,,salt ,,mines ,,and ,,castles ,illustration3 ,the ,special ,evacuation ,team4 ,lieutenants ,kovalyak1 ,moore and ,howe1 who removed the ,gring ,collection from ,berchtesgaden to ,munich1 were photographed in the ,luftwaffe ,rest ,house at ,unterstein4 ,illustration3 ,hermann ,gring1 his daughter ,edda1 ,frau ,gring and ,adolf ,hitler4 ,this photograph was taken at ,karinhall1 the ,reichmarschall's estate near ,berlin4 ,salt ,mines ,,and ,castles ,the ,discovery and ,restitution of ,looted ,european ,art ,by ,,thomas ,,carr ,,howe1 ,,jr4 ,,the ,,bobbs-,,merrill ,,company ,,publishers ,,indianapolis ,,new ,,york ,,copyright1 #aidf1 ,,by ,,the ,,bobbs-,,merrill ,,company ,,printed ,,in ,,the ,,united ,,states ,,of ,,america ,first ,edition ,,to ,,my ,,mother ,,note ,from ,may #aide until ,february #aidf1 ,i served as a ,monuments1 ,fine ,arts and ,archives ,officer in ,germany4 ,during the first four months of this assignment1 ,i was engaged in field work which included the recovery of looted works of art from such out-of-the-way places as a monastery in ,czechoslovakia1 a salt mine in ,austria1 and a castle in ,bavaria4 ,later1 as ,deputy ,chief of the ,monuments1 ,fine ,arts and ,archives ,section1 ,office of ,military ,government1 ,u4 ,s4 ,zone1 ,i participated in the restitution of recovered art treasures to the countries of rightful ownership4 ,this book is primarily an account of my own experiences in connection with these absorbing tasks2 but ,i have also chronicled the activities of a number of my fellow officers1 hoping thereby to provide the reader with a more comprehensive estimate of the work as a whole than the resum of my own duties could have afforded4 ,for many helpful suggestions1 ,i am indebted to ,captain ,edith ,a4 ,standen1 ,lieutenant ,lamont ,moore and ,mr4 ,david ,bramble2 and for invaluable photographic material1 ,i am particularly grateful to ,captain ,stephen ,kovalyak1 ,captain ,p4 ,j4 ,kelleher1 ,captain ,edward ,e4 ,adams and ,lieutenant ,craig ,smyth1 ,,usnr4 ,for permission to reproduce three ,international ,news ,service photographs1 ,i wish to thank ,mr4 ,clarence ,lindner of the ,san ,francisco ,examiner4 ,,thomas ,,carr ,,howe1 ,,jr4 ,san ,francisco ,july #aidf4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page #a ,,paris--,,london--,,versailles #ac #b ,,assigned ,,to ,,frankfurt #ce #c ,,munich ,,and ,,the ,,beginning ,,of ,,field ,,work #ed #d ,,masterpieces ,,in ,a ,,monastery #hj #e ,,second ,,trip ,,to ,,hohenfurth #ajd #f ,,loot ,,underground3 ,,the ,,salt ,,mine ,,at ,,alt ,,aussee #acj #g ,,the ,,rothschild ,,jewels2 ,,the ,g,,ring ,,collection #aga #h ,,looters' ,,castle3 ,,schloss ,,neuschwanstein #bai #i ,,hidden ,,treasures ,,at ,n,,rnberg #bdc #aj ,,mission ,,to ,,amsterdam2 ,,the ,,wiesbaden ,,manifesto #bei ,,appendix #big ,,index #cba ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,the ,special ,evacuation ,team4 ,lieutenants ,kovalyak1 ,moore and ,howe ,frontispiece ,hermann ,gring1 his daughter1 ,frau ,gring and ,hitler ,frontispiece ,,facing ,,page ,the ,residenz at ,wrzburg #cj ,ruined ,frankfurt4 ,the ,cathedral #cj ,the ,central ,collecting ,point at ,munich #ca ,a typical storage room in the ,central ,collecting ,point #ca ,the bronze coffin of ,friedrich ,wilhelm of ,prussia #dj ,canova's life-size statue of ,napoleon's sister #dj ,the administration buildings at the ,alt ,aussee salt mine #da ,truck at the mine being loaded with paintings #da ,sieber and ,kern view ,michelangelo's ,madonna and ,child #ef ,the ,madonna being packed for return to ,bruges #ef ,the famous ,ghent altarpiece #eg ,sieber1 ,kern and ,eder examine the altarpiece #eg ,vermeer's ,portrait of the ,artist in ,his ,studio #fd ,one of the picture storage rooms at ,alt ,aussee #fd ,panel from the ,louvain altarpiece1 ,feast of the ,passover #fe ,the ,czernin ,vermeer #fe ,major ,anderson supervising removal of the ,gring ,collection #if ,one of the forty rooms in the ,rest ,house #if ,the ,,gi ,work ,party which assisted the ,evacuation ,team #ig ,truck loaded with sculpture from the ,gring ,collection #ig ,german altarpiece from the ,louvre ,museum #abh ,the panel1 ,mary ,magdalene1 by van ,scorel #abh ,wing of an ,italian ,renaissance altarpiece by del ,garbo #abi ,the ,magdalene1 by ,erhardt #abi ,mary ,magdalene1 by ,cranach #afj ,the ,mystic ,marriage of ,saint ,catherine by ,david #afj ,diana1 by ,boucher1 from the ,rothschild ,collection #afa ,atalanta and ,meleager1 by ,rubens #afa ,portrait of a ,young ,girl by ,chardin and ,young ,girl with ,chinese ,figure by ,fragonard #aib ,christ and the ,adulteress1 the fraudulent ,vermeer #aic ,portrait of the ,artist's ,sister by ,rembrandt #aic ,removal of treasures from ,neuschwanstein #bbd ,neuschwanstein--,ludwig ,,ii's fantastic castle #bbd ,packing looted furniture at ,neuschwanstein #bbe ,typical storage room in the castle #bbe ,the ,albrecht ,drer house--before and after the ,german collapse #bef ,the ,veit ,stoss altarpiece from the ,church of ,our ,lady at ,cracow #beg ,the ,hungarian ,crown ,jewels #bhh ,treasure ,room at the ,central ,collecting ,point1 ,wiesbaden #bhi ,the celebrated sculpture1 ,queen ,nefertete #bhi ,,salt ,,mines ,,and ,,castles 7#a7 ,,paris--,,london--,,versailles 8,your name's not on the passenger list10 said ,craig when ,i walked into the waiting room of the ,patuxent airport4 8,you'd better see what you can do about it40 ,it was a hot spring night and ,i had just flown down from ,washington1 expecting to board a transatlantic plane which was scheduled to take off at midnight4 8,there must be some mistake10 ,i said4 8,i checked on that just before ,i left ,washington40 ,craig went with me to the counter where ,i asked the pretty ,,wave on duty to look up my name4 ,it wasn't on her list4 8,let's see what they know about this at the main office10 she said with an encouraging smile as she dialed ,naval ,air ,transport in ,washington4 ,the next ten minutes were grim4 ,the officer at the other end of the line wanted to know with whom ,i had checked4 ,had it been someone in his office8 ,i didn't know4 ,all ,i knew was that ,i had to get on that plane4 ,i had important papers which had to be delivered to our ,paris office without delay4 ,was ,i a courier8 ,yes1 ,i was--well1 that is1 almost1 ,i faltered to the ,,wave ensign who had been transmitting my replies4 8,here1 you talk to him10 she said1 adding1 as she handed me the receiver1 8,i think he can fix it up40 ,after going through the same questions and getting the same answers a second time1 the officer in ,washington asked to speak to the yeoman who was supervising the loading of the plane4 ,he was called in and ,i waited on tenterhooks until ,i heard him say1 8,yes1 sir1 ,i can make room for the lieutenant and his gear40 ,turning the phone over to the ,,wave1 he asked with a reassuring grin1 8,feel better1 ,lieutenant80 ,i was so limp with relief that ,i scarcely noticed the tall spare man in civilian clothes who had just come up to the counter4 8,that's ,lindbergh10 said ,craig in a low voice4 8,do you suppose he's going over too80 ,half an hour later we trooped out across the faintly lighted field to the ,c-#ed which stood waiting4 ,lindbergh1 dressed now in the olive-drab uniform of a ,naval ,technician1 preceded us up the steps4 ,there were ten of us in all4 ,with the exception of three leather-cushioned chairs1 there were only bucket seats4 ,craig and ,i settled ourselves in two of these uninviting hollows and began fumbling clumsily with the seat belts4 ,seeing that we were having trouble1 ,lindbergh came over and with a friendly smile asked if he could give us a hand4 ,after deftly adjusting our belts1 he returned to one of the cushioned seats across the way4 ,doors slammed1 the engines began to roar and1 a few seconds later1 we were off4 ,we mounted swiftly into the star-filled sky and1 peering out1 watched the dark ,maryland hills drop away4 ,we dozed despite the discomfort of our bent-over positions and didn't come to again until the steward roused us several hours later with coffee and sandwiches4 ,afterward he brought out army cots and motioned to us to set them up if we wanted to stretch out4 ,as soon as we got the cots unfolded and the pegs set in place1 he turned out the lights4 ,craig was dead to the world in a few minutes but ,i couldn't get back to sleep4 ,to the accompaniment of the humming motors1 the events of the past weeks began to pass in review3 that quiet ,april afternoon at ,western ,sea ,frontier ,headquarters in ,san ,francisco when my overseas orders had come through--those orders ,i had been waiting for so long1 more than a year4 ,it was in ,march of #aidd that ,i first learned there was a chance of getting a ,european assignment1 to join the group of officers working with our armies in the 8protection and salvaging of artistic monuments in war areas40 ,that was the cumbersome way it was described4 ,the ,president had appointed a commission with a long name1 but it came to be known simply as the ,roberts ,commission4 ,justice ,roberts of the ,supreme ,court was the head of it4 ,it was the first time in history that a country had taken such precautions to safeguard cultural monuments lying in the paths of its invading armies4 ,it was the commission's job to recommend to the ,war ,department servicemen whose professional qualifications fitted them for this work4 ,i had been in the ,navy for two years4 ,before that ,i had been director of the ,california ,palace of the ,legion of ,honor1 one of ,san ,francisco's two municipal museums of the fine arts4 ,the commission had recommended me1 but it was up to me to obtain my own release4 ,i had been in luck on that score4 ,my commanding officer had agreed to let me go4 ,and more important1 my wife had too4 ,only ,francesca had wanted to know why ,americans should be meddling with ,europe's art treasures4 ,weren't there enough museum directors over there to take care of things8 ,of course there were in normal times4 ,but now they needed men in uniform--to go in with the armies4 ,and after all that planning nothing had happened1 until three weeks ago4 ,then everything had happened at once4 ,the orders directed me to report to ,,shaef for duty with the ,monuments1 ,fine ,arts and ,archives ,section1 ,g-#e1 and additional duty with the ,allied ,control ,council for ,germany4 ,the papers had been full of stories about ,german salt mines--the big one at ,merkers where our troops had found the ,nazi gold and the treasures from the ,berlin museums4 ,i was going to ,germany4 ,would ,i find anything like that8 ,i had flown to ,washington to receive last-minute instructions4 ,i was to make the trip across by air and was given an extra allowance of twenty-five pounds to enable me to take along a dozen ,baedekers and a quantity of photographic paper for distribution among our officers in the field4 ,i had been introduced to ,craig ,smyth while in the midst of these final preparations4 ,like me1 he was a naval lieutenant and his orders were identical with mine4 ,he was a grave young ,princetonian1 formerly on the staff of the ,national ,gallery of ,art in ,washington4 ,it was raining when we reached ,stevensville1 ,newfoundland1 early the next morning4 ,after an hour's stop we were on our way again4 ,shortly before noon we struck good weather and all day long sea and sky remained unvaryingly blue4 ,late in the afternoon we landed on the island of ,terceira in the ,azores4 ,we had set our watches ahead two hours at ,stevensville4 ,now we set them ahead again4 ,we took off promptly at seven4 ,this was the last lap of the journey--we'd be in ,paris in the morning4 ,presently our fellow passengers settled down for the night4 ,two of the cushioned chairs were empty1 so ,craig and ,i took possession4 ,they were more comfortable than the cots1 and as soon as the steward turned out the lights ,i dropped off to sleep4 ,it was still dark when ,i awoke hours later1 but there was enough light for me to distinguish two black masses of land rising from the sea4 ,on one1 the beacon of a lighthouse revolved with monotonous regularity4 ,we had just passed over two of the ,channel ,islands4 ,the dawn came rapidly and a pink light edged the eastern horizon4 ,it was not long before we sighted the coast of ,france4 ,we flew into rosy clouds and1 as they billowed about the plane1 we caught tantalizing glimpses of the shore line below4 ,the steward pointed out one promontory and told us it was ,brest4 ,soon we had a spectacular view of ,mont ,st4 ,michel and the long causeway over which ,i had driven years before on a sketching tour in ,normandy4 ,i wondered what had become of ,mre ,poulard and her wonderful omelettes and lobster4 ,some people said they had brought more visitors to ,mont ,st4 ,michel than the architecture4 ,very likely she was dead and the ,germans had probably disposed of her fabulous cuisine4 ,we had lost two more hours in the course of the night1 so it was only seven-thirty when we swooped down at ,orly field1 half an hour from ,paris4 ,it was a beautiful morning and the sun was so bright that it took us a few minutes to get accustomed to the glare4 ,as we walked over to the airport office1 we had our first glimpse of war damage at close range--bombed-out hangars and1 scattered about the field1 the wreckage of ,german planes4 ,but the airport was being repaired rapidly4 ,trim new offices had been built and additional barracks were nearing completion4 ,craig and ,i booked places on the afternoon plane for ,london and then climbed onto the bus waiting to take us into ,paris4 ,thanks to various delays in getting out of ,washington1 we had missed the ,paris celebration of ,,ve-,day by a margin of three days4 ,so we were about to see the wonderful old city at the beginning of a period of readjustment4 ,but a peaceful ,sunday morning is no time to judge any city--least of all ,paris4 ,everything looked the same4 ,the arcades along the right side of the ,rue de ,rivoli and the gardens at the left were empty1 as one would expect them to be4 ,we turned into the ,rue ,castiglione and came to a halt by the column in the ,place ,vendme4 ,after we had checked our bags at the ,,atc office1 we walked over to the ,red ,cross ,club on the ,place de la ,concorde4 ,we shaved1 washed and then had doughnuts and coffee in the canteen4 ,our next move was to call ,lieutenant ,colonel ,geoffrey ,webb1 the ,british officer who was head of the ,,mfa,a ,section at ,,shaef headquarters in ,versailles4 ,before the war1 ,colonel ,webb had been ,slade ,professor of ,art at ,cambridge4 ,i explained to him that ,smyth and ,i had arrived but that our orders directed us to report first to ,naval ,headquarters in ,london--,com,nav,eu--and that as soon as we had complied with them we would be back4 ,that was all right with the colonel4 ,he said that ,lieutenant ,kuhn1 ,,usnr1 his deputy1 was away on a three-day field trip and wouldn't be returning before the middle of the week4 ,and we were primarily ,charlie ,kuhn's problem4 ,with that formality out of the way1 we retrieved our luggage and wheedled the ,,atc into giving us transportation to the ,royal ,monceau1 the ,navy hotel out near the toile4 ,it was time to relax and luxuriate in the thought that it was ,may and that we were in ,paris--that climatic and geographic combination so long a favorite theme of song-writers4 ,i thought about this as we drove along the ,champs lyses4 ,the song writers had something1 all right--,paris in ,may was a wonderful sight4 ,but they had been mooning about a gala capital filled with carefree people1 and the ,paris of ,may #aide wasn't like that4 ,architecturally1 the city was as elegant as ever1 but the few people one saw along the streets looked anything but carefree4 ,and there were no taxis4 ,taxis have always seemed to me as much a part of ,paris as the buildings themselves4 ,in spite of a superficial sameness1 ,paris had an air of empty magnificence that made one think of a beautiful woman struck dumb by shock4 ,i wondered if my thoughts were running away with me1 but found that ,craig's impressions were much the same4 ,these musings were cut short by our arrival at the hotel4 ,the ,navy had done all right for itself4 ,the same efficient ,french staff that had presided over this de luxe establishment in prewar days was still in charge4 ,i left the ,baedekers and photographic paper for ,charlie ,kuhn1 and then ,craig and ,i walked to ,naval ,headquarters in the ,rue ,presbourg4 ,there we attended to routine matters in connection with our orders4 ,it was almost noon by the time we got squared away1 so we retraced our steps to the ,monceau4 ,lunch there was a demonstration of what a ,french chef could do with ,,gi food4 ,midafternoon found us headed back to ,orly in a ,navy jeep4 ,our plane was scheduled to leave at four4 ,this was no bucket-seat job1 but a luxurious ,c-#dg equipped with chairs of the ,pullman-car variety1 complete with antimacassars4 ,we landed at ,bovingdon less than two hours later and from there took a bus up to ,london4 ,naval ,headquarters was in ,grosvenor ,square4 ,with the ,american ,embassy on one side of it1 the ,navy on another1 and the park in the center used by the ,navy motor pool1 the dignified old square was pretty thoroughly ,americanized4 ,london was still crowded with our armed forces4 ,the hotels were full1 so we were assigned to lodgings in ,wimpole ,street4 ,these were on the third floor of a pleasant1 eighteenth century house1 within a stone's throw of ,no4 #ej1 where ,elizabeth ,barrett had been wooed and won by ,robert ,browning4 ,an inspection of our quarters revealed that the plumbing was of the ,barrett-,browning period2 but the place was clean and1 anyway1 it wasn't likely that we'd be spending much time there4 ,it had been a long day and we were too tired to think of anything beyond getting a bite to eat and hitting the sack4 ,for our two days in ,london we had 8,queen's weather0--brilliant sunshine and cloudless skies4 ,our first port of call early the next morning was the ,medical ,office1 where we were given various inoculations4 ,from there ,craig and ,i went across the square to the ,american ,embassy for a long session with ,sumner ,crosby1 at that time acting as the liaison between the ,roberts ,commission and its ,british counterpart1 the ,macmillan ,committee4 ,sumner provided us with a great deal of useful information4 ,the latest reports from ,germany indicated that caches of looted art were being uncovered from day to day4 ,the number of these hiding places ran into the hundreds4 ,the value of their contents was1 of