the summer months our energies were devoted to obvious preliminary
preparations. They included the establishment of Central Collecting
Points at Munich, Marburg and Wiesbaden. Immediately thereafter, the
contents of art repositories in the American Zone were removed to those
central depots. The Central Collecting Points, organized and directed by
Monuments officers with museum experience, were staffed with trained
personnel from German museums. The one at Munich was primarily reserved
for looted art, since the majority of the cultural booty was found in
Bavaria. The Collecting Points at Wiesbaden and Marburg, on the other
hand, housed German-owned collections brought from repositories in which
storage conditions were unsatisfactory.
The process of actual restitution was inaugurated by token restitutions
in the name of General Eisenhower to Belgium, Holland, France and
Czechoslovakia. Circumstances beyond our control postponed similar
gestures of good will to Poland and Greece. Representatives of the
liberated countries were invited to the American Zone to identify and
remove the loot from the collecting points. According to late reports,
the restitution of loot was continuing without interruption.
Shortly after my return, there were disquieting rumors of drastic
reductions in American personnel connected with cultural restitution in
Germany. I earnestly hope that these rumors are without foundation. Such
reductions would be disastrous to the completion of a program which has
reflected so creditably on our government.
The re-establishment of German museums and other cultural
institutions—our second main objective—has been, to a large extent,
sacrificed in the interests of restitution. This brings up again the
urgent need for the immediate replenishment of our dwindling Fine Arts
personnel in Germany. Our moral responsibility for the continuation of
this phase of the MFA&A program is a grave one. It was understandably
neglected during the first six months of our occupation in Germany.
And it would be unfair to argue that the British have far outdistanced
us in this field. That they have done so is undeniably true. However,
the British found but little loot in their zone. Consequently, they
have been able to make rapid strides in the reconstitution of German
collections and cultural institutions, while we have been preoccupied
with restitution.
Notwithstanding that preoccupation, our Monuments officers were
instrumental in arranging a series of impressive exhibitions of
German-owned masterpieces. The first of these was held at Marburg in
November 1945. A second and more ambitious show, which included many of
the finest treasures of the Bavarian State Galleries, opened at Munich
in January 1946. A third, comprising paintings and sculptures from the
museums of Berlin and Frankfurt, was presented at Wiesbaden in February.
All these exhibitions were accompanied by catalogues with German and
English texts. Those of Munich and Wiesbaden were lavishly illustrated.
The Munich catalogue contained several plates showing the rooms in which
the exhibition was held—lofty, spacious galleries recalling the marble
halls of our own National Gallery at Washington.
At the time of my departure from Germany, little was known of French
and Russian procedures with regard to cultural rehabilitation in their
respective zones of occupation. Their Military Governments have made
provisions for personnel capable of carrying on work similar to ours and
that of the British.
The caliber of the men drawn into the project from all branches of
our Armed Forces has been cited as an important factor in the success
of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program. I would like to
cite another factor which I consider equally important: There was no
