I read further from the text of this letter:
“There are 65 cases, the exact contents of which are enumerated on the attached list. As to the other 20 cases, 57 portfolios, and one roll of engravings, their inventory has not been taken to date. Among the pictures there are a great number of very ancient icons, works by famous masters of the German, Italian, and Dutch schools of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, as well as the works of the best Russian masters of the 18th and 19th centuries. On the whole, this property consists of extremely valuable works of art, which had been removed from public Ukrainian museums and whose value, even at a rough estimate, amounts to a sum of many millions. In addition, this is the sole collection of such international value on German territory. . . .”
I omit the last paragraph of this letter since it has no material bearing on the subject, and will continue by quoting an excerpt from Page 2 of Rosenberg’s letter, of which I have already read one quotation earlier in the day. You will, Your Honors, find it on Page 5 of the document book. I quote. Rosenberg wrote:
“In the process of these confiscations we have, of course, found also many other works of art. Among them there are some of great value and, in order to preserve them, the Chief of the High Command of the Army, at my request and in accordance with the Führer’s directives, ordered me to draw up a catalogue of these works of art and to keep them for the Führer.”
You have heard, Your Honors, of Hitler’s attitude towards the property of the people and the works of art in the countries seized by the Germans.
This episode is to be found in the Czechoslovakian Government report, presented to the Tribunal; excerpts from this report were read yesterday into the record. Therefore, I consider there is no necessity for reading it into the record once more. However, it is necessary to note that not only Hitler but Göring was an ardent adherent of this policy of “acquisitions.” You also heard, Your Honors, yesterday how Göring acquired valuable Gobelin tapestries in France. However, Göring did not acquire Gobelin tapestries only. He wrote in one of his letters to Rosenberg—I refer to Document Number 1985-PS, which I submit to the Tribunal as Exhibit Number USSR-373, and which is in your document book on Pages 156 to 158—Göring wrote that he “by means of purchases, presents, bequests, and barter owns perhaps the most important private collection, at least in Germany, if not in Europe.” The document presented is a copy of a typewritten letter and includes a series of corrections and notes in ink, evidently in Göring’s own hand. This copy was captured, together with Göring’s other correspondence, by units of the American Army, a fact which was confirmed and in due time presented to the Tribunal by our American colleagues.
This document, Your Honors, reveals, to a remarkable extent, the nature of the “acquisitions” effected by Göring and also confirms Ribbentrop’s part in the “preservation” of cultural treasures in the occupied territories. For this reason, I shall, with your permission, read a few extracts from this document.
I read the extract from the first page of this letter. I quote:
“After prolonged search”—wrote Göring to Rosenberg—“I was much gratified that an office was at last charged with the collection of these things although I want to point out that other departments are also claiming the authority of the Führer. First of these was the Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs, who, several months ago, sent a circular to all departments, in which he, inter alia, stated that he had received full authority for the preservation of cultural objects in occupied territories.”
I now read an extract from Page 2 of the letter, the last paragraph: