Allied Looting in World War II: Thefts of Art, Manuscripts, Stamps and Jewelry in Europe PDF
Preview Allied Looting in World War II: Thefts of Art, Manuscripts, Stamps and Jewelry in Europe
Allied Looting in World War II ALSOBY KENNETHD. ALFORD Civil War Museum Treasures: Outstanding Artifacts and the Stories Behind Them (McFarland, 2008) Allied Looting in World War II Thefts of Art, Manuscripts, Stamps and Jewelry in Europe Kenneth D. Alford Foreword by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA Alford, Kenneth D. Allied looting in World War II : thefts of art, manuscripts, stamps and jewelry in Europe / Kenneth D. Alford ; foreword by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7864-6053-3 softcover : 50# alkaline paper 1. World War, 1939–1945—Destruction and pillage. 2. Allied Forces—History. 3. Pillage—Europe—History— 20th century. 4. Theft—Europe—History—20th century. 5. Art thefts—Europe—History—20th century. 5. Art thefts—Europe—History—20th century. 6. Art treasures in war—Europe—History—20th century. 7. Jewelry theft— Europe—History—20th century. 8. Manuscripts—Europe— History—20th century. 9. Postage stamps—Europe— History—20th century. 10. Lost articles—Europe—History— 20th century. I. Title. D810.D6A44 2011 940.54'12—dc22 2011004828 BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE © 2011Kenneth D. Alford. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Front cover: The most valuable painting stolen by American s oldiers from the Schwarzburg Castle was Caspar David Fredierich’s Landscape with Rainbow on the Island of Rügen. The oil painting on canvas was cut from the frame. It is still missing (Wikimedia C ommons); frame © 2011Shutterstock.com; Schwarzburg Castle, 1900 (Wikimedia Commons) Manufactured in the United States of America McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com To my wife, Edda, who has filled my life with happiness Acknowledgments I am thankful to the many people and institutions that have helped with this research and writing of this book. Thanks are due to the following individuals: Arthur W. Bergeron Jr., PhD, Carlisle, PA; Dr. Rolf Bothe, Kunst zu Weimar Sammlungen, Weimar, Germany; Dr. Barbara Eschenburg, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany; Professor G. H. Hertling, Lake Forest Park, WA; Robert Kudelski, Warsaw, Poland; Opritsa D. Popa, librarian, Shields Library, Univer - sity of California, Davis (most fortunately, she linked Berman’s name with the Hildebrandslied); Al Regensberg, senior archivist, Records Center and Archives, Santa Fe, NM; Dr. Thomas Seibel, Bad Wildungen, Germany; and Dr. Konrad Wiedemann, Bibliothek University Kassel, Germany. Special thanks to Kate Chavez, for reading and correcting my work; also the continued help of my dear friend Thomas Sharp is much appreciated. I would also like to offer my gratitude to Perseus Book Group for per- mission to use material from Great Treasure Stories of World War II, one of my earlier books. Last but not least, I pay tribute to my wife, Edda. Without her support the tasks that I have undertaken would have proved impossible. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgments vi Foreword by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick 1 Introduction 3 Part I STEALING A TROVE OF STAMPS 1. The 273rd Infantry Regiment 7 2. The Looting of Anton Wiede 13 3. The Investigation 19 Part II A PASSION FOR LUCAS CRANACH PAINTINGS 4. Donovan Senter’s Early Days 33 5. The Counter Intelligence Corps 40 6. The Quest for Lucas Cranach Paintings 47 7. The Charade Continues 59 8. Unanswered Questions 71 Part III PLUNDERING PRICELESS MANUSCRIPTS 9. The Capture of Bad Wildungen 79 10. Lieutenant Bud Berman 85 11. The Rare Book Dealer 91 12. The Papal Countess 96 13. Other Bad Wildungen Robberies 102 vii viii Table of Contents Part IV THE SCHWARZBURG CASTLE 14. The Robbery 109 15. A Break in the Case 117 16. Churchill “Chuck” Jones Brazelton 122 17. The Nun and the Poster 135 Part V VIGNETTES OF LOOTING 18. The Gravediggers Pillage Reutti, Germany 141 19. The U.N. Red Cross Robbery 146 20. The Rabbi’s Egyptian Ring 149 21. Frederick the Great’s Handwritten Manuscript 153 22. Berlin Central Archives 157 23. The Golden Book of Saarbrücken 162 24. The Priceless Mainz Psalter 166 25. Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Man 170 26. Clara Elisabeth Hertling 180 Part VI LOOTING FROM HUNGARY IN WORLD WAR II 27. Hungary 189 28. The Hungarian National Bank’s Gold and Silver Reserves 191 29. The Acquisition of the Hungarian Crown Treasure 201 30. The Gold Treasure of Kremsmünster 211 31. Cardinal Mindszenty 214 32. The Return of Saint Stephen’s Crown 221 33. The Hungarian Gold Train 227 34. The American Army Takes Custody 232 35. The General’s Kingdom 235 36. The End of the Gold Train Property 239 Appendix A: Anton Wiede’s Missing Stamps and Paintings 245 Appendix B: The Missing Kaltenbrunner Treasure 248 Table of Contents ix Appendix C: Thefts from the Weimar National Art Collections 251 Appendix D: Otto v. Falke’s Description of the Crown of Saint Stephen 254 Chapter Notes 259 Bibliography 269 Index 271
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