course1 incalculable4 ,only a fraction of the finds had as yet been released to the press4 ,craig and ,i began licking our chops at the prospect of what lay ahead4 ,had we made a mistake in planning to stay two days in ,london8 ,perhaps we could get a plane back to ,paris that evening4 ,sumner thought not4 ,there were several things for us to do on the spot1 things that would be of use to us in our future activities4 ,one was to call on ,colonel ,sir ,leonard ,woolley1 the ,british archaeologist who1 with his wife1 was doing important work for the ,macmillan ,committee4 ,another was to see ,jim ,plaut1 a naval lieutenant at the ,london office of ,,oss4 ,he would probably have valuable information about ,german museum personnel4 ,it would be helpful to know the whereabouts of certain ,german scholars1 specifically those whose records were1 from our point of view1 8clean40 ,sumner made several appointments for us and then hurried off to keep one of his own4 ,craig and ,i stayed on at the office to study the reports4 ,sumner had already given us the glittering highlights4 ,by noon our heads were filled with facts and figures that made ,e4 ,phillips ,oppenheim seem positively unimaginative4 ,and ,the ,arabian ,nights--that was just old stuff4 ,it was late afternoon when we finished calling on the various people ,sumner had advised us to see1 but plenty of time remained to do a little sightseeing before dinner4 ,the cabbie took us past ,buckingham ,palace1 along the ,embankment1 ,birdcage ,walk1 the ,abbey1 the ,houses of ,parliament and finally to ,st4 ,paul's4 ,what we saw was enough to give a cruel picture of the damage the ,germans had inflicted on the fine old monuments of ,london4 ,craig and ,i flew back to ,orly the following evening1 arriving too late to obtain transportation into ,paris4 ,we spent an uncomfortable night in the barracks at the airport and drove to the ,royal ,monceau early the next morning4 ,it was stiflingly hot and ,i was in a bad humor in spite of the soothing effect of a short haircut--the kind ,francesca said needed a couple of saber scars to make it look right4 ,my spirits fell still lower when ,craig and ,i were told that we could stay only two nights at the hotel4 ,since we were assigned to ,,shaef1 it was up to the ,army to billet us4 ,it seemed rather unfriendly of the ,navy1 but that's the way it was and there wasn't anything we could do about it4 ,after lunch we set out for ,versailles in a ,navy jeep4 ,it was a glorious day despite the heat1 and the lovely drive through the ,bois and on past ,longchamps made us forget our irritation at the ,navy's lack of hospitality4 ,the office of the ,monuments1 ,fine ,arts and ,archives ,section was in two tiny 8between-floor0 rooms in the ,grandes curies--the big stables which1 together with their matching twin1 the ,petites curies1 face the main palace4 ,when we arrived ,colonel ,webb was deep in conference with a lady war correspondent4 ,the tall1 rangy colonel1 who reminded me of a humorous and grizzled giraffe1 came out to welcome ,craig and me4 ,his cordiality was overwhelming at first1 but we soon learned the reason4 ,miss ,bonney1 the correspondent1 was giving the colonel a bad time and he needed moral support4 ,she was firing a rapid barrage of searching questions1 and in some cases the colonel didn't want to answer4 ,i was fascinated by his technique4 ,he obviously didn't wish to offend his inquisitor1 but on the other hand he wasn't going to be pressed for an expression of opinion on certain subjects4 ,at times he would parry her query with one of his own4 ,at others he would snort some vague reply which got lost in a hearty laugh4 ,before the interview was over1 it was ,miss ,bonney who was answering the questions--often her own--not the colonel4 ,neither ,craig nor ,i could make much of what we heard1 but after ,miss ,bonney's departure the colonel took us into his confidence4 ,somewhere this indomitable lady had got hold of stray bits of information which1 properly pieced together1 made one of the most absorbing stories of the war1 as far as ,nazi looting of art treasures was concerned4 ,the time was not yet ripe to break the story1 according to the colonel1 so it had been up to him to avoid giving answers which would have filled in the missing pieces of the puzzle4 ,then the colonel proceeded to tell us about the ,einsatzstab ,rosenberg1 the infamous 8task force0--to translate the word literally--organized under the direction of ,alfred ,rosenberg1 the 8ideological and spiritual leader0 of the ,reich1 for the methodical plundering of the great ,jewish collections and the accumulated artistic wealth of other recognized 8enemies of the state40 ,rosenberg was officially responsible for cultural treasures confiscated in the occupied countries4 ,he had virtually unlimited resources at his command4 ,in the fall of #aidj1 not long after his appointment1 ,rosenberg received a congratulatory letter from ,gring in which the ,reichsmarschall promised to support energetically the work of his staff and to place at its disposal 8means of transportation and guard personnel10 and specifically assured him the 8utmost assistance0 of the ,luftwaffe4 ,even before the war1 ,german agents had accumulated exhaustive information concerning collections which were later to be confiscated4 ,the whereabouts of every object of artistic importance was known4 ,paintings1 sculpture1 tapestries1 furniture1 porcelain1 enamels1 jewels1 gold and silver--all were a matter of record4 ,when the ,nazis occupied ,paris1 the ,rosenberg ,task ,force was able to go into operation with clocklike precision4 ,and so accurate was their information that in many instances they even knew the hiding places in which their more foresighted victims had concealed their valuables4 ,the headquarters of the ,e4,r4,r4#a had been set up in the ,muse du ,jeu de ,paume1 the little museum in the corner of the ,tuileries ,gardens overlooking the ,place de la ,concorde4 ,the large staff was composed mainly of ,germans1 but some of the members were ,french4 ,looted treasures poured into the building1 to be checked1 labeled and shipped off to ,germany4 ,but it was more than a clearing house4 ,the choicest things were placed on exhibition and to these displays the top-flight ,nazis were invited--to select whatever caught their fancy4 ,hitler had first choice1 ,gring second4 ,it did not occur to the members of the ,e4,r4,r4 staff that their every move was watched4 ,a courageous ,frenchwoman named ,rose ,valland had ingratiated herself with the 8right people0 and had become a trusted member of the staff4 ,during the months she worked at the museum1 she had two main objectives4 ,one was to sabotage the daily work as much as possible by making intentionally stupid mistakes and by encouraging the ,french laborers1 engaged by the ,germans1 to do likewise4 ,the other1 and far and away the more important1 was the compilation of a file1 complete with biographical data and photographs1 of the ,german personnel at the ,jeu de ,paume4 ,how she ever accomplished this is a mystery4 ,the colonel said that ,mlle4 ,valland1 now a captain in the ,french ,army1 was working with the official ,french committee for ,fine ,arts4 ,she had already provided our ,versailles office with a copy of her ,e4,r4,r4 file4 ,later in the summer ,i met ,captain ,valland1 a robust woman with gray hair and the most penetrating brown eyes ,i have ever seen4 ,i asked her how she had ever had the courage to do what she had done4 ,she said with a laugh1 8,i could never do it again4 ,the ,gestapo followed me home every night40 ,after regaling us with this account of the ,e4,r4,r41 ,colonel ,webb whetted our appetites still further with an outline of what his deputy1 ,charlie ,kuhn1 was up to4 ,as the result of a 8signal10 he had taken off by plane for ,germany1 and at the moment was either in the eastern part of ,bavaria or over the ,austrian border1 trying to trace two truckloads of paintings and tapestries which two high-ranking ,nazis had spirited away from the ,laufen salt mine at the eleventh hour4 ,latest information indicated that the finest things from the ,vienna ,museum had been stored at ,laufen1 which was in the mountains east of ,salzburg2 and it was further believed that the 8top cream0 of the stuff--the ,breughels1 ,titians and ,velsquezes--was in those two trucks4 ,these pictures were world-famous and consequently not marketable1 so there was the appalling possibility that the highjackers had carried them off with the idea of destroying them--,hitler's mad ,gtterdmmerung idea4 ,there was also the possibility that they intended to hold the pictures as a bribe against their own safety4 ,back at the hotel that night1 ,craig and ,i reviewed the events of the day4 ,what we had learned from ,colonel ,webb was only an affirmation of the exciting things we had gleaned from the reports in the ,london office4 ,we were desperately anxious to get into ,germany where we could be a part of all these unbelievable adventures instead of hearing about them secondhand4 ,strict censorship was still in force1 so we weren't able to share our exuberance with our respective families in letters home4 ,but we could at least exult together over the fantastic future shaping up before us4 ,we found ,charlie ,kuhn at the office the next morning4 ,he was a tall quiet fellow with a keen sense of humor1 whom ,i had first known when we had been fellow students at ,harvard back in the twenties4 ,during the intervening years we had met only at infrequent intervals4 ,he had remained to teach and had become an outstanding member of the ,fine ,arts faculty in ,cambridge1 while ,i had gone to a museum4 ,his special field of scholarship was ,german painting and it was this attribute which had led the ,roberts ,commission to nominate him for his present assignment as ,deputy ,chief of the ,,mfa,a ,section4 ,he had already been in the ,navy for two years when this billet was offered him4 ,notwithstanding his obvious qualifications for his present job1 he had so distinguished himself in the earlier work upon which he had been engaged--special interrogation of ,german prisoners--that it had required ,white ,house intervention to 8liberate0 him for his new duties4 ,no closeted scholar1 ,charlie chafed under the irritations of administrative and personnel problems which occupied most of his time4 ,that morning at ,versailles he was fresh from his adventures in the field1 and we buttonholed him for a firsthand account4 ,yes1 the trucks had been located4 ,they had been abandoned by the roadside1 but everything had been found intact4 ,the reports had not been exaggerated3 the trucks had contained some of the finest of the ,vienna pictures and also some of the best tapestries4 ,they were now in a warehouse at ,salzburg and would probably remain there until they could be returned to ,vienna4 ,as to their condition1 the pictures were all right2 the tapestries had mildewed a bit1 but the damage wasn't serious4 ,it was hard to settle down to the humdrum of office routine after his recital of these adventures4 ,charlie said he wanted to ship us off to ,germany as soon as possible because there was so much to be done and so few officers were available4 ,it turned out that we weren't destined for nearly so swift an invasion of ,germany as we had hoped4 ,later that afternoon ,charlie received a letter from the ,medical ,officer at ,naval ,headquarters in ,paris informing him that ,lieutenants ,howe and ,smyth had not completed their course of typhus shots1 and that he would not recommend their being sent into ,germany until thirty days after the second and final shot4 ,charlie wanted to know what this was all about1 and we had to admit that we had not been given typhus injections before leaving the ,states1 and had only received the first one in ,london4 ,after deliberating about it most of the following morning1 ,colonel ,webb and ,charlie decided that1 if we were willing to take the chance1 they'd cut the waiting period to ten days4 ,we were only too willing4 ,craig and ,i made good use of the waiting period4 ,we were put to work on the reports submitted at regular intervals by our officers in the field4 ,these reports contained information concerning art repositories4 ,it was our job to keep the card file on them up to date2 to make a card for each new one2 to sort out and place in a separate file those which had become obsolete2 to check duplications4 ,each card bore the name of the place1 a brief description of the contents1 and a map reference consisting of two co-ordinates4 ,in ,germany there was much duplication in the names of small towns and villages1 so these map references were of great importance4 ,there was also a file on outstanding works of art which were known to have been carried off by the ,germans or hidden away for safekeeping1 but the whereabouts of which were as yet unknown--such things1 for example1 as the crown jewels of the ,holy ,roman ,empire1 the ,michelangelo ,madonna and ,child from ,bruges1 the ,ghent altarpiece1 the treasure from the ,cathedral of ,metz1 the stained glass from ,strasbourg ,cathedral1 and the ,veit ,stoss altarpiece4 ,the list read like an ,almanach de ,gotha of the art world4 ,so far as our creature comforts were concerned1 they suffered a great decline when we moved out to ,versailles4 ,our lodging there was a barren1 four-story house at ,no4 #a ,rue ,berthier4 ,craig had a room on the ground floor1 while ,i shared one under the eaves with ,charlie ,kuhn4 ,judging from the signs still tacked up in various parts of the house1 it had been used as a ,german billet during the occupation2 and judging by its meager comforts1 only the humblest ranks had been quartered there4 ,no spruce ,prussian would have put up with such austerity4 ,a couple of ,british soldiers also were living there4 ,they were batmen for two officers quartered in a near-by hotel and1 for a hundred francs a week1 they agreed to do for us as well4 ,they brought us hot water in the morning1 polished our shoes each day and pressed our uniforms4 ,outwardly our life was rather magnificent1 for we usually had our meals at the ,trianon ,palace ,hotel just inside the park grounds4 ,it was a pleasant walk from the ,rue ,berthier1 and an even pleasanter one from the office1 involving a short cut behind the main palace and across the lovely gardens4 ,on the whole the gardens had been well kept up and a stroll about the terraces or through the long alles was something to look forward to when the weather was fine4 ,craig and ,i got into the habit of retiring to a quiet corner of the gardens after work with our ,german books4 ,there we would quiz each other for an hour or two a day4 ,we made occasional trips into ,paris but1 more often than not1 we followed a routine in which the bright lights--what few there were--played little part4 ,at the end of our ten-day 8incubation0 period1 ,charlie gave us our instructions4 ,we were to go to ,frankfurt by air and from there to ,bad ,homburg by car4 ,at ,bad ,homburg we were to report to ,,ecad headquarters1 that is1 the ,european ,civil ,affairs ,division1 where we would be issued further orders4 ,as members of a pool of officers attached to ,,ecad1 we could be shifted about from one part of ,germany to another4 ,charlie told us that he and ,colonel ,webb would be moving to ,frankfurt in a few days as ,,shaef ,headquarters was soon to be set up there4 ,the ,,mfa,a office would continue to function with a joint ,british and ,american staff until the dissolution of ,,shaef later in the summer4 ,but that would not take place1 he said1 until the four zones of occupation had been established4 ,we left for the airport at six-thirty in the morning4 ,our ,french driver asked us which airport we wanted4 ,craig and ,i looked at each other in surprise4 ,what field was there besides ,orly8 ,the answer was ,villacoublay4 ,we had never heard of it1 so we said ,orly4 ,we couldn't have been more wrong4 ,when we finally reached ,villacoublay we found great confusion4 ,we couldn't even find out whether our plane had taken off4 ,after making three attempts to get a coherent answer from the second lieutenant who appeared to be quietly going mad behind the information counter1 ,i gave up4 8,this is where you take over1 ,craig10 ,i said4 ,i had suddenly developed an evil headache and had lost all interest in going any place4 ,i walked over to my luggage1 which ,i had dumped in front of the building1 and plunked myself down on top of it1 put on dark glasses and went to sleep4 ,an hour later1 ,craig shook me4 8,come on10 he said4 8,i've found a ,b-#ag that's going to ,frankfurt40 ,we piled our gear onto a truck and rumbled out over the bumpy field for a distance of half a mile4 ,one of the ,b-#ag's crew was sitting unconcernedly in the grass4 8,we'd like to go to ,frankfurt10 said ,craig4 8,okay10 he said1 8we'll be going along pretty soon40 ,he was disconcertingly casual4 ,but the trip wasn't4 ,we ran into heavy fog and got lost1 so it took us nearly three hours to make the run which shouldn't have taken more than two4 ,we finally landed in a green meadow near ,hanau4 ,craig said he'd look for transportation if ,i'd stand guard over our luggage4 ,it was an agreeable assignment4 ,the day was warm1 the meadow soft and inviting4 ,i took out my ,german book and a chocolate bar1 curled up in the grass and hoped he'd be gone a long time4 ,craig came back an hour and a half later with a jeep4 ,we were about twenty miles outside ,frankfurt4 ,on the way in the driver said that the city had been eighty percent destroyed4 ,he hadn't exaggerated4 ,as we turned into the ,mainzer ,landstrasse1 we saw nothing but gutted buildings on either side4 ,we continued up the ,taunus ,anlage and ,i recognized the ,opera ,house ahead4 ,at first ,i thought it was undamaged4 ,then ,i saw that the roof was gone1 and only the outer walls remained4 ,most of the buildings were like that4 ,this was just the shell of a city4 ,our first stop was ,,shaef headquarters1 newly established in the vast ,i4 ,g4 ,farben building which1 either by accident or design1 was completely undamaged4 ,there we got another car to take us to ,bad ,homburg4 ,the little resort town where the fashionable world of ,edward ,,vii's day had gone to drink the waters and enjoy the mineral baths consisted mostly of hotels4 ,some of them were occupied by our troops4 ,others were being used as hospitals for wounded ,german soldiers4 ,the big ,kurhaus had received a direct hit1 but the rest of the buildings appeared to be undamaged4 ,at ,,ecad headquarters we were assigned