arbitrary drafting of personnel; participation was voluntary. The
resulting spontaneity and its value to the spirit of the work cannot be
exaggerated.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
The following is the complete list of the paintings transferred from
Germany and now stored at the National Gallery, according to its News
Release of December 14, 1945:
Albrecht Altdorfer: _Rest on the Flight into Egypt_
Albrecht Altdorfer: _Landscape with Satyr Family_
Albrecht Altdorfer: _Nativity_
Albrecht Altdorfer: _Christ’s Farewell to His Apostles_
Christoph Amberger: _Cosmographer Sebastian Münster_
Jacopo Amigioni: _Lady as Diana_
Fra Angelico: _Last Judgment_
Austrian Master (ca. 1400): _Christ, Madonna, St. John_
Austrian Master (ca. 1410): _Crucifixion_
Hans Baldung Grien: _Altar of Halle_
Hans Baldung Grien: _Graf von Löwenstein_
Hans Baldung Grien: _Pietà_
Hans Baldung Grien: _Pyramus and Thisbe_
Giovanni Bellini: _The Resurrection_
Bohemian (ca. 1350): _Glatyer Madonna_
Hieronymus Bosch: _St. John on Patmos_
Botticelli: _Giuliano de Medici_, and frame
Botticelli: _Madonna of the Lilies_
Botticelli: _St. Sebastian_
Botticelli: _Simonetta Vespucci_
Botticelli: _Venus_
Dirk Bouts: _Madonna and Child_
Dirk Bouts: _Virgin in Adoration_
Peter Breughel: _Dutch Proverbs_
Peter Breughel: _Two Monkeys_
Angelo Bronzino: _Portrait of a Young Man_
Angelo Bronzino: _Portrait of a Young Man_
Angelo Bronzino: _Ugolino Martelli_
Hans Burgkmair: _Holy Family_
Giovanni Battista Caracciolo: _Cosmos and Damian_
Caravaggio: _Cupid as Victor_
Vittore Carpaccio: _Entombment of Christ_
Andrea del Castagno: _Assumption of the Virgin_
Chardin: _The Draughtsman_
Chardin: _Still Life_
Petrus Christus: _Portrait of a Girl_
Petrus Christus: _St. Barbara and a Carthusian Monk_
Joos van Cleve: _Young Man_
Cologne Master (ca. 1400): _Life of Christ_
Cologne Master (ca. 1350): _Madonna Enthroned, Crucifixion_
Correggio: _Leda and the Swan_
Francesco Cossa: _Allegory of Autumn_
Lucas Cranach, the Elder: _Frau Reuss_
Lucas Cranach, the Elder: _Lucretia_
Lucas Cranach, the Elder: _Rest on the Flight into Egypt_
Daumier: _Don Quixote_
Piero di Cosimo: _Mars, Venus and Cupid_
Lorenzo di Credi: _Young Girl_
Albrecht Dürer: _Madonna_
Albrecht Dürer: _Madonna with the Goldfinch_
Albrecht Dürer: _Young Woman_
Albrecht Dürer: _Hieronymus Holzschuher_
Albrecht Dürer: _Cover for Portrait of Hieronymus Holzschuher_
Adam Elsheimer: _The Drunkenness of Noah_
Adam Elsheimer: _Holy Family_
Adam Elsheimer: _Landscape with the Weeping Magdalene_
Adam Elsheimer: _St. Christopher_
Jean Fouquet: _Etienne Chevalier with St. Stephen_
French (ca. 1400): _Coronation of the Virgin_
French Master (ca. 1400): _Triptych_
Geertgen tot Sint Jans: _John the Baptist_
Geertgen tot Sint Jans: _Madonna_
Giorgione: _Portrait of a Young Man_
Giotto: _Death of the Virgin_
Jan Gossaert: _Baudouin de Bourbon_
Jan Gossaert: _Christ on the Mount of Olives_
Francesco Guardi: _The Balloon Ascension_
Francesco Guardi: _St. Mark’s Piazza in Venice_
Francesco Guardi: _Piazzetta in Venice_
Frans Hals: _Hille Bobbe_
Frans Hals: _Nurse and Child_
Frans Hals: _Portrait of a Young Man_
Frans Hals: _Portrait of a Young Woman_
Frans Hals: _Singing Boy_
Frans Hals: _Tyman Oosdorp_
Meindert Hobbema: _Landscape_
Hans Holbein: _George Giesze_
Hans Holbein: _Old Man_
Hans Holbein: _Portrait of a Man_
Pieter de Hooch: _The Mother_
Pieter de Hooch: _Party of Officers and Ladies_
Willem Kalf: _Still Life_
Willem Kalf: _Still Life_
Philips Konninck: _Dutch Landscape_
Georges de la Tour: _St. Sebastian_
Filippino Lippi: _Allegory of Music_
Fra Filippo Lippi: _Adoration of the Child_
Pietro Lorenzetti: _St. Humilitas Raises a Nun_
Pietro Lorenzetti: _Death of St. Humilitas_
Claude Lorrain: _Italian Coast Scene_
Lorenzo Lotto: _Christ’s Farewell to His Mother_
