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M. FAURE: If it please the Tribunal, M. Gerthoffer will now present the brief concerning the pillage of works of art.

M. CHARLES GERTHOFFER (Assistant Prosecutor for the French Republic): The Economic Section of the French Delegation had prepared a report on the pillage of works of art in the occupied countries of western Europe.

We had thought, at the session of 22 January last, of waiving the presentation of this statement in order to expedite the proceedings, while holding ourselves at the disposal of the Tribunal should they consider the presentation necessary. However, since then—on 31 January—the American Prosecutor was good enough to inform us that the Defendant Rosenberg intended to maintain that the artistic treasures were collected only in order to be “protected.”

We consider, from the documents which we are holding at the disposal of the Court, that this cannot be a question of protection only but that this was genuine spoliation; and I am at the Tribunal’s disposal to prove this, in a statement which I shall make as brief as possible, while offering in evidence the documents which we had already collected. If the Tribunal wish, I can make this very brief statement. In any case, I am at the disposal of the Tribunal.

Mr. President, Gentlemen, the pillage of works of art has a cultural significance to which I shall not refer again since it was the subject of a statement presented by Colonel Storey on 18 December 1945. I shall simply regard the subject from the economic point of view in order to complete the report on the general spoliation of the western European countries.

As the Tribunal will realize, the leaders of the Reich primarily and systematically seized works of art belonging to private individuals, mostly under the pretext that these individuals were Jews, thus procuring for themselves very valuable means of exchange. In Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, and France picture galleries, public as well as private collections, ancient furniture, china, and jewelry were stolen.

It was not a question of individual looting, of pillaging by soldiers, such as is encountered in all wars and of which we still find examples; this campaign of plunder was carried out in a systematic and disciplined manner. The methods introduced varied in character. Personal judgment and personal initiative could be exercised only insofar as they contributed to the execution of plans already elaborated by the National Socialist leaders before the month of June 1940.

The official organization for pillaging was primarily Minister Rosenberg’s Einsatzstab for the occupied territories of western Europe and the Netherlands. If this organization was not the sole agent, it was the most important one. Colonel Storey has already drawn the attention of the Tribunal to this criminal behavior.

The urge to seize works of art, as well as material wealth, underlies the policy of National Socialist expansion. The behavior in Poland of the Defendant Frank has already given sufficient proof of this. The idea of protecting this valuable booty arose at the time of the invasion of western Europe. From the very beginning, in their haste and their desire to seize as much as they could, several parallel authorities would carry out the confiscations, firstly by the military authorities, either indirectly, as in Holland through the special services of the Devisenschutzkommando or directly as in France through the Department for the Protection of Works of Art. Further, the same mission was entrusted simultaneously to the civil authorities, whether represented by the German Embassy in Paris or, in Holland, the Office for Enemy Property under the auspices of the Reich Commissioner. This plurality of control, moreover, did not end with the establishment of the Rosenberg Staff.

This is the first phase in the pillage of works of art. According to official correspondence, as well as to the statements of Otto Abetz, the initiative may be attributed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, beginning with the Defendant Ribbentrop. The first phase lasted from the entrance of the Germans into the countries of western Europe until October 1940.

The second phase opened with the arrival of Einsatzstab Rosenberg which appeared on the scene under the aegis of the Defendant Göring. From now on this Einsatzstab must be considered primarily responsible for the organized pillage.

Towards July 1942 a third phase opens in the history of the Staff Rosenberg. The person primarily responsible is the Defendant Alfred Rosenberg. The activities of this staff did not cease in Europe until the liberation. One part of the archives of the Rosenberg services fell into the hands of the French armies; another part, which had been sent to Füssen, was seized by the American Army which also picked up the archives of the Defendant Rosenberg. This is the origin of the PS documents submitted to the Tribunal.

