“There are 65 cases, the exact contents of which are enumerated
on the attached list. As to the other 20 cases, 57 portfolios,
and one roll of engravings, their inventory has not been taken
to date. Among the pictures there are a great number of very
ancient icons, works by famous masters of the German, Italian,
and Dutch schools of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, as well
as the works of the best Russian masters of the 18th and 19th
centuries. On the whole, this property consists of extremely
valuable works of art, which had been removed from public
Ukrainian museums and whose value, even at a rough estimate,
amounts to a sum of many millions. In addition, this is the sole
collection of such international value on German
territory. . . .”
I omit the last paragraph of this letter since it has no material
bearing on the subject, and will continue by quoting an excerpt from
Page 2 of Rosenberg’s letter, of which I have already read one quotation
earlier in the day. You will, Your Honors, find it on Page 5 of the
document book. I quote. Rosenberg wrote:
“In the process of these confiscations we have, of course, found
also many other works of art. Among them there are some of great
value and, in order to preserve them, the Chief of the High
Command of the Army, at my request and in accordance with the
Führer’s directives, ordered me to draw up a catalogue of these
works of art and to keep them for the Führer.”
You have heard, Your Honors, of Hitler’s attitude towards the property
of the people and the works of art in the countries seized by the
Germans.
This episode is to be found in the Czechoslovakian Government report,
presented to the Tribunal; excerpts from this report were read yesterday
into the record. Therefore, I consider there is no necessity for reading
it into the record once more. However, it is necessary to note that not
only Hitler but Göring was an ardent adherent of this policy of
“acquisitions.” You also heard, Your Honors, yesterday how Göring
acquired valuable Gobelin tapestries in France. However, Göring did not
acquire Gobelin tapestries only. He wrote in one of his letters to
Rosenberg—I refer to Document Number 1985-PS, which I submit to the
Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-373, and which is in your document book
on Pages 156 to 158—Göring wrote that he “by means of purchases,
presents, bequests, and barter owns perhaps the most important private
collection, at least in Germany, if not in Europe.” The document
presented is a copy of a typewritten letter and includes a series of
corrections and notes in ink, evidently in Göring’s own hand. This copy
was captured, together with Göring’s other correspondence, by units of
the American Army, a fact which was confirmed and in due time presented
to the Tribunal by our American colleagues.
This document, Your Honors, reveals, to a remarkable extent, the nature
of the “acquisitions” effected by Göring and also confirms Ribbentrop’s
part in the “preservation” of cultural treasures in the occupied
territories. For this reason, I shall, with your permission, read a few
extracts from this document.