a billet in the ,grand ,hotel ,parc4 ,that sounded pretty snappy to us--another ,royal ,monceau1 maybe4 ,the billeting officer must have guessed our thoughts1 because he shook his head glumly and said1 8',tain't anything special4 ,don't get your hopes up40 ,it was nice of him to have prepared us for the rat hole which was the ,grand ,hotel ,parc4 ,this shabby structure1 built around three sides of a narrow courtyard1 had an air of vanished refinement about it1 but it could hardly have rated a star in ,baedeker4 ,yet it must have had a certain cachet fifty years ago1 for in the entrance hallway hung a white marble plaque4 ,its dim gold letters told us that ,bismarck's widow had spent her declining years 8in peaceful happiness beneath this hospitable roof40 ,our room was on the fourth floor4 ,the stairs1 reminiscent of a lighthouse1 might have been designed for a mountain goat4 ,we thought we had struck the ultimate in drabness at the ,rue ,berthier1 but this was worse4 ,the room itself was worthy of its approach4 ,when ,i opened the big wardrobe ,i half expected a body to fall out4 ,two sofas masquerading as beds occupied corners by the window4 ,the window gave onto the dingy courtyard4 ,we silently made up our beds with ,army blankets and sprinkled them lavishly with ,,ddt powder4 8,do you suppose there's such a thing as a bathroom80 ,craig asked4 8,i'd sooner expect to find one in an igloo10 ,i said4 8,maybe there's a pump or a trough somewhere out in back4 ,why don't you go and see80 ,illustration3 ,the ,residenz at ,wrzburg4 ,the palace of the ,prince-,bishops was gutted by fire in ,march #aide4 ,the magnificent ceiling by ,tiepolo miraculously escaped serious damage4 ,illustration3 ,ruined ,frankfurt4 ,in the center1 the cathedral4 ,only the tower and the walls of the nave remain standing4 ,international ,news ,photo ,illustration3 ,the ,central ,collecting ,point at ,munich1 formerly the ,administration ,building of the ,nazi ,party4 ,the director of the ,central ,collecting ,point was ,lieutenant ,craig ,smyth1 ,,usnr4 ,illustration3 ,a typical storage room in the ,central ,collecting ,point at ,munich4 ,the racks for pictures were built by civilian carpenters under the direction of ,american ,monuments officers4 ,when he returned fifteen minutes later he was in high spirits4 8,there's a bathroom all right and it's got hot water10 he said1 8but you have to be a combination of ,theseus and ,daniel ,boone to find it4 ,come along1 ,i'll show you the way40 ,it was clever of him to find it a second time4 ,i took a piece of red crayon with me and marked little arrows on the walls to show which turns to make4 ,they were a timesaver to us during the next couple days4 ,after breakfast the next morning1 we telephoned #abth ,army ,group ,headquarters in ,wiesbaden and talked with ,lieutenant ,george ,stout1 ,,usnr1 who1 with ,captain ,bancel ,la ,farge1 was in charge of the advance office of ,,mfa,a in ,germany4 ,stout suggested that we come on over4 ,it was a pleasant drive along the ,autobahn1 with the blue ,taunus mountains in the distance4 ,parts of ,wiesbaden had been badly mauled1 but the destruction was negligible compared with ,frankfurt4 ,although many buildings along the main streets had been hit1 the colonnaded ,kurhaus1 now a ,red ,cross ,club1 was intact4 ,so was the ,opera ,house4 ,we found ,george on the top floor of a dingy building in the center of the town4 ,i hadn't seen him for fifteen years but he hadn't changed4 ,his face was a healthy brown1 his eyes were as keen and his teeth as dazzlingly white as ever4 ,george was in his middle forties4 ,his oldest boy was in the ,navy but ,george didn't look a day over thirty4 ,the ,roberts ,commission had played in luck when they had got him4 ,of course he was an obvious choice--tops in his field1 the technical care and preservation of pictures4 ,he was known and respected throughout the world for his brilliant research work at ,harvard1 where he presided over the laboratory of the ,fogg ,museum4 8,bancel's got jobs lined up for you fellows1 but ,i think he'd like to tell you about them himself10 ,george said4 8,he ought to be back tonight40 8,can't you tell us in a general way what they are80 ,i asked4 8,i think one of them is going to be in ,frankfurt and the other will probably be in ,munich4 ,you see1 all the stuff from the ,merkers mine is in the vaults of the ,reichsbank at ,frankfurt and it ought to be moved to a place where it can be permanently stored40 ,the 8stuff0 he referred to was the enormous collection of paintings and sculpture--comprising the principal treasures of the ,berlin museums--which ,george himself had brought out of the ,merkers mine in ,thuringia4 ,he had carried out the operation virtually singlehanded and in the face of extraordinary difficulties just before the end of hostilities4 8,as for ,munich10 he continued1 8repositories are springing up like mushrooms all through ,bavaria4 ,most of it is loot and we're going to have to set up some kind of depot where we can put the things until they can be returned to the countries from which the ,nazis stole them40 8,what are your plans80 ,i asked4 8,well1 if the trucks show up10 he said1 8,i want to get started for ,siegen this afternoon4 ,that's in ,westphalia4 ,it's another mine--copper1 not salt--and it's full of things from the ,rhineland museums4 ,i've got to take them up to ,marburg4 ,we have two good depots there40 ,we lunched with ,george and then returned to ,bad ,homburg4 ,there wasn't anything for us to do but wait around until we heard from ,captain ,la ,farge4 ,to fill in the time we took our ,german books and spent the afternoon studying in the ,kurpark4 ,the telephone was ringing in the entrance lobby as we walked in at five4 ,it was ,captain ,la ,farge4 ,he had just returned and wanted to see us at once4 ,i said ,i didn't know whether we could get transportation4 ,he chuckled and said1 8,tell them a general wants to see you40 ,craig and ,i dashed over to the ,transportation ,office and tried it out4 ,it worked4 ,so1 for the second time that day1 we found ourselves on the road to ,wiesbaden4 ,captain ,la ,farge was waiting for us in the office where we had seen ,george that morning4 ,he was a tall1 slender man in his early forties4 ,with a high-domed head and a long1 rather narrow face1 he was the classic ,new ,englander4 ,his eyes were hazel and1 at that first meeting1 very weary4 ,but he had one of the most ingratiating smiles and one of the most pleasant voices ,i had ever heard4 ,he reminded me of an early ,copley portrait4 ,without much preamble he launched into a detailed explanation of the plans he had for us4 8,i want you to take over the ,frankfurt job10 he said to me1 8and ,i am sending you down to ,munich1 ,smyth4 ,as ,george probably told you1 we've got to set up two big depots4 ,the one in ,frankfurt will be mainly for ,german-owned art which is now coming in from repositories all over this part of ,germany4 ,the one in ,munich will be chiefly for loot1 though there will be ,german-owned things down in ,bavaria too4 ,both jobs are equally interesting1 equally important and1 above all1 equally urgent40 ,we were to get started without delay4 ,craig would be attached to the ,regional ,military ,government office in ,munich1 ,i to the ,military ,government ,detachment in ,frankfurt4 ,captain ,la ,farge suggested that ,i investigate the possibility of requisitioning the university buildings for a depot1 and advised ,craig to consider one of the large ,nazi party buildings in ,munich which he had been told was available4 ,on the way home that night ,craig and ,i compared notes on our new assignments4 ,i was frankly envious of ,craig1 not only because there was something alluring about all that loot1 but because ,i loved ,munich and the picturesque country around it4 ,in turn1 ,craig thought ,i had drawn a fascinating job--one that involved handling the wonderful riches of ,berlin's 8,kaiser ,friedrich10 admittedly one of the world's greatest museums4 ,the following morning we parted on the steps of the ,grand ,parc ,hotel4 ,craig took off first1 in a jeep with trailer attached1 a crusty major for his companion4 ,half an hour later a jeep appeared for me4 ,on the way over to ,frankfurt ,i thought about the experiences of the past three weeks4 ,it had been fun sharing them with ,craig and ,i wished that we might have continued this odyssey together4 ,i didn't realize how soon our paths were to cross again4 7#b7 ,,assigned ,,to ,,frankfurt ,the ,military ,government ,detachment had its headquarters in a gray stone building behind the ,opera ,house4 ,it was one of the few in the city that had suffered relatively little damage4 ,i reported to the ,executive ,officer1 a white-haired major named ,james ,franklin4 ,after ,i had explained the nature of the work ,i was expected to do1 he took me around to the office of ,lieutenant ,julius ,buchman1 the ,education and ,religious ,affairs ,officer1 who had also the local ,,mfa,a problems as part of his duties4 ,buchman couldn't have been more pleasant1 and said he'd do everything he could to help4 ,there was an air of quiet good humor about him that ,i liked at once4 ,i learned that he was an architect by profession and had studied at the ,bauhaus in ,dessau before the war4 ,he spoke fluent ,german4 ,i told him that first of all ,i'd like to get settled1 so he guided me to ,captain ,wyman ,ooley1 the ,billeting ,officer4 ,ooley was a happy-go-lucky fellow1 the only ,billeting ,officer ,i ever met who was always cheerful4 ,he had been a schoolteacher in ,arkansas4 ,together we drove out to the residential section where a group of houses had been set aside for the ,military ,government officers4 ,this part of the city had not been heavily bombed and each one of the houses had a pretty garden4 8,i'll tell you1 ,i've got a real nice room in that house over there10 he said1 pointing to a gray stucco house partly screened by a row of trees4 8,but it's for lieutenant colonels4 ,it's empty right now1 but ,i might have to throw you out later40 ,thinking that lieutenant colonels would be very likely to have ideas about good plumbing1 ,i quickly said ,i'd take the chance4 ,the front door was locked4 ,ooley called1 8,lucienne60 ,one of the upper windows was instantly flung open and a woman1 dust-cloth in hand1 leaned out1 waved and disappeared4 ,a moment later she reappeared at the front door4 ,lucienne1 all smiles1 was as ,french as the tricolor4 ,ooley explained in pidgin ,french1 with gestures1 that ,i was to have a room on the second floor1 wished me luck and departed4 ,lucienne bustled up to the second floor chattering away at a great rate1 expressing surprise and delight that ,i was 8officier de la ,marine0 and also taking considerable satisfaction in having recognized my branch of the service4 ,she threw open a door and then dashed off to the floor above1 still chattering and gesticulating4 ,i was left alone to contemplate the splendor before me--an enormous1 airy bedroom looking out on a garden filled with scarlet roses4 ,this couldn't be true4 ,even lieutenant colonels didn't deserve this4 ,the room had cream-colored walls1 paneled and decorated with chinoiserie designs4 ,a large chest of drawers and a low table were decorated in the same manner4 ,in one corner was an inviting chaise longue1 covered in rose brocade4 ,along the end wall stood the bed--complete with sheets and a pillow4 ,the built-in wardrobe had full-length mirrors which reflected the tall ,french windows and the garden beyond4 ,as ,i stood there trying to take it all in1 ,lucienne appeared again4 ,with her was a dapper little fellow whom she introduced as her husband1 ,ren4 ,he acknowledged the introduction and then solemnly introduced ,lucienne4 ,after this bit of mock formality1 he explained that he and ,lucienne had charge of all the houses in the block4 ,if anything was not to my liking ,i was to let them know and it would be righted at once4 ,further conversation revealed that the two of them had been deported from ,paris early in #aida and been obliged to remain in ,frankfurt1 working for the ,germans1 ever since4 ,all through the bombings1 ,i asked8 ,but of course1 and they had been too terrible4 ,during one of the worst raids they had been imprisoned in the bomb shelter4 ,the falling stones had blocked the exit4 ,they had had to remain under the ground for forty-eight hours4 ,they had been made deaf by the noise1 yes1 for two months4 ,and the concussion had made them bleed from the nose and the ears4 ,i asked if they expected to go back to ,paris4 ,yes1 of course1 but they were in no hurry4 ,it was very nice in ,germany1 now that the ,americans were there4 ,with that they left me to unpack and get settled4 ,when ,i had finished1 ,i decided to explore a bit4 ,there were two other bedrooms on the second floor4 ,neat labels on the doors indicated that they were occupied by lieutenant colonels4 ,there were two other doors at the end of the hall4 ,neither one was labeled1 so ,i peered in4 ,they were the bathrooms4 ,and what bathrooms6 ,marble floors1 tiled walls1 double washbasins and built-in tubs4 ,although it was only the middle of the morning1 ,i had to sample one of those magnificent tubs4 ,and as a kind of tribute to all this elegance1 ,i felt constrained to discard my khakis and put on blues4 ,captain ,la ,farge had stressed the urgency of setting up an art depot1 so the next ten days were given over to that project4 ,buchman generously shelved his own work to help me with it4 ,together we inspected the ,university of ,frankfurt4 ,the newest of the ,german universities1 it had opened its doors at the outbreak of the first ,world ,war4 ,the main administration building1 an imposing structure of red sandstone1 had been badly damaged by incendiaries but could be repaired4 ,it would be a big job1 but we could worry about that later4 ,the first step was to have it allocated for our use4 ,that had to be done through the proper ,army 8channels40 ,buchman steered me through4 ,then we had to obtain an estimate of the repairs4 ,it took three days to get one from the university architect4 ,it was thorough but impractical and had to be completely revised4 ,we took the revised estimate to the ,army ,engineers and asked them to make an inspection of the building and check the architect's figures4 ,they were swamped with work4 ,it would be a week before they could do anything4 ,i said it was a high priority job1 hoping to speed things along4 ,but the ,engineers had heard that one before4 ,we'd have to be patient4 ,charlie ,kuhn and ,colonel ,webb had moved up to ,frankfurt and were established at ,,shaef headquarters in the ,i4 ,g4 ,farben building4 ,their office was only a few blocks from mine1 and during my negotiations for the use of the university building ,i was in daily communication with them4 ,while waiting for the ,engineers to make the promised inspection1 ,i made a couple of field trips with ,buchman4 ,the first was a visit to ,schloss ,kronberg1 a few kilometers from ,frankfurt4 ,it was a picturesque medieval castle1 unoccupied since the first part of the seventeenth century4 ,valuable archives were stored there4 ,we wanted to see if they were in good condition1 and also to make sure that the place had been posted with the official 8,off ,limits0 signs4 ,a flock of geese scattered before us as we drove up to the entrance at the end of a narrow1 winding road4 ,we knocked on the door of the caretaker's cottage and explained the purpose of our visit to the old fellow who timidly appeared with a large bunch of keys4 ,he limped ahead of us across the cobbled courtyard1 and we waited while he fitted one of the keys into the lock4 ,a wave of heavy perfume issued from the dark room as the door swung open4 ,when our eyes had become accustomed to the dim light1 we saw that we were in the original ,waffenraum of the castle4 ,but1 in addition to the clustered weapons affixed to the walls1 there were five sarcophagi in the center of the vaulted room4 ,around them stood vases filled with spring flowers4 ,on the central sarcophagus rested a spiked helmet of the first ,world ,war4 ,the others were unadorned4 ,the old caretaker explained that the central tomb was that of the ,landgraf of ,hesse who had died thirty years ago4 ,those on either side contained the remains of his two sons who had likewise died in the first ,world ,war4 ,the other two coffins were those of the elder son's wife and of a princess of ,baden who had been killed in one of the air raids on ,frankfurt in #aidd4 ,all five sarcophagi had originally stood in the little chapel across the courtyard4 ,it had been destroyed by an incendiary bomb the winter before4 ,we left this funerary chamber with a feeling of relief and continued our inspection of the castle4 ,a winding ramp in one of the towers led to the floors above4 ,from the top story we had a superb view of the broad ,frankfurt plain spread out below4 ,the caretaker told us he had watched the bombings from that vantage point4 ,the great banqueting hall1 with a musicians' gallery at one end1 had been emptied of its original furnishings and was now a jumble of papers stacked in piles of varying heights4 ,these were part of the ,frankfurt archives4 ,others were stored in two rooms on the ground floor4 ,all of the rooms were dry and weatherproof1 so there was nothing further to be done about them for the present4 ,there was no place in ,frankfurt as yet to which they could be moved4 8,off ,limits0 signs had been posted4 ,they would discourage souvenir hunters from unauthorized delving4 ,on our way back to the car the caretaker told us that the castle still belonged to ,margarethe1 ,landgrfin of ,hesse1 the youngest sister of the last ,kaiser4 ,although she was now in her seventies1 she came every day to put fresh flowers beside the tombs of her husband and her two sons4 ,she lived at a newer castle1 ,schloss ,friedrichshof1 only a few kilometers away4 ,he apparently didn't know that ,schloss ,friedrichshof had been taken over by the ,army and was being used as an officers' country club4 ,the old ,landgrfin was living modestly in one of the small houses on the property4 ,her scapegrace son1 ,prince ,philip1 as ,i learned later1 had played an active role in the artistic depredations of the ,nazi ringleaders4 ,i was to hear more of the ,hesse family before the end of the year4 ,a second excursion took us still farther afield4 ,on an overcast morning two days later1 ,buchman1 ,charlie ,kuhn1 ,captain ,rudolph ,vassalle 7who was the ,public ,safety ,officer of the detachment7 and ,i set out in the