Allied Looting in World War II: Thefts of Art, Manuscripts, Stamps and Jewelry in Europe

289 Pages·2011·3.08 MB·English

by  Kenneth D. Alford

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