation of Jews, National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party), occupation costs, Poland, Reich Credit Banks (Rreichkreditkasse), Reichsbank, Romania, Schwerin von Krosigk (Count Lutz), social welfare system, Soldiers, Soviet Union, taxes and tax policy, Vichy France, Wehrmacht, working classes, World War I, World War II, etc Adolf Hitler plante in seiner Heimatstadt Linz ein großes Museum, das "Führermuseum". Zum Aufbau der Museumssammlung wurde 1939 der sog. Sonderauftrag Linz installiert, der in Österreich und den besetzten Ländern aus beschlagnahmten und "sichergestellten", vor allem jüdischen Sammlungen Gemälde aussuchte und auch auf dem Kunstmarkt ankaufte. Alle Publikationen über das "Führermuseum" haben sich im Wesentlichen mit den kriminellen Aneignungsmethoden des Sonderauftrags Linz beschäftigt, deren Folgen bis heute die Museums- und Kunstwelt in Europa und Amerika erschüttern. Das vorliegende Buch ist ein entscheidender Beitrag zu einer systematischen und wissenschaftlichen Bearbeitung der Museumsplanungen und des Bestandes sowie der Geschichte des Sonderauftrags. Es stellt erstmalig die wichtigste Bildquelle zum Linzer Museum vor: die 19 erhaltenen von ehemals 31 Fotoalben, die Hitler in regelmäßigen Abständen vom Sonderauftrag überreicht wurden und ihm Rechenschaft über den Stand der Sammeltätigkeit gaben. Die darin enthaltenen gut 900 Kunstwerke werden abgebildet, im Katalog identifiziert und mit Angaben zur Provenienz versehen, welche ihre jeweilige Geschichte vom Zugriff Hitlers bis zur Restitution nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg nachzeichnen. Die Alben zeigen die Galerie in statu nascendi und machen damit die Sammlungsgeschichte transparent. Darüber hinaus lassen Inhalt und Anordnung der Fotosammlung Rückschluss auf die geplante Struktur des Museums zu. Damit wird der Blick frei auf einen bisher vernachlässigten Aspekt der Kulturpolitik des Nationalsozialismus: Hitlers Museumspolitik. Die in der Publizistik bis heute dominierende Vorstellung vom "größten Museum der Welt" gibt sich als ein Mythos zu erkennen The Previously Untold Story Of A Little-known Wwii Allied Division Whose Mission Was To Track Down European Art And Treasures That Had Been Looted By The Nazis At Hitler's Command-- The Mission. Out Of Germany ; Hitler's Dream ; The Call To Arms ; A Dull And Empty World ; Leptis Magna ; The First Campaign ; Monte Cassino ; Monuments, Fine Arts, And Archives ; The Task -- Northern Europe. Winning Respect ; A Meeting In The Field ; Michaelangelo's Madonna ; The Cathedral And The Masterpiece ; Van Eyck's Mystic Lamb ; James Rorimer Visits The Louvre ; Entering Germany ; A Field Trip ; Tapestry ; Christmas Wishes ; The Madonna Of La Gleize ; The Train ; The Bulge ; Champagne -- Germany. A German Jew In The U.s. Army ; Coming Through The Battle ; The New Monuments Man ; George Stout With His Maps ; Art On The Move ; Two Turning Points ; Hitler's Nero Decree ; First Army Across The Rhine ; Treasure Map ; Frustration ; Inside The Mountain ; Lost ; A Week To Remember -- The Void. Salt ; Horror ; The Gauleiter ; The Battered Mine ; Last Birthday ; Plans ; The Noose ; Discoveries ; The Noose Tightens ; The Race ; Final Days ; The Translator ; The Sound Of Music ; End Of The Road -- The Aftermath. Understanding Altaussee ; Evacuation ; The Journey Home ; Heroes Of Civilization ; What Is Your Connection To The Story? Robert M. Edsel ; With Bret Witter. Map On Lining Papers. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [447]-454) And Index. A "provocative" account of great "intellectual significance," illuminating the economic workings of the Third Reichand the reasons ordinary Germans supported the Nazi state (The New York Times Book Review) In this groundbreaking book, historian Gtz Aly addresses one of modern history's greatest conundrums: How did Hitler win the allegiance of ordinary Germans? The answer is as shocking as it is persuasive: by engaging in a campaign of theft on an almost unimaginable scaleand by channeling the proceeds into generous social programsHitler literally "bought" his people's consent. Drawing on secret files and financial records, Aly shows that while Jews and citizens of occupied lands suffered crippling taxation, mass looting, enslavement, and destruction, most Germans enjoyed an improved standard of living. Buoyed by millions of packages soldiers sent from the front, Germans also benefited from the systematic plunder of Jewish