The seizure of works of art began with the entrance of the German troops into Holland, Belgium, and France. In Paris, as from the month of June, there was an Embassy service directed by Dr. Von Kunsberg and Dr. Dirksen similar to a specialized service of the Military Governor directed by Count Wolff Metternich. This order of seizure, in defiance of the Hague Convention, applied to public as well as to private property. The Defendant Keitel, on 30 June 1940, issued an order to the Governor of Paris, General Von Bockelberg. I submit a copy of this order as Document Number RF-1301. Here it is:

“The Führer, on receiving the report of the Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs, has issued an order to safeguard for the time being, in addition to objects of art belonging to the French State, also such works of art and antiquities which constitute private property. Especially Jewish private property is to be taken in custody by the occupational power against removal or concealment, after having been labelled with the names of their present French owners. There is no intention of expropriation but certainly of a transfer into our custody to serve as a pawn in the peace negotiations.”

Identical measures were soon taken in Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Exhibit Number RF-1302, which is a document discovered by the Army of the United States and which was registered under Document Number 137-PS, a copy of which I submit, was drawn up by Defendant Keitel on 5 July 1940:

“Reichsleiter Rosenberg has suggested the following to the Führer:

“1. State libraries and archives to be searched for documents of value to Germany.

“2. The chancelleries and high authorities of the Church, as well as the Masonic lodges, to be searched for proofs of political activities directed against us and the proofs in question to be seized.

“The Führer has ordered that this suggestion be carried out and that the Gestapo, assisted by the archivists of Reichsleiter Rosenberg, be placed in charge of the search. The Chief of the Security Police, SS Gruppenführer Heydrich, has been informed. He is to contact the military commander competent to deal with the execution of these orders.

“These measures to be executed in all regions of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France which are occupied by us.

“It is requested that subordinate offices be informed.

“The Chief of the High Command of the Armed Forces, (signed) Keitel.”

I submit under Exhibit Number RF-1303 a copy of Document Number 139-PS, drawn up for Holland and expressed in approximately the same terms, and under Exhibit Number RF-1304 I submit a copy of Document Number 140-PS which is an analogous order for Belgium.

At the same time, by a decree of 15 July 1940 in execution of Keitel’s orders, a decree for the protection of works of art was issued in the occupied territories. This decree appeared in the German Official Bulletin VOBIF Number 3, Page 49 and following. I submit a copy of this decree under Document Number RF-1305, and I request the permission of the Tribunal to quote the two following paragraphs:

First paragraph, Section 1:

“Moveable works of art will not be taken from the place where they are at present or modified in any way whatsoever without the written authorization of a commander of the military administration.”

Section 3:

“Moveable works of art whose value exceeds 100,000 francs must be declared by their owners or custodians in writing prior to 15 August 1940, to the competent field command or some other authority indicated by the latter.”

If the Tribunal will kindly recall the explanation which I had the honor of presenting 2 weeks ago, it will remember that the Germans had, at the same time, issued similar decrees for freezing or immobilizing private property, currency, and other wealth.

In this decree, intended to be known by the population of the occupied territories, the question of safekeeping and confiscation had not yet arisen; the decree merely dealt with immobilization and declaration—preparatory measures, these, to future spoliation, and an indication of bad faith to be remembered.

Beginning with that period, seizures of the most famous French-Jewish art collections were carried out; seizures made under such conditions that they provoked numerous protests which were submitted to the Armistice Commission at Wiesbaden. I submit in the document book, as Document Number RF-1306, a letter of the French Secretary for Finance of 18 December 1941 containing one of these protests. So as not to waste the time of the Tribunal I shall not quote the document but shall merely offer it in evidence.

No dividing line was drawn between the activities or powers of civil authorities and those of military authorities. There were conflicts and rivalries but as from March 1941 Staff Rosenberg occupied the foreground; and it is possible to say that from 1940 to 1944 it enjoyed a monopoly in the confiscation of works of art in Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland, and France. Staff Rosenberg originated in the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Party. Hence the first function, in theory, of Staff Rosenberg, consisted in gathering political material which could and might be exploited in the struggle against Jewry and Free Masonry by the Hohe Schule. This is the Advance School, whose purpose Hitler defined in his order of 29 January 1940 to be found in the American documentation under Number 136-PS, a copy of which I submit in evidence as Exhibit Number RF-1308. The document is very brief and I shall read it to the Tribunal:

“The Hohe Schule is some day to become the center for National Socialist doctrinal research and education. It will be established after the war. However, in order to expedite the preparatory work already initiated, I order that Reichsleiter Alfred Rosenberg continue this preparatory work, especially in the field of research and the establishment of a library. The offices of the Party and the State organizations are required to support his work in every way.