Bastiano Mainardi: _Portrait of a Man_
Manet: _In the Winter Garden_
Andrea Mantegna: _Cardinal Mezzarota_
Andrea Mantegna: _Presentation in the Temple_
Simon Mannion: _Altar of St. Omer_ (two panels)
Simone Martini: _Burial of Christ_
Masaccio: _Birth Platter_
Masaccio: _Three Predelle_
Masaccio: _Four Saints_
Quentin Massys: _The Magdalene_
Master of the Darmstadt Passion: _Altar Wings_
Master of Flémalle: _Crucifixion_
Master of Flémalle: _Portrait of a Man_
Master of the Virgo inter Virgines: _Adoration of the Kings_
Hans Memling: _Madonna Enthroned with Angels_
Hans Memling: _Madonna Enthroned_
Hans Memling: _Madonna and Child_
Lippo Memmi: _Madonna and Child_
Antonello da Messina: _Portrait of a Man_
Jan Mostaert: _Portrait of a Man_
Aelbert Ouwater: _Raising of Lazarus_
Palma Vecchio: _Portrait of a Man_
Palma Vecchio: _Young Woman_
Giovanni Paolo Pannini: _Colosseum_.
Giovanni di Paolo: _Christ on the Cross_
Giovanni di Paolo: _Legend of St. Clara_
Joachim Patinir: _Rest on the Flight into Egypt_
Sebastiano del Piombo: _Roman Matron_
Sebastiano del Piombo: _Knight of the Order of St. James_
Antonio Pollaiuolo: _David_
Nicolas Poussin: _St. Matthew_
Nicolas Poussin: _Amaltea_
Raphael: _Madonna Diotalevi_
Raphael: _Madonna Terranova_
Raphael: _Solly Madonna_
Rembrandt: _Landscape with Bridge_
Rembrandt: _John the Baptist_
Rembrandt: _Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife_
Rembrandt: _Vision of Daniel_
Rembrandt: _Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law_
Rembrandt: _Susanna and the Elders_
Rembrandt: _Tobias and the Angel_
Rembrandt: _Minerva_
Rembrandt: _Rape of Proserpina_
Rembrandt: _Self Portrait_
Rembrandt: _Hendrickje Stoffels_
Rembrandt: _Man with Gold Helmet_
Rembrandt: _Old Man with Red Hat_
Rembrandt: _Rabbi_
Rembrandt: _Saskia_
Rubens: _Landscape (shipwreck of Aeneas)_
Rubens: _St. Cecilia_
Rubens: _Madonna Enthroned with Saints_
Rubens: _Andromeda_
Rubens: _Perseus and Andromeda_
Rubens: _Isabella Brandt_
Jacob van Ruysdael: _View of Haarlem_
Andrea Sacchi(?): _Allesandro del Boro_
Sassetta: _Legend of St. Francis_
Sassetta: _Mass of St. Francis_
Martin Schongauer: _Nativity_
Seghers: _Landscape_
Luca Signorelli: _Three Saints_ (altar wing)
Luca Signorelli: _Three Saints_ (altar wing)
Luca Signorelli: _Portrait of a Man_
Francesco Squarcione: _Madonna and Child_
Jan Steen: _Inn Garden_
Jan Steen: _The Christening_
Bernardo Strozzi: _Judith_
Gerard Terborch: _The Concert_
Gerard Terborch: _Paternal Advice_
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo: _Carrying of the Cross_
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo: _St. Agatha_
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo: _Rinaldo and Armida_
Tintoretto: _Doge Mocenigo_
Tintoretto: _Old Man_
Titian: _Venus with Organ Player_
Titian: _Self Portrait_
Titian: _Lavinia_
Titian: _Portrait of a Young Man_
Titian: _Child of the Strozzi Family_
Cosma Tura: _St. Christopher_
Cosma Tura: _St. Sebastian_
Adriaen van der Velde: _The Farm_
Roger Van der Weyden: _Altar with Scenes from the Life of Mary_
Roger Van der Weyden: _Johannes-alter Altar with Scenes from the Life of
John the Baptist_
Roger Van der Weyden: _Bladelin Altar_
Roger Van der Weyden: _Portrait of a Woman_
Roger Van der Weyden: _Charles the Bold_
Jan Van Eyck: _Crucifixion_
Jan Van Eyck: _Madonna in the Church_
Jan Van Eyck: _Giovanni Arnolfini_
Jan Van Eyck: _Man with a Pink_
Jan Van Eyck: _Knight of the Golden Fleece_
Lucas van Leyden: _Chess Players_
Lucas van Leyden: _Madonna and Child_
Velásquez: _Countess Olivares_
Domenico Veneziano: _Adoration of the Kings_
Domenico Veneziano: _Martyrdom of St. Lucy_
Domenico Veneziano: _Portrait of a Young Woman_
Vermeer: _Young Woman with a Pearl Necklace_
Vermeer: _Man and Woman Drinking Wine_