possessions. Any qualms were swept away by waves of tax breaks and government handouts. Hitler's Beneficiaries has been hailed as "startling" by Richard Evans, and as "fascinating and important" by Christopher Browning. Above all, as Omer Bartov testifies, this remarkable book "irreversibly transforms our understanding of the Third Reich." As commander of the German Luftwaffe and second only to Hitler in the Nazi Party, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering amassed both political power and a vast collection of confiscated artwork. Beyond the Dreams of The Hermann Goering Collection by Nancy H. Yeide, is the first study devoted to Goering s entire paintings collection, providing the only opportunity to look at the collection as a whole and evaluate its place within art collecting and the history of Nazi looting. This carefully documented catalogue, painstakingly assembled from archival documents identified as primary to the Goering collection, is critical to the clarification of provenances of the objects and brings to light information about paintings whose histories and whereabouts have been hidden for decades. A culmination of seven years of research by Ms. Yeide, an internationally recognized expert in World War II-era provenance research and co-author of The AAM Guide to Provenance Research which helped define provenance research standards in the United States, this volume is a must for collectors, art dealers, auction houses, researchers, curators, art historians and other scholars. Includes an introduction by Robert M. Edsel, author of The Monuments Men.

Rescuing Da Vinci uses 460 photographs to tell the "untold story of the 'Monuments Men'" and their discovery of more than 1,000 repositories filled with millions of items including paintings, sculptures, furniture, archives and other treasures stolen during WWII by Adolph Hitler and the Nazis. Rescuing Da Vinci includes photographs of Hitler designing the Fuhrer Museum, along with photographs of the extraordinary measures taken by museum officials in Europe to protect their masterpieces from the Nazis' planned looting. Ultimately, Hitler and the Nazis' unprecedented theft of Europe gave way to the greatest treasure hunt in history, the search for art and other treasures valued at more than a trillion dollars! The Allies created a special force known as Monuments, Fine Art and Archives Section comprised of museum directors, curators and art historians- men and women from more than 15 nations who spent more than six years locating, rescuing and then returning these treasures to the countries from which they were stolen. Efforts to locate and return missing artwork continue to this day.

Alfred Rosenberg, principal idéologue du national socialisme, fut également l'un des plus grands voleurs d'art de tous les temps. Ce disciple d'Adolf Hitler fit saisir par son "Einsatzstab" plus de 21 000 œuvres d'art pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, dans le but de créer un nouveau musée à Berlin. En outre, il a dérobé de nombreux livres et archives possédés par des juifs, des francs-maçons et des institutions soviétiques. Avec ce matériel, il voulait combattre les adversaires du national socialisme. Rosenberg a réussi à se défendre contre ses concurrents et à conserver le contrôle des objets volés jusqu'à la fin du Troisième Reich. L'armée américaine n'a pas retrouvé toutes les oeuvres après guerre dans les dépôts de la ERR et jusqu'à aujourd'hui beaucoup d'entre elles sont perdues. Le livre contient un catalogue de photographies inédites de certaines de ces œuvres Alfred Rosenberg, Chefideologe des Nationalsozialismus, war auch einer der größten Kunsträuber aller Zeiten. Der Gefolgsmann von Adolf Hitler ließ mit seinem 'Einsatzstab' während des Zweiten Weltkrieges mehr als 21.000 Kunstwerke beschlagnahmen und plante damit ein neues Museum in Berlin. Darüber hinaus raubte er viele Bücher und Akten aus dem Besitz von Juden, Freimaurern und sowjetischen Institutionen. Mit diesem Material wollte er die Gegner des Nationalsozialismus bekämpfen. Es gelang Rosenberg, sich gegen Konkurrenten zu behaupten und bis zum Ende des Dritten Reiches die Kontrolle über die geraubten Objekte zu behalten. Nicht alle wurden nach dem Krieg von der US-Army in den Depots des ERR gefunden - bis heute sind viele verschollen. Das Buch enthält einen Katalog mit bislang unveröffentlichten Fotos einiger dieser Werke Alfred Rosenberg, Chefideologe des Nationalsozialismus, war