little ,opel sedan which had been assigned the ,,mfa,a office4 ,we struck out to the east of ,frankfurt on the road to ,gelnhausen4 ,we stopped at this pleasant little town with its lovely1 early ,gothic church and went through the formality of obtaining clearance from the local ,military ,government ,detachment to make an inspection in that area4 ,from there we continued by a winding secondary road which led us through increasingly hilly country to ,bad ,brckenau4 ,our mission there was twofold3 ,captain ,vassalle wanted to track down a young ,nazi officer1 reportedly a member of the ,,ss1 and to find a warehouse said to contain valuable works of art4 ,i had gathered from ,buchman that many such reports petered out on investigation4 ,still1 there was always the chance that the one you dismissed as of no importance would turn out to be something worth while4 ,illustration3 ,the bronze coffin of ,friedrich ,wilhelm of ,prussia was found in a mine near ,bernterode4 ,illustration3 ,canova's life-size marble statue of ,napoleon's sister was found at the monastery of ,hohenfurth4 ,illustration3 ,the administration buildings at the salt mine at ,alt ,aussee1 ,austria4 ,removal of stolen art treasures from the mine was carried out late in #aide4 ,illustration3 ,truck at entrance to the main building of the mine is being loaded with paintings1 to be taken to ,munich for dispersal to their owner nations4 ,after making several inquiries1 we eventually located a small house on the edge of town4 ,in response to our insistent hammering1 the door of the house was finally opened by a pallid young man probably in his late twenties4 ,if he was the object of the captain's search he had certainly undergone a remarkable metamorphosis1 for he bore little resemblance to the dapper officer of whom ,captain ,vassalle carried a photograph for identification4 ,the captain seemed satisfied that he was the man4 ,so leaving them in conversation1 the three of us followed up the business of the reported works of art4 ,the other two occupants of the house--an old man and a young woman who may have been the wife of the man who had opened the door--responded to our questions with alacrity and took us to the cellar4 ,there we were shown a cache of pictures1 all of them unframed and none of them of any value4 ,they appeared to be what the old man claimed--their own property1 brought to ,bad ,brckenau when they had left ,frankfurt to escape the bombings4 ,in any case1 we made a listing of the canvases1 identifying them as best we could and making notations of the sizes1 and also admonishing the couple not to remove them from the premises4 ,after that the old man took us across the back yard to a large modern barn which was heavily padlocked4 ,once inside he unshuttered a row of windows along one side of the main1 ground-floor room4 ,it was jammed to the ceiling with every conceivable item of household furnishings3 chairs1 tables1 beds1 bedding1 kitchen utensils and porcelain4 ,but no pictures4 ,we poked around enough to satisfy ourselves that first appearances were not deceiving4 ,they weren't1 so1 having made certain that the old fellow1 who claimed to be merely the custodian of these things1 understood the regulations forbidding their removal1 we picked up ,captain ,vassalle4 ,he had completed his interrogation of the alleged ,,ss officer and placed him under house arrest4 ,our next objective was an old ,schloss which1 according to our map1 was still a good hour's drive to the northeast4 ,as it was nearly noon and we were all hungry1 we decided to investigate the possibilities of food in the neighborhood4 ,on our way back through ,bad ,brckenau we stopped at the office of a small detachment of troops and asked where we could get some lunch4 ,the hospitable second lieutenant on duty in the little stucco building1 which had once been part of the ,kurhaus establishment1 gave us directions to the sprawling country hotel1 high up above the town1 where his outfit was quartered4 ,he said that he would telephone ahead to warn the mess sergeant of our arrival4 ,for a little way we followed along the ,sinn1 which flows through the grassy valley in which ,bad ,brckenau nestles4 ,then we began to mount sharply and1 for the next fifteen minutes1 executed a series of hairpin turns and ended abruptly beside a rambling structure which commanded a wonderful view of the valley and the wooded hills on the other side4 ,our hosts were a group of friendly young fellows who seemed delighted to have the monotony of their rural routine interrupted by our visit4 ,they asked ,charlie and me the usual question--what was the ,navy doing in the middle of ,germany--and got our stock reply3 we are planning to dig a canal from the ,north ,sea to the ,mediterranean4 ,we had a heavy downpour during lunch1 and we waited for the rain to let up before starting out again4 ,then we took the winding road down into town1 crossed the river and drove up into the hills on the other side of the valley4 ,an hour's drive brought us to upland meadow country and a grove of handsome lindens4 ,at the end of a long double row of these fine trees stood ,schloss ,rossbach4 8,castle0 was a rather pompous name for the big seventeenth century country house with whitewashed walls and heavily barred ground-floor windows4 ,we were received by the owners1 a ,baron ,thngen and his wife1 and explained that we had come to examine the condition of the works of art1 which1 according to our information1 had been placed there for safekeeping4 ,they ushered us up to a comfortable sitting room on the second floor where we settled down to wait while the baroness went off to get the keys4 ,in the meantime we had a few words with her husband4 ,his manner was that of the haughty landed proprietor1 and he looked the part4 ,he was a big1 burly man in his sixties4 ,he was dressed in rough tweeds and wore a matching hat1 adorned with a bushy 8shaving brush10 which he hadn't bothered to remove indoors4 ,that may have been unintentional1 but ,i idly wondered if it weren't deliberate discourtesy and rather wished that ,i had kept my own cap on4 ,i wished also that ,i could have matched his insolent expression1 but thought it unlikely because ,i was frankly enjoying the obvious distaste which our visit was causing the old codger4 ,however1 his attitude was almost genial compared with that of his waspish wife1 who reappeared about that time1 armed with a huge hoop from which a great lot of keys jangled4 ,the baroness1 who was much younger than her husband1 had very black hair and discontented dark eyes4 ,she spoke excellent ,english1 without a trace of accent4 ,i felt reasonably sure that she was not ,german but couldn't guess her nationality4 ,it turned out that she was from the ,argentine4 ,she was a sullen piece and made no effort to conceal her irritation at our intrusion4 ,she explained that neither she nor her husband had anything to do with the things stored there2 that1 in fact1 it was a great inconvenience having to put up with them4 ,she had asked the young woman who knew all about them to join us4 ,the young woman in question arrived and was completely charming4 ,she took no apparent notice of the baroness' indifference1 which was that of a mistress toward a servant whom she scarcely knew4 ,her fresh1 open manner cleared the atmosphere instantly4 ,she introduced herself as ,frau ,holzinger1 wife of the director of ,frankfurt's most famous museum1 the ,staedelsches ,kunstinstitut4 ,because of conditions in ,frankfurt1 and more particularly because their house had been requisitioned by the ,american military authorities1 she had come to ,schloss ,rossbach with her two young children4 ,country life1 she continued1 was better for the youngsters and1 besides1 her husband had thought that she might help with the things stored at the castle4 ,i had met ,dr4 ,holzinger when ,i went one day to have a look at what remained of the museum1 so his wife and ,i hit it off at once4 ,i was interested to learn that she was ,swiss and a licensed physician4 ,she smilingly suggested that we make a tour of the castle and she would show us what was there4 ,the first room to be inspected was a library adjoining the sitting room in which we had been waiting4 ,here we found a quantity of excellent ,french ,impressionist paintings1 all from the permanent collection of the ,staedel1 and a considerable number of fine ,old ,master drawings4 ,most of these were likewise the property of the museum1 but a few--,i remember one superb ,rembrandt sketch--appeared to have come from ,switzerland4 ,those would1 of course1 have to be looked into later1 to determine their exact origin and how they came to be on loan at the museum4 ,but for the moment we were concerned primarily with storage conditions and the problem of security4 ,in another room we found an enormous collection of books1 the library of one of the ,frankfurt museums4 ,in a third we encountered an array of medieval sculpture--saints of all sizes and description1 some of carved wood1 others of stone1 plain or polychromed4 ,these too were of museum origin4 ,the last storage room was below ground1 a vast1 cavernous chamber beneath the house4 ,here was row upon row of pictures1 stacked in two tiers down the center of the room and also along two sides4 ,from what we could make of them in the poor light1 they were not of high quality4 ,during the summer months they would be all right in this underground room1 but we thought that the place would be very damp in the winter4 ,frau ,holzinger assured us that this was so and that the pictures should be removed before the bad weather set in4 ,the baroness chipped in at this point and affably agreed with that idea1 undoubtedly happy to further any scheme which involved getting rid of these unwelcome objects4 ,she also warned us that the castle was far from safe as it was1 what with roving bands of ,poles all over the countryside4 ,as we indicated that we were about to take our leave1 she elaborated upon this theme1 declaring that their very lives were in danger1 that every night she and her husband could hear prowlers in the park4 ,since they--as ,germans--were not allowed to have firearms1 they would be at the mercy of these foreign ruffians if they should succeed in breaking into the castle4 ,by this time we were all pretty fed up with the whining baroness4 ,as we turned to go1 ,charlie ,kuhn1 eyeing her coldly1 asked1 8,who brought those ,poles here in the first place1 madam8 ,we didn't40 ,to our delight1 the weather had cleared and the sun was shining4 ,ahead of us on the roadway1 the foliage of the lindens made a gaily moving pattern4 ,our work for the day was done and we still had half the afternoon4 ,i got out the map and1 after making some quick calculations1 proposed that we could take in ,wrzburg and still get back to ,frankfurt at a reasonable hour4 ,we figured out that1 with the extra jerry can of gas we had with us1 we could just about make it4 ,we would be able to fill up at ,wrzburg for the return trip4 ,so1 instead of continuing on the road back to ,bad ,brckenau1 we turned south in the direction of ,karlstadt4 ,it was pleasant to be traveling a good secondary road instead of the broad1 characterless ,autobahn1 on which there were no unexpected turns1 no picturesque villages4 ,there was little traffic1 so we made very good time4 ,in half an hour we had threaded our way through ,karlstadt-on-the-,main4 ,in this part of ,franconia the ,main is a capricious river1 winding casually in and out of the gently undulating hills4 ,a little later we passed the village of ,veitschchheim where the ,prince-,bishops of ,wrzburg had an elaborate country house during the eighteenth century4 ,the house still stands1 and its gardens1 with a tiny lake and grottoes in the ,franco-,italian manner1 remain one of the finest examples of garden planning of that day4 ,as we drove by we were glad that this inviting spot had not attracted the attention of our bombers4 ,alas1 such was not the case with ,wrzburg1 as we realized the minute we reached its outskirts6 ,the once-gracious city1 surely one of the most beautiful in all ,germany1 was an appalling sight4 ,its broad avenues were now lined with nothing but the gaping1 ruined remnants of the stately eighteenth century buildings which had lent the city an air of unparalleled distinction and consistency of design4 ,high on its hilltop above the ,main1 the mellow walls of the medieval fortress of ,marienberg caught the rays of the late afternoon sun4 ,from the distance1 the silhouette of that vast structure appeared unchanged1 but the proud city of the ,prince-,bishops which it overlooked was laid low4 ,we drove slowly along streets not yet cleared of rubble1 until we came to the ,residenz1 the great palace of the ,prince-,bishops1 those lavish patrons of the arts to whom the city owed so much of its former grandeur4 ,this magnificent building1 erected in the first half of the eighteenth century by the celebrated baroque architect1 ,johann ,balthasar ,neumann1 for two ,prince-,bishops of the ,schnborn family1 was now a ghost palace1 its staring glassless windows and blackened walls pathetic vestiges of its pristine splendor4 ,we walked up to the main entrance wondering if it could really be true that the crowning glory of the ,residenz--the glorious ceiling by ,tiepolo1 representing ,olympus and the ,four ,continents--was1 as we had been told1 still intact4 ,with misgivings we turned left across the entrance hall to the ,treppenhaus and mounted the grand staircase4 ,we looked up and there it was--as dazzling and majestically beautiful as ever--that incomparable fresco1 the masterpiece of the last great ,italian painter4 ,someone with a far greater gift for words than ,i may be able to convey the exaltation one experiences on seeing that ceiling1 not just for the first time but at any time4 ,i can't4 ,it leaves artist and layman alike absolutely speechless4 ,i think that1 if ,i had to choose one great work of art1 it would be this ceiling in the ,residenz4 ,you can have even the ,sistine ceiling4 ,i'll take the ,tiepolo4 ,for the next half hour we examined every corner of it4 ,aside from a few minor discolorations1 the result of water having seeped through the lower side of the vault just above the cornice1 the fresco was undamaged4 ,considering the destruction throughout the rest of the building1 ,i could not understand how this portion of the palace could be in such a remarkable state of preservation4 ,the explanation was an interesting example of how good can sometimes come out of evil4 ,some forty years ago1 as ,i remember the story1 there was a fire in the ,residenz4 ,the wooden roof over a large portion1 if not all1 of the building was burned away4 ,when it came to replacing the roof1 the city fathers decided it would be a prudent idea to cover the part above the ,tiepolo with steel and concrete4 ,this was done1 and consequently1 when the terrible conflagration of ,march #aide swept ,wrzburg--following the single raid of twenty minutes which destroyed the city--the fresco was spared4 ,as we wandered through other rooms of the ,residenz--the ,weisser ,saal with its elaborate stucco ornamentation and the sumptuous ,kaiser ,saal facing the garden1 once classic examples of the ,rococo--,i wished that those city fathers had gone a little farther with their steel and concrete4 ,we stopped briefly to examine the chapel in the south wing4 ,here1 miraculously enough1 there had been relatively little damage1 but the caretaker expressed concern over the condition of the roof and said that if it weren't repaired before the heavy rains the ceiling would be lost4 ,knowing how hard it was to obtain building materials for even the most historic monuments when people didn't have a roof over their heads1 we couldn't reassure him with much conviction4 ,the spectacle of ruined ,wrzburg had a depressing effect upon us1 so we weren't very talkative on our way back to ,frankfurt4 ,we passed through only one town of any size1 ,aschaffenburg1 which1 like ,wrzburg1 had suffered severe damage4 ,although ,i had not been long in ,germany and had seen but few of her cities1 ,i was beginning to realize that the reports of the ,allied air attacks had not been exaggerated4 ,i was ready to believe that there were only small towns and villages left in this ravaged country4 ,one morning ,charlie ,kuhn rang up to say that ,i should meet him at the ,reichsbank early that afternoon4 ,this was something ,i had been looking forward to for some time1 the chance to look at the wonderful things from the ,merkers mine which were temporarily stored there4 ,with ,charlie came two members of the ,,mfa,a organization whom ,i had not seen since ,versailles and then only briefly4 ,they had been stationed at ,barbizon1 as part of the ,allied ,group ,control ,council for ,germany 7usually referred to simply as 8,group ,,cc07 the top level policy-making body as opposed to ,,shaef1 which dealt with the operational end of things4 ,these two gentlemen were ,john ,nicholas ,brown1 who had come over to ,germany with the assimilated rank of colonel as ,general ,eisenhower's adviser on cultural affairs1 and ,major ,mason ,hammond1 in civilian life professor of the ,classics at ,harvard4 ,it had been decided1 now that we were about to acquire a permanent depot in which to store the treasures1 to make one ,monuments officer responsible for the entire collection4 ,by this transfer of custody1 the ,property ,control ,officer in whose charge the things were at present1 could be relieved of that responsibility4 ,major ,hammond had with him a paper designating me as custodian4 ,knowing in a general way what was stored in the bank1 ,i felt that ,i was on the point of being made a sort of director1 pro tem1 of the ,kaiser ,friedrich ,museum4 ,the genial ,property ,control ,officer1 ,captain ,william ,dunn1 was all smiles at the prospect of turning his burden over to someone else4 ,but before this transfer could be made1 a complete check of every item was necessary4 ,major ,hammond knew just how he wanted this done4 ,i was to have two assistants1 who could come over the next morning from his office in ,hoechst1 twenty minutes from ,frankfurt4 ,the three of us1 in company with ,captain ,dunn1 would make the inventory4 ,we wandered through the series of rooms in which the things were stored4 ,in the first room were something like four hundred pictures lined up against the wall in a series of rows4 ,in two adjoining rooms were great wooden cases piled one above another4 ,in a fourth were leather-bound boxes containing the priceless etchings1 engravings and woodcuts from the ,berlin ,print ,room4 ,still another room was filled with cases containing the renowned ,egyptian collections4 ,it was rumored that one of them held the world-famous head of ,queen ,nefertete1 probably the best known and certainly the most beloved single piece of all ,egyptian sculpture4 ,it had occupied a place of special honor in the ,berlin ,museum1 in a gallery all to itself4 ,still other rooms were jammed with cases of paintings and sculpture of the various ,european schools4 ,in a series of smaller alcoves were heaped huge piles of ,oriental rugs and rare fabrics4 ,and last1 one enormous room with bookshelves was filled from floor to ceiling with some thirty thousand volumes from the ,berlin ,patent ,office4 ,quite separate and apart from all these things was a unique collection of ecclesiastical vessels of gold and silver1 the greater part of them looted from ,poland4 ,these extremely precious objects were kept in a special vault on the floor above4 ,captain ,dunn brought out a thick stack of papers4 ,it was the complete inventory4 ,major ,hammond said that the two officers who would help with the checking were a ,captain ,edwin ,rae and a ,,wac lieutenant named ,standen4 ,aside from having heard that ,rae had been a student of ,charlie ,kuhn's at ,harvard1 ,i knew nothing about him4 ,but the name ,standen rang a bell3 was she1 by any chance1 ,edith ,standen who had been curator of the ,widener ,collection8 ,major ,hammond smilingly replied1 8,the same40 ,i had known her years ago in ,cambridge where we had taken ,professor ,sachs' course in ,museum ,administration at the same time4 ,i remembered her as a tall1 dark1 distinguished-looking ,english girl4 ,to be exact1 she was half ,english3 her father had been a ,british ,army officer1 her mother a ,bostonian4 ,recalling her very reserved manner and her scholarly tastes1 ,i found it difficult to imagine her in uniform4 ,early the following morning1 ,i met my cohorts at the entrance to the ,reichsbank4 ,i was pleasantly surprised to find that ,captain ,rae was an old acquaintance if not an old friend4 ,he also had been around the ,fogg ,museum in my time4 ,edith looked very smart in her uniform4 ,she had a brisk1 almost jovial manner which was not to be reconciled with her aloof and dignified bearing in the marble halls of the ,widener house at ,elkins ,park4 ,we hunted up ,captain ,dunn and set to work4 ,our first task was to count and check off the paintings stacked in the main room4 ,we got through them with reasonable speed1 refraining with some difficulty from pausing to admire certain pictures we particularly fancied4 ,then we tackled the ,oriental rugs1 and that proved to be a thoroughly thankless and arduous task4 ,we had a crew of eight ,p,ws--prisoners of war--to help us spread the musty carpets out on the floor4 ,owing to the fact that the smaller carpets--in some cases they were hardly more than fragments--had been rolled up inside larger ones1 we ended with nearly a hundred more items than the inventory called for4 ,that troubled ,captain ,dunn a bit1 but ,i told him that it didn't matter so long as we were over4 ,we'd have to start worrying only if we came out short4 ,by five o'clock we were tired and dirty and barely a third of the way through with the job4 ,the next day we started in on the patent records4 ,there had been a fire in the mine where the records were originally stored4 ,many of them were slightly charred1 and all of them had been impregnated with smoke4 ,when we had finished counting the whole thirty thousand1 we smelled just the way they did4 ,as a matter of fact we hadn't wanted to assume responsibility for these records in the first place4 ,certainly they had nothing to do with art4 ,but ,major ,hammond had felt that they properly fell to us as archives4 ,and of course they were archives of a sort4 ,on the morning of the third day1 as ,i was about to leave my office for the ,reichsbank1 ,i had a phone call from ,charlie ,kuhn4 ,he asked me how the work was coming along and then1 in a guarded voice1 said that something unexpected had turned up and that he might have to send me away for a few days4 ,he told me he couldn't talk about it on the telephone1 and anyway1 it wasn't definite4 ,he'd probably know by afternoon4 ,i was to call him later4 ,this was hardly the kind of conversation to prepare one for a humdrum day of taking inventory1 even if one were counting real treasure4 ,and for a person with my curiosity1 the morning's work was torture4 ,when ,i called ,charlie after lunch he was out but had left word that ,i was to come to his office at two o'clock4 ,when ,i got there he was sitting at his desk4 ,he looked up from the dispatch he was reading and said with a rueful smile1 8,tom1 ,i am going to send you out on a job ,i'd give my eyeteeth to have for myself40 ,then he explained that certain developments had suddenly made it necessary to step up the work of evacuating art repositories down in ,bavaria and in even more distant areas4 ,for the first time in my life ,i knew what was meant by the expression 8my heart jumped a beat0--for that was exactly what happened to mine6 ,no wonder ,charlie was envious4 ,this sounded like the real thing4 ,charlie told me that ,i was to fly down to ,munich the next morning and that ,i would probably be gone about ten days4 ,to save time he had already had my orders cut4 ,all ,i had to do was to pick them up at the ,,ag office4 ,i was to report to ,third ,army ,headquarters and get in touch with ,george ,stout as soon as possible4 ,charlie didn't know just where ,i'd find ,george4 ,he was out in the wilds somewhere4 ,as a matter of fact he wasn't too sure about the exact location of ,third ,army ,headquarters4 ,a new headquarters was being established and the only information he had was that it would be somewhere in or near ,munich4 ,the name1 he said1 would be 8,lucky ,rear0 and ,i would simply have to make inquiries and be guided by signs posted along the streets4 ,i asked ,charlie what ,i should do about the completion of the inventory at the ,reichsbank1 and also about the impending report from the ,corps of ,engineers on the ,university of ,frankfurt building4 ,he suggested that ,i leave the former in ,captain ,rae's hands and the latter with ,lieutenant ,buchman4 ,upon my return ,i could take up where ,i had left off4 ,that evening ,i threw my things together1 packing only enough clothes to see me through the next ten days4 ,not knowing where ,i would be billeted ,i took the precaution of including my blankets4 ,even at that my luggage was compact and light1 which was desirable as ,i was traveling by air4 7#c7 ,,munich ,,and ,,the ,,beginning ,,of ,,field ,,work ,the next morning ,i was up before six and had early breakfast4 ,it was a wonderful day for the trip1 brilliantly clear4 ,the corporal in our office took me out to the airfield1 the one near ,hanau where ,craig ,smyth and ,i had landed weeks before4 ,it was going to be fun to see ,craig again and find out what he had been up to since we had parted that morning in ,bad ,homburg4 ,the drive to the airfield took about forty-five minutes4 ,there was a wait of half an hour at the field1 and it was after ten when we took off in our big ,c-#dg4 ,we flew over little villages with red roofs1 occasionally a large town--but none that ,i could identify--and now and then a silvery lake4 ,just before we reached ,munich1 someone said1 8,there's ,dachau40 ,directly below us1 on one side of a broad sweep of dark pine trees1 we saw a group of low buildings and a series of fenced-in enclosures4 ,on that sunny morning the place looked deserted and singularly peaceful4 ,yet only a few weeks before it had been filled with the miserable victims of ,nazi brutality4 ,in another ten minutes we landed on the dusty field of the principal ,munich airport4 ,most of the administration buildings had a slightly battered look but were in working order4 ,it was a welcome relief to take refuge from the blazing sunshine in the cool hallway of the main building4 ,the imposing yellow brick lobby was decorated with painted shields of the different ,german states or 8,lnder40 ,the arms of ,bavaria1 ,saxony1 ,hesse-,nassau and the rest formed a colorful frieze around the walls4 ,a conveyance of some kind was scheduled to leave for town in a few minutes4 ,meanwhile there were sandwiches and coffee for the plane passengers4 ,by the time we had finished1 a weapons carrier had pulled up before the entrance4 ,several of us climbed into its dust-encrusted interior4 ,it took me a little while to get my bearings as we drove toward ,munich4 ,i had spotted the familiar pepper-pot domes of the ,frauenkirche from the air but had recognized no other landmark of the flat1 sprawling city which ,i had known well before the war4 ,it was not until we turned into the broad ,prinz ,regenten-,strasse that ,i knew exactly where ,i was4 ,as we drove down this handsome avenue1 ,i got a good look at a long1 colonnaded building of white stone4 ,the roof was draped with what appeared to be an enormous1 dark green fishnet4 ,the billowing scallops of the net flapped about the gleaming cornice of the building4 ,it was the ,haus der ,deutschen ,kunst1 the huge exhibition gallery dedicated by ,hitler in the middle thirties to the kind of art of which he approved--an art in which there was no place for untrammeled freedom of expression1 only the pictorial and plastic representation of all the ,nazi regime stood for4 ,the dangling fishnet was part of the elaborate camouflage4 ,i judged from the condition of the building that the net had admirably served its purpose4 ,in a moment we rounded the corner by the ,prinz ,karl ,palais4 ,despite the disfiguring coat of ugly olive paint which covered its classic faade1 it had not escaped the bombs4 ,the little palace1 where ,mussolini had stayed1 had a hollow1 battered look and the formal garden behind it was a waste of furrowed ground and straggling weeds4 ,we turned left into the wide ,ludwig-,strasse and came to a grinding halt beside a bleak gray building whose walls were pockmarked with artillery fire4 ,i asked our driver if this were ,lucky ,rear headquarters and was told curtly that it wasn't1 but that it was the end of the line4 ,it was ,,mp headquarters and ,i'd have to see if they'd give me a car to take me to my destination1 which the driver said was 8'way the hell0 on the other side of town4 ,before going inside ,i looked down the street to the left4 ,the familiar old buildings were still standing1 but they were no longer the trim1 cream-colored structures which had once given that part of the city such a clean1 orderly air4 ,most of them were burned out4 ,farther along on the right1 the ,theatinerkirche was masked with scaffolding4 ,at the end of the street the ,feldherren-,halle1 ,ludwig ,i's copy of the ,loggia dei ,lanzi1 divested of its statuary1 reared its columns in the midst of the desolation4 ,it was gray and cool in the rooms of the ,,mp building1 but the place was crowded4 ,soldiers were everywhere and things seemed to be at sixes and sevens4 ,after making several inquiries and being passed from one desk to another1 ,i finally got hold of a brisk young sergeant to whom ,i explained my troubles4 ,at first he said there wasn't a chance of getting a ride out to ,lucky ,rear4 ,every jeep was tied up and would be for hours4 ,they had just moved into ,munich and hadn't got things organized yet4 ,then all at once he relented and with a grin said1 8,oh1 you're ,navy1 aren't you8 ,in that case ,i'll have to fix you up somehow4 ,we can't have the ,navy saying the ,army doesn't co-operate40 ,he walked over to a window that looked down on the courtyard below1 shouted instructions to someone and then told me ,i'd find a jeep and driver outside4 8,think nothing of it1 ,lieutenant10 he said in answer to my thanks4 8,maybe ,i'll be wanting a ship to take me home one of these days before long4 ,have to keep on the good side of the ,navy40 ,illustration3 ,in the ,kaiser ,josef chamber of the ,alt ,aussee mine ,karl ,sieber and ,lieutenant ,kern view ,michelangelo's ,madonna and ,child1 stolen from a church at ,bruges4 ,illustration3 ,lieutenants ,kovalyak1 ,stout and ,howe pack the ,michelangelo ,madonna for return to ,bruges4 ,the statue was restored to the ,church of ,notre ,dame in ,september of #aide4 ,illustration3 ,the famous ,ghent altarpiece by van ,eyck was flown from the ,alt ,aussee mine to ,belgium in the name of ,eisenhower as a token restitution4 ,illustration3 ,karl ,sieber1 ,german restorer1 ,lieutenant ,kern1 ,american ,monuments officer1 and ,max ,eder1 ,austrian engineer1 examine the panels of the ,ghent altarpiece stored in the ,alt ,aussee mine4 ,on my way out ,i gathered up my luggage from the landing below and climbed into the waiting jeep4 ,we turned the corner and followed the ,prinz ,regenten-,strasse to the river4 ,i noticed for the first time that a temporary track had been laid along one side4 ,this had been done1 the driver said1 in order to cart away the rubble which had accumulated in the downtown section4 ,we turned right and followed the ,isar for several blocks1 crossed to the left over the ,ludwig bridge1 then drove out the ,rosenheimer-,strasse to the east for a distance of about three miles4 ,our destination was the enormous complex of buildings called the ,reichszeugmeisterei1 or ,quartermaster ,corps buildings1 in which the rear echelon of ,general ,patton's ,third ,army had just established its headquarters4 ,even in the baking sunlight of that ,june day1 the place had a cold1 unfriendly appearance4 ,we halted for identification at the entrance1 and there ,i was introduced to ,third ,army discipline4 ,one of the guards gave me a black look and growled1 8,put your cap on40 ,startled by this burly order1 ,i hastily complied and then experienced a feeling of extreme irritation at having been so easily cowed4 ,i could at least have asked him to say 8sir40 ,the driver1 sensing my discomfiture1 remarked good-naturedly1 8,you'll get used to that sort of thing around here1 sir4 ,they're very1 very fussy now that the shooting's over4 ,seems like they don't have anything else to worry about1 except enforcing a lot of regulations40 ,this was my first sample of what ,i learned to call by its popular name1 8chicken0--a prudent abbreviation for the exasperating rules and regulations one finds at an ,army headquarters4 ,third ,army had its share of them--perhaps a little more than its share4 ,but ,i didn't find that out all at once4 ,it took me all of two days4 ,my driver let me out in front of the main building1 over the central doorway of which the emblem of the ,third ,army was proudly displayed--a bold 8,a0 inside a circle4 ,the private at the information desk had never heard of the 8,monuments1 ,fine ,arts and ,archives ,section10 but said that if it was a part of ,g-#e it would be on the fifth floor4 ,i found the office of the ,assistant ,chief of ,staff and was directed to a room at the end of a corridor at least two blocks long4 ,i was told that the officer ,i should see was ,captain ,robert ,posey4 ,i knew that name from the reports ,i had studied at ,versailles1 as well as from a magazine article describing his discovery1 months before1 of some early frescoes in the little ,romanesque church of ,mont ,st4 ,martin which had been damaged by bombing4 ,the article had been written by an old friend of mine1 ,lincoln ,kirstein1 who was connected with the ,,mfa,a work in ,europe4 ,when ,i opened the door of the ,,mfa,a office1 ,george ,stout was standing in the middle of the room4 ,the expression of surprise on his face changed to relief after he had read the letter ,i handed him from ,charlie ,kuhn4 8,you couldn't have arrived at a more opportune time10 he said4 8,i came down from ,alt ,aussee today to see ,posey1 but ,i just missed him4 ,he left this morning for a conference in ,frankfurt4 ,i wanted to find out what had happened to the armed escort he promised me for my convoys4 ,we're evacuating the mine and desperately shorthanded1 so ,i've got to get back tonight4 ,it's a six-hour drive40 8,charlie said you needed help4 ,what do you want me to do80 ,i asked4 ,i hoped he would take me along4 8,i'd like to have you stay here until we get this escort problem straightened out4 ,i was promised two half-tracks1 but they didn't show up this morning4 ,i've got a call in about them right now4 ,it's three o'clock4 ,i ought to make ,salzburg by five-thirty4 ,there'll surely be some word about the escort by that time1 and ,i'll phone you from there40 ,before he left1 ,george introduced me to ,lieutenant ,colonel ,william ,hamilton1 the ,assistant ,chief of ,staff1 and explained to him that ,i had come down on special orders from ,,shaef to help with the evacuation work4 ,george told the colonel that ,i would be joining him at the mine as soon as ,captain ,posey returned and provided me with the necessary clearance4 ,after we had left ,colonel ,hamilton's office1 ,i asked ,george what he meant by 8clearance40 ,he laughed and said that ,i would have to obtain a written permit from ,posey before ,i could operate in ,third ,army territory4 ,as ,third ,army's ,monuments ,officer1 ,posey had absolute jurisdiction in all matters pertaining to the fine arts in the area occupied by his ,army4 ,at that time it included a portion of ,austria which later came under ,general ,mark ,clark's command4 8,don't worry10 said ,george4 8,i'll have you at the mine in a few days1 and you'll probably be sorry you ever laid eyes on the place40 ,i went back to the ,,mfa,a office and was about to settle down at ,captain ,posey's vacant desk4 ,i looked across to a corner of the room where a lanky enlisted man sat hunched up at a typewriter4 ,it was ,lincoln ,kirstein1 looking more than ever like a world-weary ,rachmaninoff4 ,lincoln a private in the ,u4 ,s4 ,army6 ,what a far cry from the world of modern art and the ballet6 ,he was thoroughly enjoying my astonishment4 8,this is a surprise1 but it explains a lot of things10 ,i said1 dragging a chair over to his desk4 8,so you are the ,svengali of the ,fine ,arts here at ,third ,army40 8,you mustn't say things like that around this headquarters10 he said apprehensively4 ,during the next two hours we covered a lot of territory4 ,first of all1 ,i wanted to know why he was an enlisted man chained to a typewriter4 ,with his extraordinary intelligence and wide knowledge of the ,fine ,arts1 he could have been more useful as an officer4 ,he said that he had applied for a commission and had been turned down4 ,i was sorry ,i had brought up the subject1 but knowing ,lincoln's fondness for the dramatic ,i thought it quite possible that he had wanted to be able to say in later years that he had gone through the war as an enlisted man4 ,he agreed that he could have been of greater service to the ,fine ,arts project as an officer4 ,then ,i asked him what his 8boss0--he was to be mine too--was like4 ,he said that ,captain ,posey1 an architect in civilian life1 had had a spectacular career during combat4 ,in the face of almost insurmountable obstacles1 such as lack of personnel and transportation and especially the lack of any real co-operation from the higher-ups1 he had accomplished miracles4 ,now that the press was devoting more and more space to the work the ,monuments officers were doing--the discovery of treasures in salt mines and so on--they were beginning to pay loving attention to ,captain ,posey around the headquarters4 ,i gathered from ,lincoln that the present phase of our activities appealed to the captain less than the protection and repair of historic monuments under fire4 ,if true1 this was understandable enough4 ,he was an architect4 ,why would he1 except as a matter of general cultural interest1 find work that lay essentially in the domain of a museum man particularly absorbing8 ,it seemed reasonable to assume that ,captain ,posey would welcome museum men to shoulder a part of the burden4 ,but ,i was to learn later that my assumption was not altogether correct4 ,eventually ,i had to interrupt our conversation4 ,it was getting late1 and still no word about the escort vehicles4 ,lincoln told me where ,i would find the officer who was to have called ,george4 ,he was ,captain ,blyth1 a rough-and-ready kind of fellow1 an ex-trooper from the state of ,virginia4 ,the outlook was not encouraging4 ,no vehicles were as yet available4 ,finally1 at six o'clock1 he rang up to say that he wouldn't know anything before morning4 ,lincoln returned from chow1 ,i gave him the message in case ,george called while ,i was out and went down to eat4 ,it was after eight when ,george telephoned4 ,the connection from ,salzburg was bad1 and so was his temper when ,i told him ,i had nothing to report4 ,lincoln usually spent his evenings at the office4 ,that night we stayed till after eleven4 ,here and there he had picked up some fascinating ,german art books and magazines1 all of them ,nazi publications lavishly illustrated4 ,they bore eloquent testimony to ,hitler's patronage of the arts4 ,the banality of the contemporary work in painting was stultifying--dozens of rosy-cheeked1 buxom maidens and stalwart1 brown-limbed youths reeking with 8strength through joy10 and acres of idyllic landscapes4 ,the sculpture was better1 though too often the tendency toward the colossal was tiresomely in evidence4 ,it was in recording the art of the past1 notably in the monographs dealing with the great monuments of the ,middle ,ages and the ,baroque1 that admirable progress had been made4 ,i asked ,lincoln enviously how he had got hold of these things4 ,he answered laconically that he had 8liberated0 them4 ,captain ,blyth had good news for me the next morning4 ,two armored vehicles had left ,munich for the mine4 ,i gave the message to ,george when he called just before noon4 8,they're a little late10 he said4 8,thanks to the fine co-operation of the #aath ,armored ,division1 ,i am being taken care of from this end of the line4 ,i'll try to catch your fellows in ,salzburg and tell them to go back where they came from4 ,i am sending you a letter by the next convoy4 ,it's about a repository which ought to be evacuated right away4 ,i can't give you any of the details over the phone without violating security regulations4 ,as soon as ,posey gets back1 you ought to go to work on it4 ,after that ,i want you to help me here40 ,after ,george had hung up1 ,i asked ,lincoln if he had any idea what repository ,george had in mind4 ,lincoln said it might be the monastery at ,hohenfurth4 ,it was in ,czechoslovakia1 just over the border from ,austria4 ,while we were discussing this possibility1 ,craig ,smyth walked in4 ,as soon as he had recovered from the surprise of finding me at ,captain ,posey's desk1 he explained the reason for his visit4 ,something had to be done right away about the building he was setting up as a collecting point4 ,he had been promised a twenty-four-hour guard4 ,he had been promised a barrier of barbed wire4 ,so far1 ,third ,army had failed to provide either one4 ,a lot of valuable stuff had already been delivered to the building1 and ,george was sending in more4 ,he couldn't wait any longer4 8,let's have a talk with ,colonel ,hamilton10 ,i said4 ,as we walked down to the ,assistant ,chief of ,staff's office1 ,craig told me that the buildings he had requisitioned were the ones ,bancel ,la ,farge had suggested when we saw him at ,wiesbaden a month ago4 8,can't this matter wait until ,captain ,posey returns80 the colonel asked4 8,i am afraid it can't1 sir10 said ,craig4 8,as you know1 the two buildings were the headquarters of the ,nazi party4 ,the ,nazis meant to destroy them before ,munich fell4 ,having failed to do so1 ,i think it quite possible that they may still attempt it4 ,both buildings are honeycombed with underground passageways4 ,only this morning we located the exit of one of them4 ,it was half a block from the building4 ,we hadn't known of its existence before4 ,the works of art stored in the building at present are worth millions of dollars4 ,in the circumstances1 ,i am not willing to accept the responsibility for what may happen to them4 ,i must have guards or a barrier at once40 ,the colonel reached for the telephone and gave orders that a cordon of guards was to be placed on the buildings immediately4 ,he made a second call1 this time about the barbed wire4 ,when he had finished he told ,craig that the guard detail would report that afternoon2 the barbed wire would be strung around the building the next morning4 ,we thanked the colonel and returned to ,posey's office4 ,we found two officers who had just come in from ,dachau4 ,they were waiting to see someone connected with ,property ,control4 ,they had brought with them a flour sack filled with gold wedding rings2 a large carton stuffed with gold teeth1 bridgework1 crowns and braces 7in children's sizes72 a sack containing gold coins 7for the most part ,russian7 and ,american greenbacks4 ,as we looked at these mementos of the concentration camp1 ,i thought of the atrocity film ,i had seen at ,versailles and wondered how anyone could believe that those pictures had been an exaggeration4 ,i went back with ,craig to his office at the ,knigsplatz4 ,the damage to ,munich was worse than ,i had realized4 ,the great ,deutsches ,museum by the river was a hollow-eyed specter1 but sufficiently intact to house ,d,ps4 ,aside from its twin towers1 little was left of the ,frauenkirche4 ,the buildings lining the ,brienner-,strasse had been blasted and burned4 ,along the short block leading from the ,carolinen ,platz to the ,knigsplatz1 the destruction was total3 on the left stood the jagged remnants of the little villa ,hitler had given ,d',annunzio2 on the right was a heap of rubble which had been the ,braun ,haus4 ,but practically untouched were the two ,ehrentempel--the memorials to the 8martyrs0 of the #aibc beer-hall 8putsch40 ,the colonnades were draped with the same kind of green fishnet that had been used to camouflage the ,haus der ,deutschen ,kunst4 ,the classic faades of the museums on either side of the square--the ,glyptothek and the ,neue ,staatsgalerie--were intact4 ,the buildings themselves were a shambles4 ,i followed ,craig up the broad flight of steps to the entrance of the ,verwaltungsbau1 or ,administration ,building4 ,it was three stories high1 built of stone1 and occupied almost an entire block4 ,true to the ,nazi boast1 it looked as though it had been built to 8last a thousand years40 ,and it was so plain and massive that ,i didn't see how it could change much in that time4 ,there was nothing here that could 8grow old gracefully40 ,the interior matched the exterior4 ,there were two great central courts with marble stairs leading to the floor above4 ,although the building had not been bombed1 it had suffered severely from concussion4 ,craig said that when he had moved in two weeks ago the skylights over the courts had been open to the sky4 ,on rainy days one could practically go boating on the first floor4 ,there had been no glass in the windows4 ,now they had been boarded up or filled in with a translucent material as a substitute4 ,all of the doors had been out of line and would not lock4 ,but the repairs were already well under way and1 according to ,craig1 the place would be shipshape in another month or six weeks4 ,he said that his colleague1 ,hamilton ,coulter1 a former ,new ,york architect now a naval lieutenant1 was directing the work and doing a magnificent job4 ,even under normal conditions it would have been a staggering task4 ,with glass and lumber at a premium1 to say nothing of the scarcity of skilled labor1 a less resourceful man would have given up in despair4 ,illustration3 ,vermeer's ,portrait of the ,artist in ,his ,studio in the ,alt ,aussee mine was purchased by ,hitler for his proposed museum4 ,it has been returned to ,vienna4 ,illustration3 ,one of the picture storage rooms in the mine1 constructed with wooden partitions and racks4 ,the temperature was constant1 averaging #dj ,fahrenheit in summer1 #dg in winter4 ,illustration3 ,panel from the ,louvain altarpiece1 ,feast of the ,passover1 by ,bouts1 was stored at ,alt ,aussee4 ,illustration3 ,hitler acquired the ,czernin ,vermeer for an alleged price of #a1djj1jjj ,reichsmarks4 ,craig was rapidly building up a staff of ,german scholars and museum technicians to assist him in the administration of the establishment4 ,it would soon rival a large ,american museum in complexity and scope4 ,storage rooms on the ground floor had been made weatherproof4 ,paintings and sculpture were already pouring in from the mine at ,alt ,aussee--six truckloads at a time4 ,in accordance with standard museum practice1 ,craig had set up an efficient accessioning system4 ,as each object came in1 it was identified1 marked and listed for future reference4 ,quarters had been set aside for a photographer4 ,racks were being built for pictures4 ,a two-storied record room was being converted into a library4 ,craig had also requisitioned the 8twin0 of this colossal building--the ,fhrerbau1 where ,hitler had had his own offices4 ,this was only a block away on the same street and also faced the ,knigsplatz4 ,it was connected with the ,verwaltungsbau by underground passageways4 ,it was in the ,fhrerbau that the ,munich ,pact of #aich--the pact that was to have guaranteed 8peace in our time0--had been signed4 ,craig showed me the table at which ,mr4 ,chamberlain had signed that document4 ,craig was using it now for a conference table4 ,repairs were being concentrated on the ,administration ,building1 since its 8twin0 was being held in reserve for later use4 ,at the moment1 however1 a few of the rooms were occupied by a small guard detail4 ,the truck drivers and armed guards who came each week with the convoys from the mine were also billeted there4 ,just as ,craig and ,i were finishing our inspection of the ,fhrerbau1 a convoy of six trucks1 escorted by two half-tracks1 pulled into the parking space behind the building4 ,the convoy leader had a letter for me4 ,it was the one ,george ,stout had mentioned on the telephone4 ,lincoln was right4 ,the repository ,george had in mind was the monastery at ,hohenfurth4 ,in his letter he stressed the fact that the evacuation should be undertaken at once4 ,he suggested that ,i try to persuade ,posey to send ,lincoln along to help me4 ,craig had a comfortable billet in the ,kopernikus-,strasse1 a four-room flat on the fourth floor of a modern apartment building4 ,the back windows looked onto a garden4 ,over the tops of the poplar trees beyond1 one could see the roof of the ,prinz ,regenten ,theater where1 back in the twenties1 ,i had seen my first complete performance of ,wagner's ,ring4 ,craig told me that the theater was undamaged except for the ,speisesaal where1 in prewar days1 lavish refreshments were served during intermissions4 ,that one room had caught a bomb4 ,i accepted ,craig's invitation to share the apartment with him while in ,munich and made myself at home in the dining room4 ,it had a couch1 and there was a sideboard which ,i could use as a chest of drawers4 ,the bathroom was across the hall and he said that the supply of hot water was inexhaustible4 ,by comparison1 the officers' billets at ,third ,army ,headquarters were tenements4 ,ham ,coulter had similar quarters on the ground floor4 ,we stopped there for a drink on our way to supper at the ,military ,government ,detachment4 8,civilized0 was the word that best described ,ham4 ,he was a tall1 broad-shouldered fellow with sleek black hair1 finely-chiseled features and keen1 gray eyes4 ,when he smiled1 his mouth crinkled up at the corners1 producing an agreeably sarcastic expression4 ,ham poured out the drinks with an elegance the ordinary ,german cognac didn't deserve4 ,they should have been dry martinis4 ,i liked him at once that first evening1 and when ,i came to know him better ,i found him the wittiest and most amiable of companions4 ,he and ,craig were a wonderful combination4 ,they had the greatest admiration and respect for each other1 and during the many months of their work together there was not the slightest disagreement between them4 ,the officers' dining room that evening was a noisy place4 ,the clatter of knives and forks and the babble of voices mingled with the rasping strains of popular ,american tunes pounded out by a ,bavarian band4 ,as we were about to sit down1 the music stopped abruptly and a second later struck up the current favorite1 8,my ,dreams ,are ,getting ,better ,all the ,time40 ,colonel ,charles ,keegan1 the commanding officer1 had entered the dining hall4 ,i was puzzled by this until ,ham told me that it happened every night4 ,this particular piece was the colonel's favorite tune and he had ordered it to be played whenever he came in to dinner4 ,the colonel was a colorful character--short and florid1 with a shock of white hair4 ,he had figured prominently in ,new ,york politics and would again1 it was said4 ,he had already helped ,craig over a couple of rough spots and if some of his antics amused the ,,mfa,a boys1 they seemed to be genuinely fond of him4 ,while we were at dinner1 three officers came and took their places at a near-by table4 ,craig identified one of them as ,captain ,posey4 ,i had been told that he was in his middle thirties1 but he looked younger than that4 ,he had a boyish face and ,i noticed that he laughed a great deal as he talked with his two companions4 ,when he wasn't smiling1 there was a stubborn expression about his mouth1 and ,i remembered that ,lincoln had said something about his 8deceptively gentle manner40 ,on our way out ,i introduced myself to him4 ,he was very affable and seemed pleased at my arrival4 ,but he was tired after the long drive from ,frankfurt1 so1 as soon as ,i had arranged to meet him at his office the next day1 ,i joined ,ham and ,craig back at the apartment4 ,i got out to ,third ,army ,headquarters early the following morning and found ,captain ,posey already at his desk1 going through the papers which had accumulated during his absence4 ,we discussed ,george's letter at considerable length1 and ,i was disappointed to find that he did not intend to act on it at once4 ,somehow it had never occurred to me that anyone would question a proposal of ,george's4 ,for one thing1 ,captain ,posey said1 he couldn't spare ,lincoln2 and for another1 there was a very pressing job much nearer ,munich which he wanted me to handle4 ,he then proceeded to tell me of a small village on the road to ,salzburg where ,i would find a house in which were stored some eighty cases of paintings and sculpture from the ,budapest ,museum4 ,he showed me the place on the map and explained how ,i was to go about locating the exact house upon arrival4 ,i was to see a certain officer at ,third ,army ,headquarters without delay and make arrangements for trucks4 ,he thought ,i would need about five4 ,it shouldn't take more than half a day to do the job if all went well4 ,after this preliminary briefing1 ,i was on my own4 ,my first move was to get hold of the officer about the trucks4 ,how many did ,i need8 ,when did ,i want them and where should he tell them to report8 ,i said ,i'd like to have five trucks at the ,knigsplatz the following morning at eight-thirty4 ,the officer explained that the drivers would be ,french1 as ,third ,army was using a number of foreign trucking companies to relieve the existing shortage in transportation4 ,later in the day ,i had a talk with ,lincoln about my plans and he gave me a piece of advice which proved exceedingly valuable--that ,i should go myself to the trucking company which was to provide the vehicles1 and personally confirm the arrangements4 ,so1 after lunch ,i struck out in a jeep for the west side of ,munich1 a distance of some seven or eight miles4 ,i found a lieutenant1 who had charge of the outfit1 and explained the purpose of my visit4 ,he had not been notified of the order for five trucks4 ,there was no telephone communication between his office and headquarters1 so all messages had to come by courier1 and the courier hadn't come in that day4 ,he was afraid he couldn't let me have any trucks before the following afternoon4 ,i insisted that the matter was urgent and couldn't wait1 and1 after much deliberating and consulting of charts1 he relented4 ,i told him a little something about the expedition for which ,i wanted the trucks and he showed real interest4 ,he suggested that ,i ought to have extremely careful drivers4 ,i replied that ,i should indeed1 as we would be hauling stuff of incalculable value4 ,thereupon he gave me a harrowing description of the group under his supervision4 ,all of them had been members of the ,french ,resistance ,movement--ex-terrorists he called them--and they weren't afraid of ,god1 man or the ,devil4 ,well1 ,i thought1 isn't that comforting6 8,oh1 yes10 he said1 8these ,frenchies drive like crazy men4 ,but10 he continued1 8one of the fellows has got some sense4 ,i'll see if ,i can get him for you40 ,he went over to the window that looked out on a parking ground littered with vehicles of various kinds4 ,here and there ,i saw a mechanic bent over an open hood or