Presumably the shipment was gathered at sites in Europe where priceless stores of paintings and art objects stolen by the Nazis from the countries they overran were discovered when Allied forces broke through into Germany and the dominated countries.
The White House announced in Washington two months ago that shipments of art would be brought here for safekeeping, to be kept in “trust” for the rightful owners, and the National Gallery of Art, through its chairman, Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, was asked to provide storage and protection for the works while they are in this country. The gallery is equipped with controlled ventilation and expert personnel for the storage and handling of such works.
The White House announcement gave no listing of the paintings, but it is known that among the vast stores seized, including caches in Italy as well as Germany, and Hermann Goering’s famous $200,000,000 art collection, [were] included many of the world’s art treasures and works of the masters.
By coincidence, I received that same day a copy of the New York Times Overseas Weekly edition of December 9, which carried substantially the same story, except for the fact that it stated unequivocally that the paintings shipped to America were Nazi loot.
Edith and I were gravely disturbed by the inaccuracy of the statements in these articles. Our concern was increased by the fact that the articles had appeared in so reliable a publication as the Times. What could have happened to the official press release on the subject issued on the twenty-fourth of November when the James Parker was ready to sail?[5] And why all the mystery? I reread the December 7 clipping. To me there was the implication that we were shipping loot in wholesale lots to the United States. That would be alarming news to the countries whose stolen art works we were already returning as rapidly as possible.
The Times story most emphatically called for a correction. But if a statement from our office were sent through channels, it probably wouldn’t reach New York before Easter. Edith looked up from her work. There was a glint in her eye. She asked, “Will you do me a favor? I’d like to write the letter of correction.”
I told her to go ahead. Ten minutes later she showed me the rough draft. It covered all the points. I reworked a phrase here and there but made no important changes and, as soon as it was typed and cleared, I signed and mailed it. As published in the New York Times two weeks later, on January 2, 1946, the letter read as follows:
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
On Dec. 7 The Times printed a report to the effect that $80,000,000 worth of paintings, presumably from the stores of art objects stolen by the Nazis, had arrived from Europe in the Army transport James Parker. Your Overseas Weekly edition of Dec. 9 repeated this information but stated categorically that the paintings were Nazi loot.
It is true that the James Parker brought to America some 200 paintings of inestimable value, but none of them is loot or of dubious ownership. They are the property of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin. A press release from the Office of Military Government for Germany (U.S.), dated Nov. 24, states that these “priceless German-owned paintings, which might suffer irreparable damage if left in Germany through the winter, have been selected for temporary storage in the United States. These paintings have been gathered from various wartime repositories in the United States Zone of Germany and are being shipped to Washington to insure their safety and to hold them in trust for the people of Germany. The United States Government has promised their return to the German people.”