Kunstschutz
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is the German term for the principle of preserving cultural heritage and artworks during armed conflict, especially during the First and Second World Wars, with the stated aim of protecting the enemy's art and returning after the end of hostilities. It is associated with the image of the "art officer" (Kunstoffizier) or "art expert" (Kunstsachverständiger). The Allies instituted a
Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program The Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section Unit (MFAA) was a program established by the Allies of World War II, Allies in 1943 to help protect cultural property in war areas during and after World War II. The group of about 400 service membe ...
tasked with identifying, locating, securing, storing, and returning stolen art after the war.


Kunstschutz archive project

The German military protection of art in France (and in Europe) in the Second World War acted in the occupied countries against the institutions and people who carried out art theft, in particular against
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 â€“ 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
and the task force Reichsleiter Rosenberg. In view of the disparate transmission situation of the sources that are scattered in German, French, English and American archives, an academic study of art protection has largely remained a desideratum for research to this day. The creation of a subject-related inventory on art protection and art looting in the Second World War, which virtually brings together the sources on the subject handed down in various archives worldwide, is therefore not only of particular value for provenance research. The reason for the project was the transfer of the estate of Franziskus Graf Wolff Metternich (1893-1978) to the Vereinigte Adelsarchive im Rheinland e. V. (VAR). Their office is located in the LVR Archive Advice and Training Center (LVR-AFZ), which also takes on the project management. The Bonn art historian Wolf Metternich held the office of provincial curator for the Rhine province from 1928 to 1950 and was appointed head of military art protection in France at the Army High Command in May 1940. In addition to personal documents, his estate includes what is probably the most complete surviving record of art protection during World War II. The estate was in the family for decades and was not accessible to the public. Only the interest of the Russian director
Alexander Sokurov Alexander Nikolayevich Sokurov, PAR (; born 14 June 1951) is a Russian filmmaker. His most significant works include a feature film, ''Russian Ark'' (2002), filmed in a single unedited shot, and ''Faust'' (2011), which was honoured with the G ...
in the subject of art theft and the person of Wolff Metternich prompted the family to deposit the estate with the VAR. After its development, which was carried out by the LVR-AFZ in the years 2013 to 2016, the estate is now available for research without restrictions. Sokurov's film '' Frankofonia'' had its cinema premiere at the end of January 2016 in the presence of the Wolff Metternich family. From September 1, 2016, the Federal Foundation German Center for the Loss of Cultural Assets in Magdeburg financed two project positions for the creation of a subject-related inventory. Within three years, a factual inventory was created on the essential tradition of art protection in the Second World War, which compiles the archival sources in German, French, Belgian, American and English archives that complement the central legacy of Wolff Metternich and thus offers an essential tool for international provenance research. With the documents from the estate of Franziskus Graf Wolff Metternich and their comparison with counterparts in other international archives, the structures and networks of art protection in the Second World War are made visible for the first time.
The archival material inventory is presented here in the form of an online database
and is accompanied by a print publication for scientific classification. After the end of the project, the results were presented in September 2019 at an international scientific conference in the LVR cultural center in Brauweiler Abbey.


History


World War I

The Germans' lack of respect for the international Hague Conventions on land warfare created in 1899 and 1907, which had included the protection of cultural property, led to international shock at the burning of Leuven University Library in Belgium and the bombardment of
Reims Cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims (; ; meaning "Our Lady of Reims"), known in English as Reims Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name, the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and wa ...
in France, both in 1914 (the Louvain library would be re-formed and rebuilt in the 1920s but destroyed again in the 1940
Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...
). To counter the protests, counterbalance the destruction, redeem itself in the eyes of international agencies and regain its image as the land of culture ''par excellence'', German propaganda created the principle of ''Kunstschutz''. The principle allowed Germany to experiment with new formulas for saving and developing cultural heritage and originated many, often fertile initiatives. Clemen, professor of art history at the
University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...
and inspector of monuments in the
Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...
, was one of the principle's first instigators. A German soldier 'saved' cultural objects in
Saint-Quentin, Aisne Saint-Quentin (; ; ) is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, northern France. It has been identified as the ''Augusta Veromanduorum'' of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, Saint Quentin of Amiens, wh ...
, though these were only returned in 1998, and a painting similarly removed from
Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...
museum was returned only in 2000 after it was discovered at a sale in Switzerland. The museum at
Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
has put on an exhibition on the activities of its former German curator, the archaeologist Johann Baptist Keune, in protecting the artistic heritage of the Moselle during the conflict.