sprawled out beneath a truck4 ,the lieutenant bellowed1 8,leclancher1 come up here to my office60 ,a few seconds later a wiry1 sandy-haired ,frenchman of about forty-five appeared in the doorway4 ,leclancher understood some ,english1 for he reacted with alert nods of the head as the lieutenant gave a brief description of the job ahead1 and then turned and asked me if ,i spoke ,french4 ,i told him ,i did1 if he had enough patience4 ,this struck him as inordinately funny1 but ,i was being quite serious4 ,what really pleased him was the fact that ,i was in the ,navy4 ,he said that he had been in the ,navy during the first ,world ,war4 ,then and there a lasting bond was formed1 though ,i didn't appreciate the value of it at the time4 ,eight-thirty the next morning found me pacing the ,knigsplatz4 ,not a truck in sight4 ,nine o'clock and still no trucks4 ,at nine thirty1 one truck rolled up4 ,leclancher leaped out and with profuse apologies explained that the other four were having carburetor trouble4 ,there had been water in the gas1 too1 and that hadn't helped4 ,for an hour ,leclancher and ,i idled about1 whiling away the time with conversation of no consequence1 other than that it served to limber up my ,french4 ,at eleven o'clock ,leclancher looked at his watch and said that it would soon be time for lunch4 ,it was obvious that he understood the ,army's conception of a day as a brief span of time1 in the course of which one eats three meals4 ,if it is not possible to finish a given job during the short pauses between those meals1 well1 there's always the next day4 ,i told him to go to his lunch and to come back as soon as he could round up the other trucks4 ,in the meantime ,i would get something to eat near by4 ,when ,i returned shortly after eleven thirty--having eaten a ,k ration under the portico of the ,verwaltungsbau in lieu of a more formal lunch--my five trucks were lined up ready to go4 ,i appointed ,leclancher 8chef de convoi0--a rather high-sounding title for such a modest caravan--and he assigned positions to the other drivers1 taking the end truck himself4 ,since my jeep failed to arrive1 ,i climbed into the lead truck4 ,the driver was an amiable youngster whose name was ,roger ,roget4 ,during the next few weeks he was the lead driver in all of my expeditions1 and ,i took to calling him 8,double ,roger10 which ,i think he never quite understood4 ,to add to my anxiety over our belated start1 a light rain began to fall as we pulled out of the ,knigsplatz and turned into the ,brienner-,strasse4 ,we threaded our way cautiously through the slippery streets choked with military traffic1 crossed the bridge over the ,isar and swung into the broad ,rosenheimer-,strasse leading to the east4 ,once on the ,autobahn1 ,roger speeded up4 ,the speedometer needle quivered up to thirty-five1 forty and finally forty-five miles an hour4 ,i pointed to it1 shaking my head4 8,we must not exceed thirty-five1 ,roger40 ,he promptly slowed down1 and as we rolled along1 ,i forgot the worries of the morning4 ,i dozed comfortably4 ,suddenly we struck an unexpected hole in the road and ,i woke up4 ,we were doing fifty4 ,this time ,i spoke sharply1 reminding ,roger that the speed limit was thirty-five and that we were to stay within it2 if we didn't we'd be arrested1 because the road was well patrolled4 ,with a tolerant grin ,roger said1 8,oh1 no1 we never get arrested4 ,the ,m,ps1 they stop us and get very angry1 but--0 with a shrug of the shoulders--8we do not understand4 ,they throw the hands up in the air and say #8dumb ,frenchies' and we go ahead40 8,that may work with you10 ,i said crossly1 8but what about me8 ,i'm not a #8dumb ,frenchy4'0 ,for the next hour ,i pretended to doze and at the same time kept an eye on the speedometer4 ,this worked pretty well4 ,now and again ,i would look up1 and each time1 ,roger would modify his speed4 ,presently we came to a bad detour1 where a bridge was out4 ,we had to make a sharp turn to the left1 leave the ,autobahn and descend a steep and tortuous side road into a deep ravine4 ,that day the narrow road was slippery from the rain1 so we had to crawl along4 ,the drop into the valley was a matter of two or three hundred feet and1 as we reached the bottom1 we could see the monstrous wreckage of the bridge hanging drunkenly in mid-air4 ,the ascent was even more precarious1 but our five trucks got through4 ,we had now left the level country around ,munich and were in a region of rolling hills4 ,along the horizon1 gray clouds half concealed the distant peaks4 ,soon the rain stopped and the sun came out4 ,the mountains changed to misty blue against an even bluer sky4 ,the road rose sharply1 and when we reached the crest1 ,i caught a glimpse of shimmering water4 ,it was ,chiemsee1 largest of the ,bavarian lakes4 ,in another ten minutes the road flattened out again and we came to the turnoff marked 8,prien40 ,there we left the ,autobahn for a narrow side road which took us across green meadows4 ,nothing could have looked more peaceful than this lush1 summer countryside4 ,reports of ,,ss troops still hiding out in the near-by forests seemed preposterous in the pastoral tranquillity4 ,yet only a few days before1 our troops had rounded up a small band of these die-hards in this neighborhood4 ,the ,,ss men had come down from the foothills on a foraging expedition and had been captured while attempting to raid a farmhouse4 ,it was because of just such incidents1 as well as the ever-present fire hazard1 that ,i had been sent down to remove the museum treasures to a place of safety4 ,the road was dwindling away to a cow path and ,i was beginning to wonder how much farther we could go with our two-and-a-half-ton trucks1 when we came to a small cluster of houses4 ,this was ,grassau4 ,i had been told that a small detachment of troops was billeted there1 so ,i singled out the largest of the little white houses grouped around the only crossroads in the village4 ,it had clouded over and begun to rain again4 ,as ,i entered the gate and was crossing the yard1 the door of the house was opened by a corporal4 ,he didn't seem surprised to see me4 ,someone at ,munich had sent down word to ,prien that ,i was coming1 and the message had reached him from there4 ,i asked if he knew where the things ,i had come for were stored4 ,he motioned to the back of the house and said there were two rooms full of big packing cases4 ,he explained that he and one other man had been detailed to live in the house because of the 8stuff0 stored there4 ,they had been instructed to keep an eye on the old man who claimed to be responsible for it4 ,that would be ,dr4 ,csanky1 director of the ,budapest ,museum1 who1 according to my information1 would probably raise unqualified hell when ,i came to cart away his precious cases4 ,the corporal told me that the old man and his son occupied rooms on the second floor4 ,i was relieved to hear that they were not at home4 ,it would make things much simpler if ,i could get my trucks loaded and be on my way before they returned4 ,it was already well after two and ,i wanted to start back by five at the latest4 ,i asked rather tentatively about the chances of getting local talent to help with the loading1 and the corporal promptly offered to corral a gang of ,p,ws who were working under guard near by4 ,while he went off to see about that1 ,i marshaled my trucks4 ,there was enough room to back one truck at a time to the door of the house4 ,a few minutes later the motley 8work party0 arrived4 ,there were eight of them in all and they ranged from a young fellow of sixteen1 wearing a faded ,german uniform1 to a reedy old man of sixty4 ,by and large1 they looked husky enough for the job4 ,i knew enough not to ask my drivers to help1 but knew that the work would go much faster if they would lend a hand4 ,leclancher must have read my thoughts1 for he immediately offered his services4 ,as soon as the other four saw what ,leclancher was doing1 they followed suit4 ,there were eighty-one cases in all4 ,they varied greatly in size1 because some of them contained sculpture and1 consequently1 were both bulky and heavy4 ,others1 built for big canvases1 were very large and flat but relatively light4 ,we had to 8design0 our loads in such a way as to keep cases of approximately the same type together4 ,this was necessary for two reasons3 first1 the cases would ride better that way1 and second1 we hadn't any too much space4 ,as ,i roughly figured it1 we should be able to get them all in the five trucks1 but we couldn't afford to be prodigal in our loading4 ,the work went along smoothly for an hour and we were just finishing the second truck when ,i saw two men approaching4 ,they were ,dr4 ,csanky and his son4 ,this was what ,i had hoped to avoid4 ,the doctor was a dapper little fellow with a white mustache and very black eyes4 ,he was wearing a corduroy jacket and a flowing bow tie4 ,the artistic effect was topped off by a beret set at a jaunty angle4 ,his son was a callow string bean with objectionably soulful eyes magnified by horn-rimmed spectacles4 ,they came over to the truck and began to jabber and wave their arms4 ,we paid no attention whatever--just kept on methodically lifting one case after another out of the storage room4 ,the dapper doctor got squarely in my path and ,i had to stop4 ,i checked his flow of words with a none too civil 8,do you speak ,english80 ,that drew a blank1 so ,i asked if he spoke ,german4 ,no luck there either4 ,feeling like an ad for the ,berlitz ,school1 ,i inquired whether he spoke ,french4 ,he said 8,yes10 but the stream of ,hungarian-,french which rolled out from that white mustache was unintelligible4 ,it was hopeless4 ,at last ,i simply had to take him by the shoulders and gently but firmly set him aside4 ,this was the ultimate indignity1 but it worked4 ,at that juncture he and the string bean took off4 ,i didn't know what they were up to and ,i didn't care1 so long as they left us alone4 ,our respite was short-lived4 ,by the time we had the third truck ready to move away1 they were back4 ,and they had come with reinforcements3 two women were with them4 ,one was a rather handsome dowager who looked out of place in this rural setting4 ,her gray hair1 piled high1 was held in place by a scarlet bandanna1 and she was wearing a shabby dress of green silk4 ,despite this getup1 there was something rather commanding about her4 ,she introduced herself as the wife of ,general ,ellenlittay and explained in perfect ,english that ,dr4 ,csanky had come to her in great distress4 ,would ,i be so kind as to tell her what was happening so that she could inform him8 8,i am removing these cases on the authority of the ,commanding ,general of the ,third ,united ,states ,army10 ,i said4 ,if she were going to throw generals' names around1 ,i could produce one too--and a better one at that4 ,her response to my pompous pronouncement was delivered charmingly and with calculated deflationary effect4 8,dear sir1 forgive me if ,i seemed to question your authority4 ,that was not my intention4 ,it is quite apparent that you are removing the pictures1 but where are you taking them80 8,i am sorry1 but ,i am not at liberty to say10 ,i replied4 ,that too sounded rather lordly1 but ,i consoled myself by recalling that ,posey had admonished me not to answer questions like that4 ,she relayed this information to ,dr4 ,csanky and the effect was startling4 ,he covered his face with his hands and ,i thought he was going to cry4 ,finally he pulled himself together and let forth a flood of unintelligible consonants4 ,his interpreter tackled me again4 8,dr4 ,csanky is frantic4 ,he says that he is responsible to his government for the safety of these treasures and since you are taking them away1 there is nothing left for him to do but to blow his brains out40 ,my patience was exhausted4 ,i said savagely1 8,tell ,dr4 ,csanky for me that he can blow his brains out if he chooses1 but ,i think it would be silly4 ,if you must know1 ,madame1 ,i am a museum director myself and you can assure him that no harm is going to come to his precious pictures40 ,i should never have mentioned that ,i had even so much as been inside a museum1 for1 from that moment until we finished loading the last truck1 the little doctor never left my side4 ,i was his 8cher collgue10 and he kept up a steady barrage of questions which the patient ,madame ,ellenlittay tried to pass along to me without interrupting our work4 ,as we lined the trucks up1 preparatory to starting back to ,munich1 ,dr4 ,csanky produced several long lists of what the cases contained4 ,he asked me to sign them4 ,this ,i refused to do but explained to him through the general's wife that if he cared to have the lists translated from ,hungarian and forwarded to ,third ,army ,headquarters1 they could be checked against the contents and eventually returned to him with a notation to that effect4 ,our little convoy rolled out of ,grassau at six o'clock1 leaving the group of ,hungarians waving forlornly from the corner4 ,just before we turned onto the ,autobahn1 ,leclancher signaled from the rear truck for us to stop4 ,he came panting up to the lead truck with a bottle in his hand4 ,with a gallant wave of the arm he said that we must drink to the success of the expedition4 ,it was a bottle of ,calvados--fiery and wonderful4 ,we each took a generous swig and then--with a rowdy 8en voiture60--we were on our way again4 ,it was a nice gesture4 ,the trip back to ,munich was uneventful except for the extraordinary beauty of the long summer evening4 ,the sunset had all the extravagance of the tropics4 ,the sky blazed with opalescent clouds4 ,as we drove into ,munich1 the whole city was suffused with a coral light which produced a more authentic atmosphere of ,gtterdmmerung than the most ingenious stage ,merlin could have contrived4 ,it was nearly nine when we rolled into the parking area behind the ,fhrerbau--too late to think about unloading and also1 ,i was afraid1 too late to get any supper4 ,we had pieced out with ,k rations and candy bars1 but were still hungry4 ,a mess sergeant1 lolling on the steps of the building1 reluctantly produced some lukewarm stew4 ,after we had eaten1 ,i prevailed on one of the building guards to take my five drivers out to their billets south of town4 ,it was ,saturday night4 ,i told ,leclancher we would probably be making a longer trip on ,monday and that ,i would need ten drivers4 ,he promised to select five more good men1 and we arranged to meet in the square as we had that morning4 ,but ,monday1 he promised1 they would be on time4 ,after checking the tarpaulins on my five trucks1 ,i sauntered over to the ,central ,collecting ,point on the off-chance that ,craig might be working late4 ,i found him looking at some of the pictures which ,george had sent in that day from the mine4 ,the ,german packers whom ,craig had been able to hire from one of the old established firms in ,munich--one which had worked exclusively for the museums there--had finished unloading the trucks only a couple of hours earlier4 ,most of the things in this shipment had been found at the mine1 so now the pictures were stacked according to size in neat rows about the room4 ,in one of them we found two brilliant portraits by ,mme4 ,vige-,lebrun4 ,labels on the front identified them as the likenesses of ,prince ,schuvalov and of the ,princess ,golowine4 ,marks on the back indicated that they were from the ,lanckoroncki ,collection in ,vienna1 one of the most famous art collections in ,europe4 ,hitler was rumored to have acquired it en bloc--through forced sale1 it was said--for the great museum he planned to build at ,linz4 ,in another stack we came upon a superb ,rubens landscape1 a fine portrait by ,hals and two sparkling allegorical scenes by ,tiepolo4 ,these had no identifying labels other than the numbers which referred to lists we didn't have at the moment4 ,however1 ,craig said that the documentation on the pictures1 as a whole1 was surprisingly complete4 ,then we ran into a lot of nineteenth century ,german masters--,lenbach1 ,spitzweg1 ,thoma and the like4 ,these ,hitler had particularly admired1 but they didn't thrill me4 ,i was getting sleepy and suggested that we had had enough art for one day4 ,i still had a report of the day's doings to write up for ,captain ,posey before ,i could turn in1 so we padlocked the room and took off4 ,even though the next day was ,sunday1 it was not a day of rest for me4 ,the trek to ,hohenfurth1 scheduled for ,monday1 involved infinitely more complicated preliminary arrangements than the easy run of yesterday4 ,captain ,posey got out maps of the area into which the convoy would be traveling2 gave me the names of specific outfits from whom ,i would have to obtain clearance as well as escorts along the way2 and1 most important of all1 supplied information concerning the material to be transported4 ,none of it1 ,i learned1 was cased4 ,he thought it consisted mainly of paintings1 but there was probably also some furniture4 ,this wasn't too definite4 ,nor did we have a very clear idea as to the exact number of trucks we would need4 ,i had spoken for ten on the theory that a larger number would make too cumbersome a convoy4 ,at least ,i didn't want to be responsible for more at that stage of the game1 inexperienced as ,i was4 ,in the circumstances1 two seasoned packers might1 ,i thought1 come in handy1 so ,i was to see if ,i could borrow a couple of ,craig's men4 ,there was the problem of rations for the trip up and back4 ,posey procured a big supply of ,c rations1 not so good as the ,k's1 but they would do4 ,while at ,hohenfurth we would be fed by the ,american outfit stationed there4 ,it was a good thing that there was so much to be arranged1 because it kept me from worrying about a lot of things that could and many that did happen on that amazing expedition4 ,in the afternoon ,i went out to make sure of my trucks and on the way back put in a bid for the two packers4 ,my request wasn't very popular1 because ,craig was shorthanded1 but he thought he could spare two since it was to be only a three-day trip--one day to go up1 one day at ,hohenfurth1 and then back the third day4 ,craig gloomily predicted that ,i'd never get ten trucks loaded in one day1 but ,i airily tossed that off with the argument that we had loaded five trucks at ,grassau in less than four hours4 8,but that stuff was all in cases10 he said4 8,you'll find it slow going with loose pictures40 ,of course he was right1 but ,i didn't believe it at the time4 7#d7 ,,masterpieces ,,in ,a ,,monastery ,we woke up to faultless weather the following