In this colorized photo, the “Monuments Men” locate Manet’s “In The Conservatory” (also called “The Greenhouse” and “Wintergarden”) in the Merkers mine in Germany. Over the years, many published sources have claimed that the painting was looted, but it was actually German owned, having been purchased by Jean-Baptiste Faure. In 1896, it was given to the German Nationalgalerie in Berlin as a gift by the Berlin Friends of Art. In 1945, the painting, along with many others, were removed from the museums and stored in the Merkers mine to protect it from bombing. Over the years, the image has been falsely used as an example of Nazi looted art. This false claim arose from an erroneous caption on the Signal Corps photograph at the National Archives. This, and other works recovered from Merkers were moved to the Reichsbank in Frankfort, before being moved to the Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point, a repository used mainly for German-owned property. In August 1946, it was in Washington along with other artwork to be displayed at the National Gallery of Art as well as other museums. By 1949, it was returned to the German government, and is on display at the Alte Nationalgalerie
Image colorized by Mads Madsen
Although it was preserved in the mine, it almost fell victim to a similar fate that other works of art succumbed to under the Nazi regime, as the Nazis considered selling it and other French Impressionist work from the German museums as they sought to destroy any art considered “degenerate.” After World War II, the “Monuments Men,” a small corps of men and a few women, who had been working as historians, architects, museum curators, and professors to become part of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section of the Allies worked to recover artworks stolen by the Nazis.t
Hitler Did Not Like Modern Art
When Hitler, who considered himself an art connoisseur was denied admission to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, he attacked modern art, including Cubism, Futurism, and Dadaism, calling them degenerate; he and the Nazi party favored classical portraits and the landscapes of the Old Masters. Under the Nazi regime, all degenerate art in Germany’s museums was to be destroyed or sold, and the proceeds used to establish the European Art Museum in Linz, his home city, which he planned to transform into the Third Reich’s capital city for the arts. He hired architects, who were working from his own designs, to build galleries and museums, which would be known as the Führermuseum.
One Final Exhibit Of Degenerate Art
Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels visiting the "Degenerate Art" exhibition in Munich in 1938. Source: (German Federal Archives/Wikimedia).
From 1937-38, Hitler and Göring removed nearly 16,000 paintings and sculptures from German museums; the art was put on display in the Haus der Kunst in Munich as the Degenerate Art Exhibition on July 19, 1937, although it was displayed in such a manner to discourage appreciation of the art, which was considered so harmful that minors were not allowed in the exhibit. Hildebrand Gurlitt, Karl Buchholz, Ferdinand Moeller, and Bernhard Boehmer then started selling the art in Schloss Niederschonhausen outside Berlin. When they were unable to sell all of the artwork, many works were burnt. Some were kept by the men, who sold them to Switzerland and America, keeping the profit for themselves. On June 30, 1939, Theodor Fischer held the “degenerate art” auction at the Grand Hotel National.
Looting Artwork Around Europe
Finding Vermeer's "The Astronomer." Source: (Pinterest).
Other artwork that was not considered “degenerate” met a different fate. The Nazis also stole artwork from all of the territories they occupied, in a systematic manner, as organizations were created to determine the most valuable public and private collections. Some of these stolen objects went to high-ranking officials, some were traded to help fund the Nazis, and others were set aside for the Führermuseum . The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg Institute for the Occupied Territories (ERR) was formed in 1940; at first it was to collect Jewish and Freemasonic books and documents to either destroy or send to Germany. Later, the mission was to seize “Jewish” art collections and other objects. Some Nazis also used Nazi conquests to enrich their own private collections. Eventually, Hitler ordered all works of art be made available to him. Of the looted art, Göring took at least 594 objects for himself. All told, the ERR stole 21,903 works of art.
In The Mines Of Altaussee
Recovering Michelangelo's statue of the Madonna and Child, also known as Bruges' Madonna. Source: (historycollection.com).
The Sonderauftrag Linz, another looting organization, which was run by Hans Posse, an art historian, was concerned with assembling the works for the Führermuseum. By the end of the war, the Third Reich had taken hundreds of thousands of works of art and other cultural objects. These stolen items were hidden in castles, monasteries, and many other buildings, as well as in salt mines similar to the one in Merkers.
Many of the stolen works of art were collected at Altaussee, where Hitler hid the treasures he intended to display at the Furhrermuseum in Linz, Austria. In addition to the 6,500 pieces of artwork, the Nazis stored other items they had plundered, including books, jewels and furniture. The mines at Altaussee were the perfect location for the artwork for a number of reasons. The same families had mined the tunnels there for 3,000 years, and the conditions inside the tunnels were ideal: the temperatures were constant at between 40-47 degrees Fahrenheit, and the humidity remained at about 65 percent. Some of the tunnels were more than a mile inside the mountain, making them safe from bombs.
Altogether, the number of works plundered has been estimated at around 650,000. While many were recovered, to date, tens of thousands of works have not been recovered or returned to their owners.
The image at the top of this post was colorized by Mads Madsen, a lover of historical images who is based in Denmark. You can see more of his work on his Flickr page.