Inter-war period

After assuming power in 1933, Hitler and other nazis started
anti-semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
policies designed to degrade and humiliate German Jews. Their aim was ultimately to exile or murder their victims, and steal their worldly possessions, including any artwork such as
paintings Painting is a visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or " support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush. Other implements, ...
, drawings and prints, as well as
furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...
,
antiques An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...
,
books A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...
,
tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...
,
carpets A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of Pile (textile), pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fiber, synthetic fibres such as polyprop ...
and so on.
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
was an unsuccessful artist who was denied admission to the
Vienna Academy of Fine Arts The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...
. Nonetheless, he thought of himself as a connoisseur of the arts, and in ''
Mein Kampf (; ) is a 1925 Autobiography, autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The book outlines many of Political views of Adolf Hitler, Hitler's political beliefs, his political ideology and future plans for Nazi Germany, Ge ...
'' he ferociously attacked modern art as degenerate, including:
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
;
Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
; and
Dadaism Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
; all of which he considered the product of a decadent twentieth century society. When in 1933 Hitler became
Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...
, he enforced his aesthetic ideal on the nation. The types of art that were favoured amongst the Nazi party were classical portraits and landscapes by
Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...
, particularly those of Germanic origin. Modern art that did not match this was dubbed degenerate art by the Third Reich, and all that was found in Germany's state museums was to be sold or destroyed. With the sums raised, the Fuhrer's objective was to establish the European Art Museum in
Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...
. Other Nazi dignitaries, like
Reichsmarschall (; ) was an honorary military rank, specially created for Hermann Göring during World War II, and the highest rank in the . It was senior to the rank of (, equivalent to field marshal, which was previously the highest rank in the ), but ...
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 â€“ 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
and Foreign Affairs minister von Ribbentrop, were also intent on taking advantage of German military conquests to increase their private art collections. The art dealers
Hildebrand Gurlitt Hildebrand Gurlitt (15 September 1895 – 9 November 1956) was a German art historian and art gallery director who dealt in Nazi-looted art as one of Hitler's and Goering's four authorized dealers for " degenerate art". A Nazi-associated art dea ...
, Karl Buchholz, Ferdinand Moeller and Bernhard Boehmer set up shop in Schloss Niederschonhausen, just outside
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, to sell the near-16,000 cache of paintings and sculptures which Hitler and Göring removed from the walls of German museums in 1937–38. They were first put on display in the
Haus der Kunst The ''Haus der Kunst'' (, ''House of Art'') is a museum for modern and contemporary art in Munich, Bavaria. It is located at Prinzregentenstraße 1 at the southern edge of the Englischer Garten, Munich's largest park. It was built between 1933 an ...
in Munich on 19 July 1937, with the Nazi leaders inviting public mockery by two million visitors. Propagandist
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 â€“ 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...
in a radio broadcast called Germany's degenerate artists "garbage". Hitler opened the Haus der Kunst exhibition with a speech, at the end of which saliva fell out of his mouth in rage. In it he described German art as suffering "a great and fatal illness".


Burning of artwork

Hildebrand Gurlitt Hildebrand Gurlitt (15 September 1895 – 9 November 1956) was a German art historian and art gallery director who dealt in Nazi-looted art as one of Hitler's and Goering's four authorized dealers for " degenerate art". A Nazi-associated art dea ...
and his colleagues did not have much success with their sales, mainly because art labelled "rubbish" had small appeal. So on 20 March 1939 they set fire to 1,004 paintings and sculptures and 3,825
watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the S ...
, drawings and prints in the courtyard of the Berlin Fire Department, an act of infamy similar to their earlier well-known
book burning Book burning is the deliberate destruction by fire of books or other written materials, usually carried out in a public context. The burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or politic ...
s. The propaganda act raised the attention they hoped. The Basel Museum in Switzerland arrived with 50,000 Swiss francs to spend. Shocked art lovers came to buy. What is unknown after these sales is how many paintings were kept by Gurlitt, Buchholz, Moeller and Boehmer and sold by them to Switzerland and America – ships crossed the Atlantic from Lisbon – for personal gain. While the Nazis were in power, they plundered cultural property from every territory they occupied. This was conducted in a systematic manner with organizations specifically created to determine which public and private collections were most valuable to the Nazi Regime. Some of the objects were earmarked for Hitler's never realized
Führermuseum The ''Führermuseum'' or ''Fuhrer-Museum'' (English language, English: Leader's Museum), also referred to as the Linz art gallery, was an unrealized art museum within a cultural complex planned by Adolf Hitler for his hometown, the Austrian ci ...
, some objects went to other high-ranking officials such as
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 â€“ 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
, while other objects were traded to fund Nazi activities.


