It cannot be stated too emphatically that the policy of the American Military Government is to return all looted works of art to their owner nations with the greatest possible speed. Since the restitution in August of the famous van Eyck altarpiece, “The Mystic Lamb,” to Belgium, a steady stream of paintings, sculpture, fine furniture and other art objects has poured from the highly organized collecting points of the United States Zone to the liberated countries. Few, if any, looted works of art of any importance are of unknown origin; and though, among the vast masses of material taken from the Jews and other “enemies of the state” for what was always described as “safekeeping” there will undoubtedly be many pieces whose ownership will be difficult to determine, it appears unlikely that these will be found to be of great value.
The shipment of German-owned paintings to the United States is thus a project entirely separate from the main objectives of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of the Office of Military Government—namely, the restitution of loot and the re-establishment of the German museums and other cultural organizations. To confuse this shipment, which was directed by the highest national authority, with what is now the routine work of preservation, identification and restitution performed by trained specialist personnel is to mislead our Allies and to underrate the accomplishments of a small group of disinterested and hard-working Americans.
Thomas C. Howe Jr.
Lieut. Comdr., USNR, Deputy Chief; Director
on Leave, California Palace of the
Legion of Honor, San Francisco.
European Theatre, Dec. 18, 1945.
The main objectives of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of American Military Government in Germany were defined in my letter to the New York Times as “the restitution of loot and the re-establishment of the German museums and other cultural institutions.” Honorable and constructive objectives. And, as expressed in that letter, unequivocal and reassuring both to the liberated countries of Europe and to the Germans. Yet how difficult of attainment! How difficult even to keep those objectives clearly in mind when confronted simultaneously—as our officers often were—with a dozen problems of equal urgency!
At close range it was impossible to look objectively at the overall record of our accomplishments. But homeward bound in February I had that opportunity. The pieces of the puzzle began to fit together and the picture took shape. It was possible to determine to what extent we have realized our objectives.
So far as restitution is concerned, the record has been a success. During the summer months our energies were devoted to obvious preliminary preparations. They included the establishment of Central Collecting Points at Munich, Marburg and Wiesbaden. Immediately thereafter, the contents of art repositories in the American Zone were removed to those central depots. The Central Collecting Points, organized and directed by Monuments officers with museum experience, were staffed with trained personnel from German museums. The one at Munich was primarily reserved for looted art, since the majority of the cultural booty was found in Bavaria. The Collecting Points at Wiesbaden and Marburg, on the other hand, housed German-owned collections brought from repositories in which storage conditions were unsatisfactory.
The process of actual restitution was inaugurated by token restitutions in the name of General Eisenhower to Belgium, Holland, France and Czechoslovakia. Circumstances beyond our control postponed similar gestures of good will to Poland and Greece. Representatives of the liberated countries were invited to the American Zone to identify and remove the loot from the collecting points. According to late reports, the restitution of loot was continuing without interruption.
Shortly after my return, there were disquieting rumors of drastic reductions in American personnel connected with cultural restitution in Germany. I earnestly hope that these rumors are without foundation. Such reductions would be disastrous to the completion of a program which has reflected so creditably on our government.