Andrea del Verrocchio: _Madonna and Child_
Andrea del Verrocchio: _Madonna and Child_
Watteau: _Fête Champêtre_
Watteau: _French Comedians_
Watteau: _Italian Comedians_
Westphalian Master (ca. 1250): _Triptych_
Konrad Witz: _Crucifixion_
Konrad Witz: _Allegory of Redemption_
On January 15, 1946, Mr. Rensselaer W. Lee, President of the College Art
Association of America, sent the following letter to the Secretary of
State:
My dear Mr. Secretary:
The members of the College Art Association of America,
a constituent member of the American Council of Learned
Societies, have been disturbed by the removal to this country
of works of art from Berlin museums.
Information that we have received from abroad leads us to
believe that the integrity of United States policy has been
questioned as a result of this action. We have also been
informed that adequate facilities and American personnel now
exist in the American zone in Germany to assure the proper care
of art treasures in that area.
We would therefore urge that the department of State clarify
this action, and would strongly recommend that assurances be
given that no further shipments are contemplated.
Copies of this letter were sent to members of the American Commission
for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War
Areas.
The State Department replied on January 25:
My Dear Mr. Lee:
Your letter of January 15, urging the Department to clarify the
action taken in removing to the United States certain works of
art from German museums, has been received. In the absence of
the Secretary, I am replying to your letter and am glad to give
you additional information on this question.
The decision to remove these works of art to this country
was made on the basis of a statement by General Clay that he
did not have adequate facilities and personnel to safeguard
German art treasures and that he could not undertake the
responsibility of their proper care.
You indicated in your letter that you have been informed that
adequate facilities and personnel now exist in the American
zone for the protection of these art treasures. I must
inform you that our information, based upon three separate
investigations, is precisely to the contrary. The redeployment
program has, as you no doubt realize, reduced American
personnel in Germany and this reduction is applied to arts and
monuments and this personnel as well as to other branches.
The coal situation in Germany is critical and has made it
impossible to provide heat for the museums. General Clay cannot
be expected to provide heat for the museums if that means
taking it away from American forces, from hospitals, or from
essential utility needs.
We are furthermore advised that the security situation was not
such as to ensure adequate protection in Germany. In short, the
Department’s information is such that it cannot agree with your
premise.
It was realized that the “integrity of United States policy”
might be questioned by some if these works of art were removed
to this country. After a careful review of the facts, it was
decided that the most important aspect was to safeguard these
priceless treasures by bringing them to this country where they
could be properly cared for. It was hoped that the President’s
pledge that they would be returned to Germany would satisfy
those who might be critical of this Government’s motives.
Sincerely yours,
For the Acting Secretary of State:
James W. Riddleberger
Chief, Division of
Central European Affairs[6]
In April the author of this book received from Frederick Mortimer
Clapp, director of the Frick Collection, New York, the following letter
regarding the removal of German-owned works of art to this country. A
copy of the resolution which accompanied this letter and a list of those
who subsequently signed the resolution are also printed below.