“Berlin 29 January 1940, (signed) Adolf Hitler.”

Entrusted with the finding and seizing of Jewish collections which had been left “ownerless” in the occupied territories, Staff Rosenberg did not content itself with looting private houses; its activities also applied to the seizure of many trusts, especially of those deposited in strong boxes in banks. This is evident from the passage of the document that I submit as Document Number RF-1307 from which, the Tribunal permitting, I shall read a passage. This is on Page 2 of the translation and is also to be found in the brief:

“On 26 September 1941 M. Braumüller, acting on Rosenberg’s behalf, removed two cases filled with objects of art, which are listed and deposited with the agency of the Société Générale at Arcachon under the name of the depositor, M. Philippe de Rothschild, who has not yet regained his French nationality.”

As a matter of fact, the field of activity of Staff Rosenberg was not confined to the pillage of Jewish or Masonic property. It rapidly absorbed all it could of the artistic heritage of the occupied countries, a heritage which Staff Rosenberg appropriated by invariably illegal means without distinguishing between private property and public property.

This action of Staff Rosenberg was inspired by the orders of the Defendant Göring himself. It is thus that I submit as Exhibit Number RF-1309, a document, discovered by the Army of the United States and filed under Document Number 141-PS, which consists of an order of the Defendant Göring, Paris, dated 5 November 1940 and which extends the activities of Staff Rosenberg. Here is the order:

“To carry out the present measures for safeguarding Jewish property taken over by the Chief of the Military Administration in Paris and by Einsatzstab Rosenberg, the following procedure will be observed in connection with the art treasures deposited at the Louvre:

“1. Those art objects regarding which the Führer has reserved to himself the right of further disposal,

“2. those art objects which could serve to complete the collection of the Reich Marshal,

“3. those art objects and libraries which appear suitable for equipping the Hohe Schule within Reichsleiter Rosenberg’s sphere of duty.”

THE PRESIDENT: I think this document has already been read, M. Gerthoffer. I think this document was read by Colonel Storey.

M. GERTHOFFER: I shall omit the quotation, Mr. President.

I now come to an order, issued by the Defendant Keitel, of 17 September 1940, a copy of which I submit as Exhibit Number RF-1310, filed in the American documents as Document Number 138-PS. Here is the principal passage:

“Implementing the order of the Führer transmitted to Reichsleiter Rosenberg and made known to you at the time, to the effect that the premises of Masonic lodges, together with libraries and archives in the occupied countries, must be searched for material of value to Germany and that this material must be safeguarded by the Gestapo, the Führer has made the following decision:

“Reichsleiter Rosenberg, or his representative Reichshauptstellenleiter Ebert, has received from the Führer, personally, unequivocal instructions concerning the right of confiscation. He is authorized to transport to Germany such objects which appear to him of value and to place them here in security. You are requested to inform the competent military commanders or offices.”

The activities of Staff Rosenberg were multiple. Thus, for instance, on 18 December 1941, Rosenberg suggested to Hitler the seizure of Jewish furniture in the occupied territories of the West to serve for the establishments of Party organizations in the regions of the East.

Here is a copy of the document which was discovered by the Army of the United States, which bears the Document Number 001-PS, a copy of which I include in the document book under Exhibit Number RF-1311.

“Everywhere in the East the administration found terrible housing conditions, and the possibilities of getting supplies are so limited that it is practically impossible to obtain anything. That is why I request the Führer to concede that the furniture belonging to Jews who have fled, or those who are leaving Paris or any of the occupied territories of the West, be confiscated in order to supplement, as far as possible, the furniture for the establishments of the eastern administration.”

I have reached the bottom of Page 15.

