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

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Allied Looting

in World War II

ALSO BY

KENNETH D. 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

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

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

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

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

soldiers 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

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.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Foreword by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick 1

Introduction 3

Part I

TEALING A TROVE OF STAMPS

1. The 273rd Infantry Regiment 7

2. The Looting of Anton Wiede 13

3. The Investigation 19

Part II

A P

ASSION 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

LUNDERING 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

Part IV

HE 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

IGNETTES 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

OOTING 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

viii Table of Contents

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

Table of Contents ix