World War II

In 1940, an organization known as the '' Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg für die Besetzten Gebiete'' (The
Reichsleiter (, ) was the second-highest political rank in the Nazi Party (NSDAP), subordinate only to the office of . also functioned as a paramilitary rank within the NSDAP and was the highest rank attainable in any Nazi organisation. Each reported d ...
Rosenberg Institute for the Occupied Territories), or ERR, was formed, headed for
Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( â€“ 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...
by
Gerhard Utikal Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark * Gerhard Barkhorn (1919†...
. The first operating unit, the western branch for France, Belgium and the Netherlands, called the ''Dienststelle Westen'' (Western Agency), was located in Paris. The chief of this Dienststelle was
Kurt von Behr Kurt is a male given name in Germanic languages. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Konrad/Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. Like Conrad, it can also a surname an ...
. Its original purpose was to collect
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish and
Freemasonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
books and documents, either for destruction, or for removal to Germany for further "study". However, late in 1940,
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 â€“ 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
, who in fact controlled the ERR, issued an order that effectively changed the mission of the ERR, mandating it to seize "Jewish" art collections and other objects. The
war loot Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
had to be collected in a central place in Paris, the Musée de jeu de Paume. At the collection point,
art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...
s and other personnel worked and inventoried the loot before sending it to Germany. Göring also commanded that the loot would first be divided between Hitler and himself. From late 1940 to late 1942, he went to Paris 20 times. In the Musée jeu de paume, art dealer
Bruno Lohse Wilhelm Peter Bruno Lohse (17 September 1911 – 19 March 2007) was a German art dealer and SS-Hauptsturmführer who, during World War II, became the chief art looter in Paris for Hermann Göring, helping the Nazi leader amass a vast collection ...
staged 20 expositions of the newly looted art objects, especially for Göring, from which Göring selected at least 594 pieces for his own collection. Göring made Lohse his liaison-officer and installed him in the ERR in March 1941 as the deputy leader of this unit. Items which Hitler and Göring did not want were made available to other Nazi leaders. Under Rosenberg and Göring's leadership, the ERR seized 21,903 art objects from German-occupied countries. Other Nazi looting organizations included the Dienststelle Mühlmann, operated by
Kajetan Mühlmann Kajetan "Kai" Mühlmann (26 June 1898 – 2 August 1958) was an Austrian art historian who was an officer in the SS and played a major role in the expropriation of art by the Nazis, particularly in Poland and the Netherlands. He worked with Arth ...
, which Göring also controlled and operated primarily in the Netherlands, Belgium, and a Sonderkommando Kuensberg connected to the minister of foreign affairs
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. ...
, which operated first in France, then in Russia and North Africa. Hitler later ordered that all confiscated works of art were to be made directly available to him. Art collections from prominent Jewish families, including the
Rothschilds The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish noble banking family originally from Frankfurt. The family's documented history starts in 16th-century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, ...
, the Rosenbergs and the Goudstikkers and the Schloss family were targeted because of their significant value. By the end of the war, the Third Reich amassed hundreds of thousands of cultural objects. In Western Europe, with the advancing German troops, were elements of the von Ribbentrop Battalion, named after
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. ...
. The men were responsible for entering private and institutional libraries in the occupied countries and removing any materials of interest to the Germans, especially items of scientific, technical or other informational value.