Moreover, the Germans concealed their intentions. This is evident from the letter, dated 28 February 1942, addressed to the German Armistice Commission by the German Military Commander in France, of which I offer a photograph as Document Number RF-1312, Page 16. Here are a few extracts from this letter:

“Taking into consideration the special mission entrusted to Staff Rosenberg for seizing art objects of Jewish ownership, protests by the French Government against the activities of Staff Rosenberg have always been forwarded by us to the OKH while the reply was sent to the French Government that the protest has been forwarded to the office in charge in Berlin for investigation and decision.”

Further on, in the same letter, we read:

“The mission of Staff Rosenberg must, as in the past, be kept secret from the French authorities.”

A letter addressed to the Section Chief of the Military Administration in Paris of 7 April 1942, which I offer in evidence as Document Number RF-1313, contains the same directives. Here is the passage:

“Furniture belonging to Jews of English or American nationality will not be confiscated for the time being but only the furniture of Jews who are nationals of the Reich or of a country partially or totally occupied by the Reich or of Jews who are stateless. The confiscated objects become the property of the Reich. No receipt will be given. The right of third parties, especially those of lessors or of owners of store houses, is to be considered as cancelled.”

Further on in the same instructions, Page 17 of the brief:

“6. The operations must be carried out as discreetly as possible. As to general questions, inquiries by the local French authorities concerning the operations must be answered verbally to the effect that these are punitive measures ordered by a higher authority. Further arguments are to be avoided. Individual complaints are to be forwarded to the Einsatzstab.”

And further on:

“Discussions by the press concerning the utilization of vacant Jewish premises are undesirable for the time being.”

I turn to Page 19 in the brief to quote a very short passage of a letter dated 18 June 1942, signed by Rosenberg and addressed to the Defendant Göring. I offer in evidence a copy of this letter as Document Number RF-1314. Here is the passage which I shall read to the Tribunal. Page 20 of the brief, Page 2 of the document book:

“Some time ago I explicitly approved the instructions given by the Chief of my Einsatzstab, Stabsführer Party member Utikal, that Party member Dr. Lohse of the Bildende Kunst Office be put at your disposal for any purpose you may desire.”

I now come to a few explanations, Gentlemen, on the seizure operations, Page 22 of my written report:

“Since the first confiscations were made by the military authorities, the Devisenschutzkommando, and the German Embassy, Staff Rosenberg did not appear on the scene until the time when the great collective seizures had already been completed.

“The greater part of the Rothschild, Kahn, Weil-Picard, and Wildenstein collections had been confiscated and they represented three-quarters of the total booty of Staff Rosenberg.”

As far as the methods which were used to seize these works of art are concerned, I submit to the Tribunal a document which is a letter of the Secretary of French Finance, dated 25 October 1941. I offer it in evidence as Document Number RF-1315; and so as not to waste the Tribunal’s time I shall merely deposit this document since it is quite probable that my colleague will allude to it in his turn. Page 24 of the written report. . . .

THE PRESIDENT: How do you prove that the greater part of the Rothschild, Kahn, Weil-Picard, and Wildenstein collections was confiscated in the middle of November 1940? What is the evidence of it?

M. GERTHOFFER: General information furnished by the Fine Arts Department.

THE PRESIDENT: Have you put in a report of a government committee which states that?

M. GERTHOFFER: No, Mr. President, I have not got the report in my dossier. I did not believe it was necessary to present it in evidence, because I thought that it was admitted that nearly all the Rothschild collections were seized at this time.

THE PRESIDENT: I do not think we can take judicial notice of it in the absence of some government report and simply upon the statement.

M. GERTHOFFER: I think the question is not of great interest.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, the Tribunal cannot take any notice of statements which are not supported by evidence; therefore we shall disregard that statement. We must have the evidence first.

M. GERTHOFFER: I consider that the question is not of interest, since the Tribunal will soon see the enormous quantities of works of art which were removed by the Germans and I thought it would be useless to mention the individual owners by name.

THE PRESIDENT: I see that in the Document Number 1015-PS, which is in your second document book, the facts are stated. I do not know whether you are going to make use of that Exhibit Number RF-1323.

