Piece
Transferred to T 2/209
Catalogue reference: IND 1/12652
Transferred to T 2/209
Item
Part VII provides a detailed account of 14 exchanges with several art dealers and...
Catalogue reference: T 209/29/12
What’s it about?
This record is about the Part VII provides a detailed account of 14 exchanges with several art dealers and... dating from 1945 in the series British Committee on the Preservation and Restitution of Works of Art, Archives and.... It is held at The National Archives, Kew.
Is it available online?
Yes, this record is available online and can be downloaded. How to view it.
Can I see it in person?
No, this record is not available to see in person at The National Archives. Other ways to view it.
Full description and record details
-
Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- T 209/29/12
-
Date (When the record was created)
- 1945
-
Description (What the record is about)
- <p>Part VII provides a detailed account of 14 exchanges with several art dealers and museums, including Fischer, Wendland, Ventura, the Louvre, Miedl, Katz, Hofer, Haberstock and von Behr, with lists of the exchanged works of art complete with their reference numbers on the ERR lists. </p> <p>Part VIII consists of a detailed overview of sales of modern paintings among those confiscated by the ERR, with lists of the objects sold or purchased on the open market, including details of the dealers involved in the transactions and their prices and dates. </p> <p>Part IX sets out detailed information on the financial aspect of the creation of the Goering collection. States that 'Goering was essentially a hard-headed, acquisitive businessman. He wanted to buy everything, but when bought it had to be at the lowest prices. [...] It is probably fair to say that the exchanges which he conducted with the ERR, Fischer and others were originally undertaken because they cost him nothing. [...] His financial dealings in art matters were characterized by secrecy and by a manifest desire to maintain appearances [...]. Everything to do with money came under his direct personal control'. The information is divided into three sections: on the personnel involved both in Germany and in foreign countries; on the accounts used - both his personal accounts and the Kunstfond, also known as the 'Sonderkonto', partly built through gifts and sales; and on the use of different currencies, which 'can be said to have been his chief means of camouflaging the enormous majority of his transactions'. </p> <p>Part X provides information on the administration and care of the Goering collection, directed by Hofer since March 1941. Lists the art historians who were consulted by Hofer in the cataloguing of the collection, a complete catalogue of which was to be published after the war. Includes a list of restorers to which the care of the collection was entrusted, together with information on the activities of framing, exhibiting and, from 1939, the storing of the collection. </p> <p>Part XI describes the methods of transportation of the works of art from Germany, France, Holland, Italy and Switzerland and lists a number of civilian shipping firms involved. Also includes a detailed account of the 'flight from Berlin' of the Goering collection towards Southern Germany which took place in February 1945. Part XII consists of the concluding remarks, stating that 'as an outgrowth of the Nazi regime the Collection grew simultaneously with the expansion of German power. In 1939 it numbered about two hundred objects. When its growth was cut short by defeat the total had reached over 2,000 and included every variety of work of art. There were some 1,375 paintings, 250 sculptures, 108 tapestries, 200 pieces of period furniture, 60 Persian and French rugs, 75 stained glass windows and 175 objets d'art'. </p> <p>The Report also includes 70 attachments. Attachment 1 is a letter from Hofer to Goering [in German with English translation] updating him on the progress of the confiscations carried out by the ERR of the Paul Rosenberg, Seligmann and Rothschild collections and the unblocking of the Braque collection, dated September 1941. Attachment 2 is a receipt for L 20,000,000 received by Angerer from Generalleutnant Ritter von Pohl in Rome, dated January 1943. Attachment 3 consists of Goering's order relating to the measures taken for the 'safe-guarding of Jewish art property through the Chief of Military Administration in Paris and the Einsatzstab Rosenberg' and their disposal, dated November 1940. Attachment 4 [in German with English translation] provides a copy of the Kunstschutz letter on the measures for the seizure of Jewish art, dated January 1941. Attachment 5 comprises a 54-page list of the works of art taken by Goering from the ERR in October 1942 for a total of 237 paintings, 15 painted glasses, 28 sculptures, 51 pieces of furniture, 36 carpets and Gobelin tapestries, 37 miniatures and six items of jewellery. Also includes a list of their appraised value for a total valuation of Frs 600,000 [sic]. Attachment 6 is a letter [in German with English translation] by the German Military Government in Paris relating to the 'safe-guarding' of Jewish art property in the Jeu de Paume, dated February 1941. Attachment 7 is a letter [in German with English translation] by the Devisenschutzkommando on the 'safe-guarding' of art properties with an overview of the secured collections, including the Wassermann, Hamburger, Salomon Flavian, Rosenstein, Sauerbach, Kronig, Erlanger-Rosenfeld, Thierry, Federer, Hamparzoumian and Edmond, Alexandrine and James Armand Rothschild collections, dated April 1941. Attachment 8 is a list [in English and German] of the art objects looted from Monte Cassino including four bronzes and one suit of armour 'said to have belonged to the Emperor Charles V, consisting of shield, helmet, 2 arm pieces, 1 breast-plate, 1 neck piece', dated February 1945. Attachment 9 consists of a list [in English and German] of 17 paintings from the Monte Cassino loot 'to be brought from Kurfuerst to the Reichskanzlei'. Attachment 10 documents the inscription of art objects looted from Monte Cassino into the log books of the Steinberg mine 'indicated as Goering's property', dated March 1945. Attachments 11 a and b provide lists [in English and German] of the objects and 17 paintings from Monte Cassino kept at the Steinberg mine, dated March 1945. Attachment 12 is a letter from Hofer to Dillenberg requesting him to deliver 'unopened' a package to Mr Boitel in Paris containing 50,000 Swiss francs as payment for Cranach's 'Portrait of a lady' and a letter addressed to him, enclosed as attachment 13, dated January 1944. Attachment 14 consists of a note from Lohse to Goering requesting 'an order stating that I am permitted to arrange for the two Jews, the brothers Loebl, to be placed by the SD [Sicherheitsdienst] at my disposal for further work', dated June 1943. Attachment 15 includes a receipt from Wendland for 30,000 Swiss francs paid for a portrait of Susanna Fourment attributed to Rubens, dated September 1943. Attachment 16 provides a copy of the report [in German with English translation] submitted by Eduard Plietzsch to Muehlmann on his impressions of the Dutch art market, dated September 1940. Attachment 17 consists of a copy [in German with English translation] of the Goudstikker sale contract to Goering through Hofer, including 'all paintings, drawings, antiquities and further art objects, which on June 26, 1940 were located in Holland and then in possession of said company', dated July 1940. </p>
-
Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
-
Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
- Public Record(s)
-
Language (The language of the record)
- English
-
Closure status (Whether the record is ‘open’ (available to the public) or ‘closed’ (not available due to a legal exemption))
- Open Document, Open Description
-
Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C11645688/
How to order it
- View this record page in our current catalogue
- Check viewing and downloading options
- Select an option and follow instructions
Series information
T 209
British Committee on the Preservation and Restitution of Works of Art, Archives and...
See the series level description for more information about this record.
Catalogue hierarchy
Over 27 million records
326,763 records
101 records
18 records
You are currently looking at the item: T 209/29/12
Part VII provides a detailed account of 14 exchanges with several art dealers and...
Related records
Records that share similar topics with this record.