auch einer der grössten Kunsträuber aller Zeiten. Der Gefolgsmann von Adolf Hitler liess mit seinem 'Einsatzstab' während des Zweiten Weltkrieges mehr als 21.000 Kunstwerke beschlagnahmen und plante damit ein neues Museum in Berlin. Darüber hinaus raubte er viele Bücher und Akten aus dem Besitz von Juden, Freimaurern und sowjetischen Institutionen. Mit diesem Material wollte er die Gegner des Nationalsozialismus bekämpfen. Es gelang Rosenberg, sich gegen Konkurrenten zu behaupten und bis zum Ende des Dritten Reiches die Kontrolle über die geraubten Objekte zu behalten. Nicht alle wurden nach dem Krieg von der US-Army in den Depots des ERR gefunden - bis heute sind viele verschollen. Das Buch enthält einen Katalog mit bislang unveröffentlichten Fotos einiger dieser Werke. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Monuments Men, which is now a major motion picture directed by and starring George Clooney, Rescuing Da Vinci uses 460 photographs to tell the story of the Monuments Men. The Monuments Men were a group of 345 or so men and women from thirteen nations who comprised the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section during World War II. Many were museum directors, curators, art historians and educators. Together they worked to protect monuments and other cultural treasures from the destruction of World War II. In the last year of the war, they tracked, located, and ultimately returned more than 5 million artistic and cultural items stolen by Hitler and the Nazis. Their role in preserving cultural treasures was without precedent. At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: "degenerate" works he despised. In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Momuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture. Focusing on the eleven-month period between D-Day and V-E Day, this fascinating account follows six Monuments Men and their impossible mission to save the world's great art from the Nazis. Part I Political Opportunists in Action 1 The Dream of a Peopleʾs Empire 2 The Accommodating Dictatorship Part II Subjugation and Exploitation 3 With Unwavering Efficiency 4 Profits for the People 5 The Mainstay: Western Europe 6 Room for Expansion: Eastern Europe Part III The Dispossession of the Jews 7 Larceny as a State Principle 8 Laundering Money for the Wehrmacht 9 Subsidies to and from Germanyʾs Allies 10 The Trail of Gold Part IV Crimes for the Benefit of the People 11 The Fruits of Evil 12 Speculative Politics 13 Nazi Socialism A Note on Calculations Currency Exchange Rates In der Diskussion um die Linzer Museumssammlung wertet H. C. Lohr erstmals ein umfassendes Inventar aus, das Hitler zwischen 1938 und 1945 im Munchener "Fuhrerbau" anlegen liess. Die uber 3.900 originalen Karteikarten und Fotografien erlauben eine prazise Analyse des Sammlungsverhaltens von Hitler und seiner Beauftragten. Der Autor widerlegt in seinem Buch die herrschende Meinungen uber die Herkunft der Objekte: Die grosse Sammlung bestand nicht nur aus gewaltsamen Enteignungen judischer Burger. Vielmehr ermoglichten die Lieferungen des Kunsthandels den Aufbau des Museums." Beyond the Dreams of Avarice: The Hermann Goering Collection is the first biography to focus on Goering’s personal collection, providing the first opportunity since the war to look at the collection as a whole and evaluate its place within art collecting and politics. A must for serious students, art historians, curators and other scholars, this carefully documented volume is critical to the clarification of provenances of the objects featured and brings to light pictures whose histories and whereabouts have been hidden for decades. Shares the events that shaped the creation of the painter's most famous portrait, covering such topics as the story of the salon hostess who was his model, contributing factors in turn-of-the-century Vienna, and the painting's fate Traces the lesser-known effort by an Allied division to find and secure European art that had been looted by the Nazis, outlining how they risked their lives and raced against time with limited supplies and scraps of information. Uses photographs to tell the untold story of the "Monuments Men" and their discovery of more than 1,000 repositories, many of which contained paintings, sculpture, furniture, and other treasures stolen by the Nazis Nancy H. Yeide ; Introduction By Robert M. Edsel. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 476-477) And Indexes.