1 East 70th Street
New York 21, New York
April 24, 1946
Dear
Since we believe that it is impossible to defend on technical,
political or moral grounds the decision to ship to this country
two hundred internationally known and extremely valuable
pictures belonging indisputably, by prewar gift or purchase,
to German institutions, notably the Kaiser Friedrich Museum of
Berlin, we propose to memorialize the President in a resolution
to be signed by a group of like-minded people interested in or
associated with the arts.
We also intend to point out that no reason can be found for
even temporarily alienating these works of art from the country
to which legally they belong.
We represent no organized movement or institution. We merely
wish as American citizens to go on record by appealing to our
government to set right an ill considered action arising from
an error of judgment which, however disinterested in intention,
has already done much to weaken our national condemnation of
German sequestrations of the artistic heritage or possessions
of other nations under the subterfuge of “protective custody,”
or openly as loot.
The moral foundations of our war effort and final victories
will be subtly undermined if we, who understand the
implications, pass over in silence an action taken by our
own officials that, in outward appearance at least cannot be
distinguished from those, detestable to all right thinking
people, which the Nazis’ policy of pillage inspired and
condoned.
The Monuments Officers attached to our armed forces with
their specialized knowledge of the practical risks involved
unanimously condemned the decision. Those Americans whose
profession it is to study and preserve old paintings deplore
it. On ethical grounds it is disapproved by the opinion of
enlightened laymen.
We therefore consider the protest we will make to be our plain
and simple duty, for it is our considered judgment that no
explanation or excuse acceptable to the public conscience can
be found for sending fragile old masters across the sea to this
country. The physical hazards, the momentous responsibilities
and the intellectual ambiguities inherent in such an act are
only too grossly evident. The historical repercussions that
will follow it can be imagined in the light of past situations
of a similar kind. It is well known that the Nazis inculcated
in the German mind a fanatical belief that we are destructive
barbarians. All future deterioration of these pictures will
now, rightly or wrongly, be laid at our door.
We should be glad if you would care to join us and others, who
have already expressed to us their sense of the unjustified
impropriety of the action to which we refer in demanding the
immediate return to Germany of these panels and canvasses,
the cancellation of all plans to exhibit them in this country
and the countermanding at once of any contemplated further
shipments.
The text of the proposed resolution is enclosed. As one of the
principal reasons for submitting it to our government is to
forestall further action of a similar kind with reference to
pictures or objects of art belonging to German museums, as well
as to rectify the existing situation, may I earnestly request
you to signify your approval, if you are so minded, by signing
the resolution and returning it to me before May 6.
Sincerely yours,
Signed: FREDERICK MORTIMER CLAPP.
On May 9, 1946, Dr. Clapp and Mrs. Juliana Force, director of the Whitney
Museum, sent President Truman the following resolution, a copy of which
was enclosed with the above letter:
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS in all civilized countries one of the most significant
public reactions during the recent war was the horrified
indignation caused by the surreptitious or brazen looting
of works of art by German officials in countries they had
conquered;
AND WHEREAS that indignation and abhorrence on the part of free
peoples was a powerful ingredient in the ardor and unanimity
of their support of the war effort of democratically governed
states in which the private opinions of citizens are the source
and controlling directive of official action;
AND WHEREAS two hundred important and valuable pictures
belonging to the Kaiser Friedrich and other Berlin museums have
been removed from Germany and sent to this country on the still
unestablished ground of ensuring their safety;
AND WHEREAS it is apparent that disinterested and intelligent
people believe that this action cannot be justified on
technical, political or moral grounds and that many, including
the Germans themselves, may find it hard to distinguish between
the resultant situation and the “protective custody” used by
the Nazis as a camouflage for the sequestration of the artistic
treasures of other countries;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, respectfully
request the President to order the immediate safe return to
Germany of the aforesaid paintings, the cancellation of any
plans that may have been made to exhibit them in this country
and the countermanding without delay of any further shipments
of the kind that may have been contemplated.
