Petropoulos - The Faustian Bargain: the Art World in Nazi Germany

The Faustian Bargain

The Art World in Nazi Germany

Jonathan Petropoulos

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Copyright 2000 by Jonathan Petropoulos

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Petropoulos, Jonathan.
The Faustian bargain : the art world
in Nazi Germany / by Jonathan Petropoulos.
p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-512964-4
1. National socialism and art.
2. Art and stateGermanyHistory20th century.
3. GermanyCultural policyHistory20th century.
4. Art treasures in warGermany.
5. NazisGermanyArt collections.
6. ArtGermanyBiography. I. Title
N6868.5.N37P4823 2000
709.4309043dc21 99-33372

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2

Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper

Dont forget the little criminals so that they dont change sides
at the last minute and pretend that nothing happened.

circular of the White Rose resistance group

We do not have the right to judge,
but we have the duty to accuse.

Hildegard Knef and Ernst Wilhelm Borchert,
The Murderers Are Among Us

For Kimberly

In researching and writing this book, I have relied upon the assistance of friends and colleagues in innumerable ways. In an attempt to make some sense of the crucial yet diverse support, I would like to thank the following individuals.

I am very grateful to my colleagues at Loyola College, who have offered not just intellectual stimulation, but friendship and camaraderie. I will miss them very much as I move on to a new position at Claremont McKenna College. Joanne Dabney, the administrator of the History Department deserves special recognition for her tireless efforts. I would also thank Deans David Roswell and John Hollwitz, who have provided me with the resources needed to conduct research in Europe. I owe a debt of gratitude to the Loyola Center for the Humanities for several summer grants and a junior faculty sabbatical. The German Academic Exchange Service awarded me two fellowships, which permitted valuable research trips to Germany. The Holocaust Educational Foundation and its president, Theodore Zev Weiss, also provided much needed financial assistance.

I would convey special thanks to friends who took the time to read the manuscript. James Van Dyke, Paul Jaskot, Scott Denham, Gnter Bischof, Chris Jackson, Rebecca Boehling, Ines Schlenker, Stephan Lindner, Marion Deshmukh, and Geoffrey Giles read all or part of the book. I take responsibility for all of its shortcomings, but there would have been many more without their assistance. Similarly, the opportunity to present my findings at lectures and symposia elicited very useful feedback. In this respect, I would thank the following for their suggestions: O. K. Werckmeister, Peter Hayes, Eugen Blume, Dieter Schmidt, Wolfgang Wittrock, Keith Holz, Sabine Eckmann, Christoph Zuschlag, John Czaplicka, Jan Tabor, and Rosl Merdinger. I would also thank several senior scholars for continuing to offer wise counsel. I truly appreciate the assistance of Charles Maier, Richard Hunt, Peter Paret, Vernon Lidtke, and Philip Eliasoph.

A number of individuals are also studying the looting of art prior to and during World War II, and they have offered me invaluable advice and encouragement over the years. I would recognize Elizabeth Simpson and Konstantin Akinsha, my partners in The Documentation Project, as well as Lynn Nicholas, Willi Korte, Marc Masurovsky, Hector Feliciano, Gerald Aalders, Oliver Rathkolb, Sarah Jackson, Constance Lowenthal, Thomas Buomberger, Cynthia Salzman, Patricia Kennedy Grimsted, Anja Heuss, Wolfgang Eichwede, Ulrike Hartung, Walter Robinson, William Honan, Ulrich Bischoff, Gert Kerschbaumer, and Anne Webber.

Certain individuals were invaluable because of their help with the research. At times, they shared valuable documents that they possessed. This was the case with Oliver Rathkolb mentioned above, who copied an important file on Kajetan Mhlmann; Bernard Taper also sent me copies of his interrogations of Mhlmann; Jody Bresnahan, who let me use papers belonging to her father who had served in the Office of Strategic Services; Josephine Gabler, who sent me material pertaining to Arno Breker and Georg Kolbe; and Andrea Schmidt, who shared with me her research on Klaus Graf von Baudissin. Sylvia Hochfield and Milton Esterow also put files in the ARTnews office at my disposal. Michael Dobbs at the Washington Post and Walter Robinson at the Boston Globe also shared useful information with me. Steve Rogers at the Department of Justices Office of Special Investigation sent me materials concerning war crimes inquiries. I would also thank my dear friends Timothy and Mary Louise Ryback, who escorted me on trips in and around Salzburg as we searched for houses and graves of figures in the book.

There were also a number of professionals who made my work in their institutions very productive. I would thank Timothy Benson and colleagues at Rifkind Center in Los Angeles; Valrie Dahan and Sarah Halperyn of the Centre Documentation Juive Contemporaine;A. J. van der Leeuw, formerly of the State Institute for War Documentation in Amsterdam; Anette Meiburg and Dr. Blumberg at the Bundesarchiv in Berlin-Lichterfelde; Dr. Michael Kurtz, Greg Bradsher, and David Van Tassel at the National Archives in Washington/College Park; Stephen Mize of the National Gallery in Washington, DC; Dr. Cornelia Syre, Dr. Carla Schulz-Hoffmann and their colleagues at the Bavarian State Painting Collections in Munich; Gode Krmer at the Art Collection of Augsburg; Roswitha Juffinger at the Residenzgalerie Salzburg; Professor Norbert Frei and his coworkers at the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich; F. Luykant at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg; Fraulein Gtze at the Central Archives of the Berlin State Museums; Dr. Bliss at the Secret State Archive of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation; and Andrea Hackel at the Austrian State Archive.

This project was also advanced as a result of individuals who shared their knowledge of the figures in this study. In this respect, I would thank Dr. Bruno Lohse, Peter Griebert, Annemarie Fiebich-Ripke, Dr.Wilhelm Httl, Hilde Ziegler Mhlmann, Marianne Feilchenfeldt, Gabriele Seibt, Julius Bhler, Simon Wiesenthal, and Professor S. L. Faison.

There are individuals who do not fit into any of the above mentioned categories. I would thank my friends and frequent hosts in Germany, Karl and Irmgard Zinsmeister, and Stephan and Sigrid Lindner as well as my research assistant in Baltimore, Melanie Desmedt.

I would also express tremendous gratitude to my agent Agnes Krup who offered wisdom and encouragement as I put this book into its final form. I look forward to a long and harmonious partnership. I have similar sentiments with respect to Peter Ginna, who has been a wise and sensitive editor. He made the revision process flow smoothly and improved the book immensely. Many thanks also to Catherine Clements, for her careful work copyediting the manuscript, and to Helen Mules, who oversaw the production process.