Kunstschutz activities

Kunstschutz's altruistic image in World War I aided its reinstatement in World War II. On the initiative of Marshal
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 â€“ 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
, a specialist military corps known as the ''Kunstschutz'' was reactivated following the
Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces The Armistice of Cassibile (Italian language, Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Kingdom of Italy, Italy and the Allies of World War II, Allies, marking the end of hostilities between It ...
of September 1943 to requisition Italian artworks and transport them to Germany, under the pretext of saving them from Allied bombing. In
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
58 crates of marble and bronze statues (by
Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), known mononymously as Donatello (; ), was an Italian Renaissance sculpture, Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sc ...
and
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
among others), 26 ancient Greek statues, 291 large paintings (including works by
Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...
,
Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli ( ; ) or simply known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 1 ...
and
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
) and 25 crates of smaller paintings set out for Germany and Austria in convoys which many Italian intelligence officers secretly followed and reported back on to their government and thus to the Allies. One of those officers was the antifascist Rodolfo Siviero, who transmitted his reports to the Allies via his partisan contacts and continued to hunt down and return looted and illegally acquired Italian artworks from Germany after 1945. One of those he returned was the ''Spiridon Leda'' (1505–1515) from the
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
school, acquired by Göring before the war. In Naples the national museums were looted, with paintings taken including the ''
Danaë In Greek mythology, Danaë (, ; ; , ) was an Argive princess and mother of the hero Perseus by Zeus. She was credited with founding the city of Ardea in Latium during the Bronze Age. Family Danae was the daughter and only child of King Acr ...
'' by Titian, ''
The Blind Leading the Blind ''The Blind Leading the Blind'', ''Blind'', or ''The Parable of the Blind'' () is a painting by the Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, Netherlandish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, completed in 1568. Executed in Glue-size, d ...
'' by
Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel (also Brueghel or Breughel) the Elder ( , ; ; – 9 September 1569) was among the most significant artists of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaking, printmaker, known for his landscape art, landscape ...
, the ''Portrait of a young woman, known as Antea'' by
Parmigianino Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, ...
and the ''
Apollo Citharoedus An Apollo Citharoedus, or Apollo Citharede, is a statue or other image of Apollo with a cithara (lyre). Notable examples Vatican Among the best-known examples is the ''Apollo Citharoedus'', also known as Apollo Musagetes ("Apollo, Leader of the ...
'' from
Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...
. Goebels had also edited a 1000-page inventory of French artworks in the
occupied zone Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling powe ...
of France. Count Franz von Wolff-Metternich was responsible for the ''Kunstschutz'' in France from 1940 to 1942 and most works in French museums were taken Michel Rayssac and Christophe Pincemaille, ''L'exode des musées, histoire des œuvres d'art sous l'occupation'' Collections belonging to Jews such as the
Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...
s and the
David-Weill David-Weill is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * David David-Weill (1871–1952), French-American banker * Jean David-Weill (1898–1972), French epigrapher *Michel David-Weill (1932–2022), French investment banker * Pierre Dav ...
family were evacuated using the funds of the French national museums and gathered together in the Musée du Jeu de Paume, where Göring took his pick before putting them all in special trains bound for Berlin.
Rose Valland Rose Antonia Maria Valland (1 November 1898 – 18 September 1980) was a French curator, art curator, member of the French Resistance, captain in the Military of France, French military, and one of the most decorated women in French history. She ...
, one of the French curators, took secret notes on the contents of each train out.
Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler' ...
, the German foreign minister, tried to get hold of ''Diana Bathing'' by
François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 â€“ 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...
, whilst Hitler himself took part of Alfred Schloss's collection of 300 Dutch paintings for his personal museum at
Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...
. German art looting also occurred in every state invaded and occupied by Germany, but especially Poland, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and elsewhere.


See also

*
Nazi gold Much of the focus of the discussion about Nazi gold (, "stolen gold") concerns how much of it Nazi Germany transferred to overseas banks during World War II. The Nazis looted the assets of their victims (including those in concentration camps) to ...
* Nazi loot * Degenerate art *
Gurlitt Collection The Gurlitt Collection (alternatively known as the "Gurlitt Trove", "Gurlitt Hoard", "Munich Art Hoard", "Schwabing Art Trove", "Schwabing Art Find", etc.) was a collection of around 1,500 art works inherited by Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of one ...
*
Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce The Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce ( or ''ERR'') was a Nazi Party organization dedicated to appropriating cultural property during the Second World War. It was led by the chief ideologue of the Nazi Party, Alfred Rosenberg, from within the NSD ...


References


Bibliography

* War Land in the Eastern Front. Culture, National Identity, and German Occupation in World War I, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000. * Marvin C. Ross, "The Kunstschutz in Occupied France", ''College Art Journal'', Vol. 5, No. 4 (May, 1946), pp. 336–352 * Maria Starvrinaki, ''Rapports entre Révolution sociale et révolutions artistiques chez les architectes et peintres allemands sous la République de Weimar.'' * Correspondence collective de la ''Gläserne Kette'', groupe de treize artistes et architectes (Taut, Scharoun, les Luckhardt,
Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...
, ...), démontrant la réaction communautariste au lendemain de la Grande Guerre. * Ernst Kubin, '' Raub oder Schutz? Der deutsche militärische Kunstschutz in Italien'', Stocker 2001, * Thèse et livre de Christina Kott en 2002 (en cotutelle avec la FU Berlin) :'' Protéger, confisquer, déplacer : le service allemand de préservation des œuvres d’art (''Kunstschutz'') en Belgique et en France occupées pendant la Première Guerre mondiale 1914–1924.'

Peter Lang 2006 * Antoine Fleury, '' Le rôle des guerres dans la mémoire des Européens : leur effet sur la conscience d’être européen'', Berne, Peter Lang, 1997. * Paul Clemen, ''Kunstschutz im Kriege (Die Kriegsschauplätze in Italien, im Osten und Südosten)''. * Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, ''Kriegsland im Osten. Eroberung, Kolonisierung und Militärherrschaft im Ersten Weltkrieg'', Hamburg, Hamburg Édition, 2002.


External links

*
Antoine Fleury : ''Le Kunstschutz entre mémoire et histoire ''
*
Axe 1 du CRIA
* {{in lang, fr}
Article on the work of Christina Kott
Art crime Nazi culture Cultural history of World War I Cultural history of World War II Art and cultural repatriation