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    "localId": "7583533",
    "label": "Monthly Report of Military Governor, U.S. Zone, No. 2: Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives",
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    "title": "Monthly Report of Military Governor, U.S. Zone, No. 2: Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives",
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        "Eisenhower, Dwight D: Papers, Pre-Presidential",
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        {
            "day": 20,
            "logicalDate": "1945-09-20",
            "month": 9,
            "year": 1945
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    "ocrText": "RESTRICTED\nMILITARY GOVERNMENT\nOF GERMANY\nMONUMENTS, FINE ARTS\nAND ARCHIEVES\na Library The\nMONTHLY REPORT OF MILITARY GOVERNOR\nU.S. ZONE 20 SEPTEMBER 1945\nNo. 2\nSIFICATION CHANGED TO:\nCANCELI ED\nOF THE ADJUTANT GENERAL\nGRADING HORITY COMMITTEE Maj AGD 3 oct46\nREPRODUCED BY 669TH ENGR TOP CO.\nRESTRICTED\nRESTRICTED\nM. F. A. & A.\nSYNOPSIS\nThe immediate problem confronting Monuments Fine Arts and Archives is the\ninspection of over 667 known or reported repositories of cultural material. Those\nwhich prove to contain loot as well as those providing unsatisfactory protection\nfrom weather must have their contents evacuated to collecting points.\nThe policy of unilateral restitution of cultural materials held in the\nUnited States Zone of Germany has been instituted and the return of the Van Eyck\nAlterpiece to the Belgium Government was the first such restitution. Practical\ndifficulties however, make progress slow.\nLittle progress has been made in the salvage of archives or the\npreservation of monuments.\nONE Library 041\nGENERAL\nThe objectives of Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives are the protection,\npreservation and restitution where necessary of religious, artistic, historic and\nother cultural buildings or materials in Germany and the reactivation of German\ncivilian administration concerned therewith.\nDue to lack of reports at this time no data is available on activities\nof similar branches in the other occupied zones of Germany.\nMONUMENTS, FINE ARTS AND ARCHIVES IN THE U. S. ZONE.\nMonuments.\nProgress in the protection and salvage of artistic and historic monu-\nments has not been great. During the course of the month 54 monuments were in-\nspected and emergency repairs on seven are now in progress. The difficulties ex-\nperienced in obtaining building materials has delayed work in this field, inas-\nmuch as civilian housing projects have first priority. This is particularly unfor-\ntunate in the case of the magnificent eighteenth century churches of southern\nGermany. Many of these have suffered such damage that the rigors of winter weather\nwill do much to ruin the delicate stucco decorations of their interiors. German\nauthorities are given every encouragement to carry out such repairs under super-\nvision of experts.\nFine Arts.\nThe most urgent need in the United States Zone is the inspection of the\n677 known or reported repositories. Field reports concerning these repositories\nhave been ordered in order to establish a coordinated plan of evacuation. It is\nintended to evacuate only those repositories which are inadequate places of storage\nfor cultural materials and those which are suspected of containing objects looted\nby the Germans from occupied countries. The total number of repositories already\nevacuated is twenty, twelve to the collecting point at Marburg and eight to Munich.\nThe custodianship of a number of repositories has been turned over to the German\ncivilian authorities but exact figures are not yet available.\nAUGUST 1945\nRESTRICTED\nRESTRICTED\nM.F.A.&A.\n700 NUMBER\nMFA&A REPOSITORIES - U. S. ZONE GERMANY\n700\n600\n600\n500\n500\n400\n400\nAS OF\n300\n29 AUG 1945\n300\n200\n200\n100\n100\nAS OF\n75\n31 JULY 1945\n75\n50\n50\n25\n25\n0\n0\nTATAL\nBA YERN\nNASSAU\nVIRLSIV\nREBLIN\nPARMEN\nThe most spectacular discovery of hidden objects was made at Nuremburg\nwhen the Imperial Insignia of the Holy Roman Empire were discovered in a sealed\nroom 80 feet underground. Twenty-one Germans were questioned by an Intelligence\nOfficer before the hiding place was revealed.\nFour collecting points are now in operation at Munich, Marburg, Frank-\nfurt and Wiesbaden. All of these are used to house works of art, with the except-\nion of Frankfurt Collecting Point which specializes in Jewish libraries that were\nlooted by the Germans from countries in both eastern and western Europe. The new-\nest of the collecting points, Wiesbaden, began operations on 20 August with the\nreceipt of the first shipment of art objects from the Berlin Museum which had\nbeen temporarily housed in the Reichsbank at Frankfurt.\nMFA&A COLLECTING POINTS\nNumber of Objects\nReceived or Inventoried\n-August 1945-\nMarburg- - - 1165\nMunich - - - 2369\nWiesbaden- - - Not Reported\nFrankfurt- - Not Reported\n3534\nAn Arts Document Center has been established at the Munich Collecting\nPoint and the records assembled here will be those dealing with suspected loot.\nExamples are documents covering Hitler's purchases for his proposed great museum\nat Linz and the operations of the notorious Einstatzstab Rosenberg which handled\nworks of art taken from Jewish private collections.\nAUGUST 1945\nRESTRICTED\n2\nRESTRICTED\nM.F.A.&A.\nUnilateral restitution of looted cultural materials held in the U. S.\nZone of Germany will be carried out.\na. Looted cultural materials will be returned to the governments of pre-war\nownership and not to private individuals. In consequence such materials will be\nreturned as they are identified under United States supervision. This will not\npreclude submission of claims by the governments or, through such governments, by\nindividuals claiming to be pre-war owners.\nb. In general looted cultural materials will be returned to the accredited\nrepresentatives of the governments of the countries of pre-war ownership at the\npoint at which they are held in the United States Zone. The governments concern-\ned will be responsible for packing and transport.\nC. The United States Military Government will exercise all reasonable care\nin the protection and handling of looted cultural materials which fall under its\ncontrol but disclaims any responsibility for deterioration suffered by such ob-\njects while under its control or while in the hands of the Germans. Furthermore,\nany payments made by the Germans to the governments or individuals of pre-war\nownership may be credited against the reparations claims of the government con-\ncerned.\nRestitution of these looted objects of art was begun when the famous\nalterpiece of the Adoration of the Lamb by the brothers, Van Eyck, was flown by\nspecial plane from Munich to Brussels. On 22 August 1945 it was delivered to\nrepresentatives of the Belgium Government. This great work of art had been stolen\nby the Germans from France, where it had been placed by the Belgium Government\nfor safe keeping. The Germans had intended it to be one of the chief master-\npieces in the collection which was being assembled for Hitler and which was to\nhave formed the Fuehrer Museum at Linz. Similar restitutions of important works\nwill shortly be made to France and Poland.\nA procedure by which unmistakable loot can be quickly returned to its\ncountry of origin has been worked out, but much remains to be done in discovering\nand identifing these stolen works of art. Interrogation of German Art dealers\nand other art personalities with Nazi connections continues and sheds much light\non the business of art transactions in the Third Reich.\nArchives.\nLittle further progress can be reported in the salvage of archives. A\ncollecting point for books and archives is being organized at Freising.\nThe Lighter Dwight D Eisenson\nAUGUST 1945\nRESTRICTED\nAGPD 500/9-45/1076\n3"
}