Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression Reporting on the withdrawal from the Ukraine, Staff Director
Utikal accounted for the removal of the following materials:
From the Museum of Art at Charcow:
Textiles of all sorts.
In addition Utikal reported shipment of a total of 131 cases
containing: 10,186 books, the catalog of the "East" library,
art folios, samples of magazines, Bolshevist pictures, and
Bolshevist films. Utikal also stated:
"Moreover an essential part of the prehistoric museum
was transported away." (035-PS)
Another report on the shipment of works of art from the
Ukraine, 12 September 1944, indicated the value of the
contents of 85 chests of art objects:
"There are a great many of the oldest ikons, works of
famous masters of the German, Dutch and Italian schools
of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, as well as works
of the best Russian artists of the 18th and 19th
centuries. On the whole, the contents include the most
valuable works of the known Ukrainian art possession,
which in themselves represent a value of many millions
after a cursory appraisal." (055-PS)
Attached to the above report is a detailed inventory listing
hundreds of individual objects.
Additional evidence as to the extent of material seized in
Kiev is found in a secret note, 17 June 1944, dealing with
measures taken prior to the Russian Occupation. The note
reported the taking of materials from museums, archives,
institutions, etc.,
[Page 1104]
during the autumn of 1943 on the order of the Einsatzstab
and of the Reichs-commissar. During October there were sent
to the Reich 40 railway trucks, carrying mostly goods
belonging to the Central Research Institute of the Ukraine.
The report concluded with the statement that when the
Soviets entered the town nothing of value was left. (1109-
PS)
On 28 September 1941, the General Commissar for White
Ruthenia reported the seizure of art treasures in the area
of Minsk, destined for Konigsberg and Linz. The value of
these confiscations was stated to amount to millions of
marks. (1099-PS)
(4) Works of Art (West). The Robert Scholz report declared
that:
"During the period from March 1941 to July 1944, the
Special Staff for Pictorial Art brought into the Reich:
29 large shipments including 137 freight cars with
4,17 cases of art works." (1015-B-PS)
The report stated that a total of 21,903 art objects of all
types had been counted and inventoried, and stated:
"With this scientific inventory of a material unique in
its scope and importance and of a value hitherto
unknown to art research, the Special Staff for
Pictorial Art has conducted a work important to the
entire field of art. This inventory work will form the
basis of an all-inclusive scientific catalog in which
should be recorded history, scope and scientific and
political significance of this historically unique art
seizure." (1015-B-PS)
The following is a summary of the inventory attached to the
report:
The report stated that the above figures would be increased
since seizures in the West were not yet completed and it had
not been possible to make a scientific inventory of part of
the seized objects because of the lack of experts. (1015-B-PS)
[Page 1105]
As early as 28 January 1941, Rosenberg stated, with
reference to properties
seized in France alone:
"*** the value involved will come close to a billion
Reichsmarks." (090-PS)
Scholz, in his report on activities from March 1941 to July
1944, expressed the value of the seizures as follows:
"The extraordinary artistic and material value of the
seized art works cannot be expressed in figures. The
paintings, period furniture of the 17th and 18th
Centuries, the Gobelins, the antiques and renaissance
jewelry of the Rothschild's are objects of such a
unique character that their evaluation is impossible,
since no comparable values have so far appeared on the
art market.
"A short report, moreover, can only hint at the
artistic worth of the collections. Among the seized
paintings, pastels and drawings there are several
hundred works of the first quality, masterpieces of
European art, which could take first place in any
museum. Included therein are absolutely authenticated
signed works of Rembrandt van Rijn, Rubens, Frans Hals,
Vermeer van Delft, Valasquez, Murillo, Goya, Sebastiano
del Piombo, Palma Vecchio, etc.
"Of first importance among the seized paintings are the
works of the famous French painters of the 18th
Century, with masterpieces of Boucher, Watteau, Rigaud,
Largielliere, Rattler, Fragonard, Pater, Danloux and de
Troy.
"This collection can compare with those of the best
European museums. It includes many works of the
foremost French masters, who up to now have been only
inadequately represented in the best German museums.
Very important also is the representation of
masterpieces of the Dutch Painters of the 17th and 18th
Centuries. First of all should be mentioned the works
of van Dyck, Saloman and Jacob Ruisdal, Wouvermann,
Terborch, Jan Weenix, Gabriel Metsu, Adrian van Ostade,
David Teniers, Pieter de Hooch, Willem van der Velde,
etc.
"Of foremost importance also are the represented works
of English painting of the 18th and early 19th
centuries, with masterpieces of Reynolds, Romney, and
Gainsborough. Cranach and Amberger, among the German
masters, should be mentioned.
"The collection of French furniture of the 17th and
18th centuries is perhaps even more highly to be
evaluated. This contains hundreds of the best preserved
and, for the most part, signed works of the best known
cabinet-makers from
[Page 1106]
the period between Louis XIV to Louis XVI. Since German
cabinetmakers played an important part in this golden
age of French cabinetry, now recognized for the first
time in the field of art, this collection is of
paramount importance. "The collection of Gobelins and
Persian tapestries contains numerous world-famous
objects. The collection of handicraft works and the
Rothschild collection of renaissance jewelry is
valuable beyond comparison." (1015-B-PS)
The report refers to 2 portfolios of pictures of the most
valuable works of the art collections seized in the West,
which portfolios were presented to the Fuehrer. Ten
additional portfolios are stated to be attached to the
report and additional portfolios are said to be in
preparation. Thirty-nine leatherbound volumes prepared by
the Einsatzstab contain photographs of paintings, textiles,
furniture, candelabra, and numerous other objects of art and
illustrate the magnitude and value of the collection made by
Einsatzstab Rosenberg.
The
original plaintext version
of this file is available via
ftp.
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Volume
I Chapter XIV
The Plunder of Art Treasures
Einsatz Rosenberg
(Part 3 of 3)
Ukrainian paintings
96
Western European paintings
185
Wood carvings and etchings
12
Carpets and tapestries
From the Ukrainian museum in Kiev:
Collection of valuable embroidery patterns.
Collection of brocades.
Numerous items of wood, etc. (035-PS)
Paintings
10,890
Plastics
583
Furniture
2,477
Textiles
583
Hand-made art objects
5,825
East Asiatic objects
1,286
Antiquities
259
_____
Total
21,903
(1015-B-PS)