M. GERTHOFFER: Number RF-1323 (Document Number 1015-PS(b)) is the report of Dr. Scholz on the activities of Staff Rosenberg. This report contains details of quantities of works of art which were seized. I will quote this document later on.

THE PRESIDENT: And it includes the dates October 1940 to July 1944, and includes the Rothschild collection. I do not know whether it refers also to the other collections which are mentioned in your exposé.

M. GERTHOFFER: I shall cite this document a little later on. The report in question was also quoted on 18 December by Colonel Storey.

THE PRESIDENT: I intervened only for the purpose of saying that we cannot take any notice of statements of facts unless there is some evidence to support them.

M. GERTHOFFER: After the seizures had been effected (Page 44 of the exposé) the Germans carried out the work of listing, cataloging, and preparing for the presentation of the objects confiscated. This was a very great task indeed, rendered excessively long and complicated by lack of order and method. Objects of art were brought to the museum of the Jeu de Paume and to the Louvre; they arrived mostly in one sole lot and from extremely varied sources, hence the impossibility of drawing up an inventory of the objects seized. The vast quantity of material was classified as “Unknown” insofar as its origin was concerned. Nevertheless, in a report of Staff Rosenberg of 15 April 1943, discovered by the Army of the United States and registered under Document Number 172-PS, a copy of which I submit as Exhibit Number RF-1316, we find the following passage:

“By this detailed study of the material confiscated, an absolutely reliable basis has been afforded for a final and summary account of the entire operation of seizure. The preliminary studies were made in such a way that after formulation of the final report the latter has to be considered, in every respect, as an incontestable document of a historically significant seizure of works of art unique in its kind.”

I come to Page 26 of my brief. Certain of these works of art were considered by the Germans as degenerate, and their admittance into National Socialist territory was forbidden. Theoretically speaking they should have been destroyed; but within the scope of total war economy these pictures, although condemned, were none the less of commercial value and as a means of barter their value was both definite and high. So these pictures, carefully selected from among the great public collections and from private collections, were confiscated; and as already provided for in Section 5 of the decree of 5 November 1940, placed on the French and German art markets. In addition to these condemned pictures, others were set aside as being of lesser interest in the official collections. They formed the object of numerous fraudulent transactions.

We now come to the traffic in works of art. We are not, in this case, dealing with secret and unlawful operations, the personal acts of such-and-such a member of the Rosenberg Service; we are dealing with official operations. Two kinds of operations were currently carried out by the Einsatzstab, that is, exchanges and sales.

Exchanges. On this subject we have, by way of an example, the evidence of M. Gustav Rochlitz, received by the examining judge, M. Frapié, in Paris on 6 January 1946. I submit the evidence as Document Number RF-1317 and shall read a passage to the Tribunal.

“During the years 1941 and 1942 I exchanged various old pictures for 80 modern ones, delivered by Lohse, who always told me that these exchanges were carried out on Göring’s order, and that the pictures received had been intended for Göring. I have since learned that all the pictures given in exchange are contained in the Göring collection. I delivered in exchange about 35 pictures, possibly more.”

These facts are confirmed by the Defendant Rosenberg himself in the last lines of his report of 15 April 1943, filed under Document Number 172-PS already quoted, of which I have entered a copy under Exhibit Number RF-1316. Here is an interesting passage of the report.

“By order of the Reich Marshal a certain number of these works of modern and degenerate French art were favorably bartered with French art dealers for pictures of a recognized artistic value. In this way, 87 works of old Italian, Dutch, and German masters of high and recognized value were acquired on very favorable conditions.”

Numerous works of art, books, and especially pictures, were sold by representatives of Staff Rosenberg. Some were sold in France, others in Germany or Switzerland. The fact that this was a calculated procedure is evident if we consider that the value of these pictures, confiscated under the legally fallacious pretext of keeping them in safe custody, could be realized if they were sold on neutral markets and paid for in foreign currency.