This resolution was signed by:
Abbott, Jere
Director
Smith College Museum of Art
Northampton, Mass.
Abbott, John E.
Executive Vice-President
The Museum of Modern Art
New York, N.Y.
Adams, Philip R.
Director
Cincinnati Museum
Cincinnati, Ohio
Barber, Professor Leila
Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
Baker, C. H. Collins
Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery
San Marino, Calif.
Barr, Alfred H.
The Museum of Modern Art
New York, N. Y.
Barzun, Jacques
History Department
Columbia University
New York, N. Y.
Baur, John I. H.
Curator of Painting
Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Biebel, Franklin
Assistant to Director
Frick Collection
New York, N.Y.
Breeskin, Mrs. Adelyn
Acting Director
Baltimore Museum of Art
Baltimore, Md.
Burdell, Dr. Edwin S.
Director
The Cooper Union
New York, N. Y.
Chase, Elizabeth
Editor “Bulletin”
Yale University Art Gallery
New Haven, Conn.
Claflin, Professor Agnes Rindge
Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
Clapp, Frederick Mortimer
Director
Frick Collection
New York, N. Y.
Cole, Grover
Instructor in Ceramics
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Cook, Walter W. S.
Chairman
Institute of Fine Arts
New York University, N. Y.
Courier, Miss Elodie
Dir. of Circulating Exhibitions
The Museum of Modern Art
New York, N. Y.
Crosby, Dr. Sumner
Assistant Professor, History of Art
Yale University
New Haven, Conn.
Cunningham, Charles C.
Director
Wadsworth Atheneum
Hartford, Conn.
Dawson, John P.
Professor of Law
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Faisan, Professor Lane, Jr.
Williams College
Williamstown, Mass.
Faunce, Wayne M.
Vice-Director
American Museum of Natural History
New York, N. Y.
Fisher, H. H.
Hoover Library
Stanford University
Palo Alto, Calif.
Force, Mrs. Juliana
Director
Whitney Museum of American Art
New York, N. Y.
Goodrich, Lloyd
Research Curator
Whitney Museum of American Art
New York, N. Y.
Gores, Walter J.
Professor and Chairman of Design
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Haight, Mary N.
Assistant Curator of Ancient Art
Yale University Art Gallery
New Haven, Conn.
Hamilton, George Heard
Curator of Paintings
Yale University Art Gallery
New Haven, Conn.
Hamlin, Talbot F.
Librarian, Avery Architectural Library
Columbia University
New York, N.Y.
Hammett, Ralph W.
Professor of Architecture
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Hancock, Walter
Director of Sculpture
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Philadelphia, Pa.
Hayes, Bartlett H., Jr.
Director
Addison Gallery of American Art
Andover, Mass.
Hebran, Jean
Professor of Architecture
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Helm, Miss Florence
Old Merchant’s House
New York, N. Y.
Howe, Thomas Carr, Jr.
Director
California Palace of the Legion of Honor
San Francisco, Calif.
Hudnut, Joseph
Dean
Graduate School of Architecture
Harvard University
Cambridge, Mass.
Hume, Samuel J.
Director
Berkeley Art Association
Berkeley, Calif.
Ivins, William M., Jr.
Counselor and Curator of Prints
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, N.Y.
Janson, H. W.
Assistant Professor
Department of Art and Archaeology
Washington University
St. Louis, Mo.
Jewell, Henry A.
Department of Art and Archaeology
Princeton University
Princeton, N. J.
Kaufmann, Edgar
Curator of Industrial Art
The Museum of Modern Art
New York, N.Y.
Keck, Sheldon
Restorer
The Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Kirby, John C.
Assistant Administrator
Walters Gallery
Baltimore, Md.
Kirstein, Lincoln
New York, N. Y.
Kubler, Professor George
Yale University
New Haven, Conn.
Lee, Rensselaer W.
Princeton, N. J.