On 6 February 1943, the command was given for the first evacuation of the city. The Special Purpose Staff had then through untiring effort brought out the most valuable prizes of the museum; on 9 February it was necessary for the last members of the office to leave the city, which already had been almost abandoned by German troops. It was impossible at that time to bring out all the material, because the transportation situation did not permit this. It was not really necessary for SS leader Jahnkuhn to point out that these objects were important and worthy of being brought to safety. On the other hand, however, one must also consider the transportation problems that arise at the time of the evacuation of a city. It is evident that at such a time military transports receive unqualified priority, that even the most valuable possessions of culture cannot take precedence over them. Yet the Special Purpose Staff was able to salvage the most important articles of the museum. The remainder was entrusted to the care of the former curator of the museum, Professor Rudenski. Of this balance, again the most valuable was walled up within the enclosures of a bomb-proof cellar. For several days Professor Rudenski succeeded in saving the building from being blown up as intended. Finally, however, on the evening of February 14, 1943, as related by Professor Rudenski, by an oversight of a command of the Waffen SS, a fire broke out in the building and it burned down to the ground. Yet, later on, a large portion of the valuables from the cellar was salvaged again. However, a Gothic sword was missing. Now, as alleged by Jankuhn, it turns out that this sword was preserved by a unit of the Waffen SS.

Captain of the SS J. could have easily learned of these facts, if he had taken the trouble to contact the competent labor group Ukraine of the Special Purpose Staff and not Prof. Hornung, who had been installed in an entirely different district and who knew nothing about the developments in Charkow. At least he would not have exposed himself to the charge that he frivolously and without closer examination of the circumstances had claimed "that the Special Purpose Staff had not done the least for the preservation of the things that were found." The contrary is true.

After the recapture of the city, the valuables were reclaimed from the wreckage and the museum was opened again to the public on July 19, 1943. Thus it was proved anew that the Special Purpose Staff had done everything in the way of securing possessions of great cultural value and preserving them in the interests of the German administration.

Unfortunately, the second loss of Charkow in August 1943 rendered the work of restoration null and void. On August 6 the working staff received an evacuation summons with the order to leave Charkow immediately and without delay. Conditions affecting transportation were the same as in spring. If, indeed, valuable military installations had to remain behind, it is clear that, above all, objects from a museum had to remain behind. If the SS command had trucks at its disposal and could use the transportation facilities without consideration of military needs for the objects of the museum, then this is certainly a matter of very great appreciation. On the other hand, however, it cannot be charged to the Special Purpose Staff that it did not possess adequate transportation facilities. Nevertheless, the co-workers of the working staff have done what they could in order to preserve the most important part of the picture collection. In two days, already under hostile action, a large portion of museum collections was examined for the purpose of qualifying for transportation and then the selected assortment of 300 pictures of Western-European masters and Ukrainian painters and twenty-five costly Ukrainian carpets was packed and shipped. As already at an earlier date the most important collections of the museum, dealing with prehistoric art, had been carried off, the special command Jankuhn could only preserve third and fourth grade pieces of which several could be found in Kiev and other places.

The Special Purpose Staff under these circumstances sees no occasion for making any reproaches against the Special Command Jankuhn. If one was able to have at one's disposal transportation facilities and manpower in a more liberal manner, then it was easy to carry off larger collections. That the Special Command J. had done this is gratefully acknowledged by the Special Purpose Command; since it is being taken for granted that the collection was saved for the owner, namely, the Reichminister of the occupied Eastern districts and that correspondingly it is handed over to the Special Purpose Staff as the deputy of civil affairs. The Special Purpose Staff asks for the necessary action.

The staff command cannot rid itself of the impression that the Captain in the SS Jankuhn submitted his report frivolously on the basis of one-sided information. If he had made inquiries at the proper places without doubt he would have arrived at a different conclusion. At this juncture it is necessary to take a firm stand for the protection of the co-workers of the Special Purpose Staff and to ward off strongly every attack of a bureau that does not clearly understand the conditions.

Moreover, it could have been expected that Captain in the SS J. would have used the opportunity to get acquainted with the bureaus of the Special Purpose Staff and effected some cooperation. With the cooperation of both certainly more material could have been salvaged than had been done regardless (of the handicaps).

signed: Utikal

SS "Ancestral Heritage"
Research Organization
Waischenfeld/Oberfranken, October 6, 1943
To the Chief of the SS Central Bureau
SS Leader Berger, Berlin
Dear SS Leader!