I now consider that I should give you some brief explanations of the justifications offered by the Germans concerning their confiscations. Primarily these justifications are mere quibbles relating to the nature of the seizures. The seizures were only temporary and preservative measures for the safekeeping of the art treasures. Count Metternich, Chief of the Department for the Protection of Works of Art in France from July 1940 to 1942, made this point quite clear in a report, a copy of which has been discovered in France and which I submit as Document Number RF-1318. Here are some brief excerpts from this report, at the bottom of Page 29 of the exposé:

“Shortly after arriving in France, I realized that various departments which did not belong to the Military Administration were interested in removable objects of art.”

And further on, in the same paragraph:

“It has been said that there was no intention of expropriation but that these objects were to be considered as pawns to be used in future peace negotiations. No detailed instructions were given as to how the operations should be carried out; and in particular, no interpretation was given of the term ‘custody’.”

The vague expression “in custody” has been subjected to every variety of interpretation. According to some the seizure was only a temporary measure, although the question of definite appropriation nevertheless remained unclarified. For the Defendant Rosenberg the solution was simple; he expresses it in a letter, previously quoted, of 18 June 1942 addressed to Göring, which I have just submitted under Document Number RF-1314. This is the relevant passage:

“I therefore believe you will be in agreement with me on this point, namely, that art objects of Jewish ownership taken into custody should be considered as seized for the benefit of the NSDAP. With regard to material for research work, the Führer has already decided that these objects, now in the custody of the Einsatzstab, shall become the property of the Hohe Schule. It would be only just and fair that the great art treasures now in custody should one day become the property of the NSDAP. Needless to say, the decision of this question rests with the Führer. However, since the NSDAP has financed a war of 20 years’ standing against Jewry, such a decision would appear permissible.”

And we are justified in saying that these confiscations are now no longer measures of preservation or requisition, but a species of booty which perforce must fall into the hands of a German people triumphing over the Jewish race whom they have outlawed.

In a report justifying their action, demanded by the Army Commander and drawn up on the order of the Defendant Rosenberg by the Chief of the Einsatzstab, Utikal, in November 1941, the latter went so far as to state—I submit this report as Documents RF-1319, RF-1320, and RF-1321; and I quote a brief passage from the attached supplement Number RF-1321, Page 31:

“The German measures of reprisal against the Jews are likewise justified by international law. It is a recognized principle of international law that, in war, reprisals may be taken by resorting to the same procedures and the same concepts as primarily used by the enemy. Since time immemorial the Jews have, in their Jewish laws codified in the Talmud and the Schulchan Aruch, applied the principle that all non-Jews are to be considered as so much cattle, as outlaws; and the property of non-Jews should be dealt with as a thing which has been abandoned, that is to say, as derelict property.”

Thus, Gentlemen, the confiscations of the Einsatzstab were sheltered by this strange interpretation of law. It seems useless to discuss the value of this argument before the Tribunal. The Belgian, Dutch, and French authorities made frequent protests, based on the most elementary principles of international law, but always met with refusals.

It would at any rate be suitable to define the extent of these seizures. It is difficult to give a total estimate, although Rosenberg, himself, on several occasions made an estimate of his booty, especially in a letter to the Treasurer of the Party, Schwarz, 14 November 1940, a document discovered by the Army of the United States and bearing the Document Number 1736-PS, a copy of which I offer in evidence as Exhibit Number RF-1322. At that date Rosenberg already considered that the booty amounted to 500,000,000 Reichsmark.

The documents of the Einsatzstab are sufficiently numerous and precise to allow us to establish certain quantitative data. First, the seizures by the General Staff for Art Treasures. The fundamental document is a report of Dr. Scholz, dated 14 July 1944, which we have just mentioned. This is Document Number 1015-PS, which was presented in part to the Court by Colonel Storey and which I offer in evidence as Exhibit Number RF-1323. From this report I shall extract only some very brief indications concerning the quantities of art objects carried off.

According to this report, 21,903 objects taken from 203 private collections, were removed, notably from, the Rothschild, Alphons Kahn, David Weil, Lévy de Benzion, and the Seligmann brothers collections. According to the same report there were “all told, 29 transports, 137 trucks, and 4,174 cases.”

I shall not quote any further from this report, because I think that my colleague, also entrusted with making the charges, will allude to it.

THE PRESIDENT: Would that be a convenient time to break off?