morning1 and on the way down to the ,knigsplatz with ,craig ,i was in an offensively optimistic frame of mind4 ,all ten of my trucks were there4 ,this was more like it--no tiresome mechanical delays4 ,we were all set to go4 ,leclancher had even had the foresight to bring along an extra driver1 just in case anything happened to one of the ten4 ,that was a smart idea and ,i congratulated him for having thought of it4 ,it wasn't till ,i started distributing the rations that ,i discovered our two packers were missing4 ,but that shouldn't take long to straighten out4 ,craig's office was just across the way4 ,i found them cooling their heels in the anteroom4 ,they looked as though they had come right out of an ,arthur ,rackham illustration--stocky little fellows with gnarled hands and wizened faces as leathery as the ,lederhosen they were wearing4 ,each wore a coal-scuttle hat with a jaunty feather1 and each had a bulging bandanna attached to the end of a stick4 ,there was much bowing and scraping4 ,the hats were doffed and there was the familiar 8,grss ,gott1 ,herr ,kapitn10 when ,i walked in4 ,craig appeared and explained the difficulty4 ,until the last minute1 no one had thought to ask whether the men had obtained a ,military ,government permit to leave the area--and of course they hadn't4 ,with all due respect to the workings of ,military ,government1 ,i knew that it would take hours1 even days1 to obtain the permits4 ,so1 what to do8 ,i asked ,craig what would happen if they went without them4 ,he didn't know4 ,but if anyone found out about it1 there would be trouble4 ,i didn't see any reason why anyone should find out about it4 ,the men would be in my charge and ,i said ,i'd assume all responsibility4 ,meanwhile the two ,rackham characters were shifting uneasily from one foot to the other1 looking first at ,craig and then at me1 without the faintest idea what the fuss was all about4 ,craig reluctantly left it up to me4 ,not wanting to waste any more time1 ,i told the little fellows that everything was 8in ,ordnung0 and bundled them off to the waiting trucks4 ,again our way led out to the east1 the same road we had taken two days before2 and again ,i was perched up in the lead truck with ,double ,roger4 ,the country was more beautiful than ever in the morning sunlight4 ,we skirted the edge of ,chiemsee and sped on through ,traunstein4 ,the mountains loomed closer1 their crests gleaming with snow4 ,roger commented that it was 8la neige ternelle10 and ,i was struck by the unconscious poetry of the phrase4 ,to save time we ate our midday rations en route1 pulling off to one side of the ,autobahn in the neighborhood of ,bad ,reichenhall4 ,farther on we came to a fork in the highway4 ,a sign to the right pointed temptingly to ,berchtesgaden1 only thirty kilometers away4 ,but our road was the one to the left--to ,salzburg4 ,in another few minutes we saw its picturesque fortress1 outlined against the sky1 high above the town4 ,i had to make some inquiries in ,salzburg4 ,not knowing the exact location of the headquarters where ,i could obtain the information ,i needed1 ,i thought it prudent to park the convoy on the outskirts and go on ahead with a single truck4 ,it probably wasn't going to be any too easy1 even with exact directions1 to get all ten of them through the narrow streets1 across the river and out the other side4 ,this was where a jeep would have come in handy4 ,i had been a fool not to insist on having one for this trip4 ,leclancher asked if he might go along with ,roger and me4 ,the three of us drove off1 leaving the other nine drivers and the two little packers to take their ease in the warm meadow beside which we had halted4 ,it was about three miles into the center of town and the road was full of confusing turns4 ,but on the whole it was well marked with ,army signs4 ,before the end of the summer ,i became reasonably proficient in translating the cabalistic symbols on these markers1 but at that time ,i was hopelessly untutored and neither of my companions was any help4 ,after driving through endless gray archways and being soundly rebuked by the ,m,ps for going the wrong direction on several one-way streets1 we found ourselves in a broad square paved with cobblestones4 ,it was the ,mozartplatz4 ,the lieutenant colonel ,i was supposed to see had his office in one of the dove-colored buildings facing the square4 ,it was a big1 high-ceilinged room with graceful rococo decorations along the walls and a delicate prism chandelier in the center4 ,i asked the colonel for clearance to proceed to ,linz with my convoy4 ,after ,i had explained the purpose of my trip to ,hohenfurth1 he offered to expedite the additional clearance ,i would need beyond ,linz4 ,he rang up the headquarters of the #feth ,infantry ,division which was stationed there4 ,in a few minutes everything had been arranged4 ,the colonel at the other end of the line said that he would send one of his officers to the outskirts of the city to conduct us to his headquarters on our arrival4 ,there would be no difficulty about billets4 ,he would also take care of our clearance across the ,czechoslovakian border the following day4 ,i thanked the colonel and hurried down to rejoin ,leclancher and ,roger4 ,since the proposed ,autobahn to ,linz had never been finished1 we had to take a secondary highway east of ,salzburg4 ,our road led through gently rolling country with mountains in the distance4 ,i was grateful for the succession of villages along the way4 ,they were a relief after the monotony of the ,autobahn and also served to control the speed of the convoy4 ,we wound through streets so narrow that one could have reached out and touched the potted geraniums which lined the balconies of the cottages on either side4 ,laughing1 towheaded children waved from the doorways as we passed by4 ,roger1 intent on his driving1 didn't respond to the exuberance of the youngsters1 and ,i wondered if he might be thinking of the villages of his own country1 where the invaders had left a bitter legacy of wan faces4 ,it was after seven when we reached the battered outskirts of ,linz1 the city of ,hitler's special adoration4 ,he had lavished his attention on the provincial old town1 his mother's birthplace1 hoping to make it a serious rival of ,vienna as an art center4 ,to this end1 plans for a magnificent museum had been drawn up1 and already an impressive collection of pictures had been assembled against the day when a suitable building would be ready to receive them4 ,we approached the city from the west--its most damaged sector4 ,it was rough going1 as the streets were full of chuckholes and narrowed by piles of rubble heaped high on both sides4 ,there was no sign of an escort1 so we drew up beside an information post at a main intersection4 ,our cavalcade was too large to miss1 as long as we stayed in one place4 ,we waited nearly an hour before a jeep came along4 ,a jaunty young lieutenant came over1 introduced himself as the colonel's 8emissary0 and said that he had been combing the town for us4 ,the confusion of the debris-filled streets had caused us to take a wrong turn and1 consequently1 we had missed the main thoroughfare into town4 ,the lieutenant1 whose name was ,george ,anderson1 led us by a devious route to a large1 barrackslike building with a forecourt which afforded ample parking space for the trucks4 ,billets had already been arranged1 as promised1 but to get food at such a late hour was another matter4 ,however1 by dint of coaxing in the right quarter1 ,anderson even contrived to do that4 ,as we drove off in his jeep to the hotel where the officers were billeted1 he remarked with a laugh that he wouldn't be able to do as well by me but thought he could dig up something4 ,the hotel was called the 8,weinzinger10 and ,anderson said that ,hitler had often stayed there4 ,leaving me to get settled1 he went off on a foraging expedition4 ,he returned shortly with an armful of rations1 a bottle of cognac and a small contraption that looked like a tin case for playing cards4 ,this ingenious little device1 with a turn of the wrist1 opened out into a miniature stove4 ,fuel for it came in the form of white lozenges that resembled moth balls4 ,two of these1 lighted simultaneously1 produced a flame of such intensity that one could boil water in less than a quarter of an hour4 ,i got out my mess kit while ,anderson opened the rations1 and in ten minutes we whipped up a hot supper of lamb stew4 ,with a generous slug of cognac for appetizer1 the lack of variety in the menu was completely forgotten4 ,while we topped off with chocolate bars1 ,i asked him about conditions up the line in the direction of ,hohenfurth4 8,you won't have any trouble once you reach ,hohenfurth1 because it's occupied by our troops10 he said1 8but before swinging north into ,czechoslovakia you'll have to pass through ,russian-held ,austrian territory40 ,this was bad news1 for ,i had no clearance from the ,russians4 ,i hadn't foreseen the need of it4 ,captain ,posey couldn't have known about it either because he was punctilious and would never have let me start off without the necessary papers4 ,i had heard stories of the attitude of the ,russians toward anyone entering their territory without proper authorization4 ,an officer in ,munich told me that his convoy had been stopped4 ,he had been subjected to a series of interrogations and not allowed to proceed for a week4 8,could your colonel obtain clearance for me from the ,russians80 ,i asked4 8,he could try1 but it would probably take weeks10 ,anderson said4 8,if you're in a hurry1 your best bet is to take a chance and go on through without clearance4 ,you never can tell about the ,russians4 ,they might stop you and again they might not40 ,then ,i mentioned my problem children--my ,german packers4 ,anderson didn't think the ,russians would look on them with much favor1 if my trucks were stopped and inspected4 ,i asked about another road to ,hohenfurth4 ,perhaps there was one to the west of the ,russian lines4 ,he didn't know about any other route but said that we could take a look at the big map in the ,o4,d4's office on the next floor4 ,to my great relief1 it appeared that there was another road--one which ran parallel with the main road1 four or five miles to the west of it4 ,but ,anderson tempered enthusiasm with the remark that it might not be wide enough for my two-and-a-half-ton trucks4 ,there was nothing on the map to indicate whether it was much more than a cow path and the duty officer didn't know4 ,one of the other officers might be able to tell me4 ,i could ask in the morning4 ,that night ,i worried a good deal about the hazards that seemed to lie ahead1 and woke up feeling depressed4 ,things1 ,i reflected1 had been going too well4 ,i should have guessed that there would be rough spots here and there4 ,after early breakfast ,i called to thank the colonel1 ,anderson's chief1 for his kindness1 and while in his office had a chance to inquire about the alternate route4 8,the back road is all right10 he said without hesitation4 8,take it by all means4 ,you will cross the ,czech frontier just north of ,leonfelden4 ,a telephone call to our officer at the border control will fix that up4 ,you should be able to make ,hohenfurth in about two hours4 ,the ,c4,o4 at ,hohenfurth is ,lieutenant ,colonel ,sheehan of the #bfcrd ,field ,artillery ,battalion40 ,on my way through the outer office ,i stopped for a word with ,lieutenant ,anderson1 and while there the colonel gave instructions about the call to the border control post4 ,that done1 ,anderson said1 8,if you've got a minute1 there's something ,i want to show you40 ,i followed him down the stairs and through the back entrance of the hotel to the broad esplanade beside the ,danube4 ,the river was beautiful that morning4 ,its swiftly flowing waters were really blue4 ,we walked over to the river where a white yacht tugged at her moorings4 ,she was the ,ungaria1 presented by ,hitler to ,admiral ,horthy1 the ,hungarian ,regent4 ,anderson took me aboard and we made a tour of her luxurious cabins4 ,she was about a hundred twenty feet over all and her fittings were lavish to the last detail4 ,the vessel was now in the custody of the ,american authorities1 but her original crew was still aboard4 ,after this unexpected nautical adventure1 ,anderson took me to my trucks and saw us off on the last lap of the journey4 ,beyond ,urfahr1 the town across the ,danube from ,linz1 we turned north4 ,it was slow going for the convoy because the road was steep and winding4 ,our progress was further impeded by an endless line of horse-drawn carts and wagons1 all moving in the direction of ,linz4 ,most of them were filled with household furnishings4 ,presently the road straightened out and we entered a region of rolling1 upland meadows and deep pine forests4 ,after an hour and a half's drive we reached ,leonfelden1 a pretty village with a seventeenth century church nestling in a shallow valley4 ,just beyond it was the frontier4 ,we identified ourselves to the two officers--one ,american1 the other ,czech--and continued on our way4 ,our entry into ,czechoslovakia had been singularly undramatic4 ,in another twenty minutes we pulled into ,hohenfurth4 ,it was not a particularly prepossessing village on first sight4 ,drab1 one-story houses lined the one main street4 ,the headquarters of the #bfcrd ,field ,artillery ,battalion occupied an unpretentious corner building4 ,lieutenant ,colonel ,john ,r4 ,sheehan1 the ,c4,o41 was a big1 amiable fellow1 with a ,boston-,irish accent4 8,if you've come for that stuff in the monastery10 he said1 8just tell me what you need and ,i'll see that you get it4 ,i'm anxious to get the place cleared out because we're not going to be here much longer4 ,when we leave1 the ,czechs are going to take over40 ,the colonel called for ,major ,coleman ,w4 ,thacher1 his 8,exec10 a pleasant young ,bostonian1 and told him to see that ,i was properly taken care of4 ,the major1 in turn1 instructed his sergeant to show me the way to the monastery and to provide billets for my men4 ,it was after eleven1 but the sergeant said we'd have time to take a look at the monastery before chow4 ,he suggested that we take the trucks to the monastery1 which was not more than three-quarters of a mile from headquarters4 ,we drove down a narrow side street to the outskirts of town4 ,the small villas on either side were being used for officers' billets4 ,the street ended abruptly1 and up ahead to the left1 on a slight eminence1 ,i saw the cream-colored walls of the monastery4 ,a curving dirt road wound around to the entrance on the west side4 ,the monastery consisted of a series of rambling buildings forming two courtyards4 ,in the center of the larger of these stood a chapel of impressive proportions4 ,an arched passageway1 leading through one of the buildings on the rim of the enclosure1 provided the only means of access to the main courtyard4 ,it had plenty of 8,old ,world charm0 but looked awfully small in comparison with our trucks4 ,leclancher pooh-poohed my fears and said he'd take his truck through4 ,he did--that is1 part way through4 ,with a hideous scraping sound the truck came to a sudden stop4 ,the bows supporting the tarpaulin had not cleared the sloping sides of the pointed arch4 ,this was a fine mess1 for it was a good two hundred yards from the entrance to the building1 behind the chapel1 in which the things were stored4 ,it would prolong the operation beyond all reason if we had to carry them all that way to the trucks4 ,and what if it rained8 ,as if in answer to my apprehension1 it suddenly did rain1 a hard drenching downpour4 ,i should have had more faith in the resourcefulness of my ,frenchmen2 at that critical juncture ,leclancher announced that he had found the solution4 ,the bows of the trucks could be forced down just enough to clear the archway4 ,as soon as this had been done1 nine of the trucks filed through and lined up alongside the buttresses of the chapel4 ,the tenth remained outside to take the drivers and the two packers to chow4 ,after seeing to it that they were properly cared for1 the sergeant deposited me at the officers' mess4 ,at lunch1 ,colonel ,sheehan introduced me to the military ,government ,officer of his outfit1 ,major ,lewis ,w4 ,whittemore1 a bluff ,irishman1 who gave me considerable useful information about the setup at the monastery4 8,mutter1 an elderly ,austrian1 is in charge of the collections stored there--a custodian appointed by the ,nazis4 ,he is a dependable fellow so we've allowed him to stay on the job4 ,you'll find him thoroughly co-operative10 said the major4 8,one of the buildings of the monastery is being used as a hospital for ,german wounded40 8,are there any monks about the place80 ,i asked4 8,hitler ran them all out1 but a few have returned4 ,when ,hohenfurth is turned over to the ,czechs1 it will make quite a change in this ,sudetenland community4 ,even the name is going to be changed--to its ,czech equivalent1 ,vysi ,brod4 ,all the signs in town will be printed in ,czech1 too4 ,it will be the official language4 ,except for a few families1 the entire population is ,german40 8,how will that work80 ,i asked4 ,the major apparently interpreted my question as an expression of disapproval of the impending change-over1 for he said rather belligerently1 8,the ,czechs in this region have had a mighty raw deal from the ,germans during the past few years40 ,i rallied weakly with the pious observation that two wrongs had never made a right and that ,i hoped some satisfactory solution to the knotty problem could be reached4 ,by the time we had finished lunch the rain had dwindled to a light drizzle4 ,i started out on foot to the monastery1 leaving word at the colonel's quarters for the sergeant to meet me in the courtyard of the ,kloster4 ,he got there about the same time ,i did1 and together we started looking for ,dr4 ,mutter1 the ,austrian custodian4 ,we went first to the library of the monastery--a beautiful baroque room lined with sumptuous bookcases of burled walnut surmounted with elaborate carved and gilded scroll-shaped decorations4 ,the room was beautifully proportioned1 some seventy feet long and about forty feet wide4 ,tall ,french windows looked out on the peaceful monastery garden1 which1 for lack of care1 was now overgrown with tangled vines and brambles4 ,along the opposite side of the handsome room stood a row of massive sixteenth century ,italian refectory tables piled high with miscellaneous bric-a-brac3 ,empire candelabra1 ,moorish plates1 ,venetian glass1 ,della ,robbia plaques and ,persian ceramics4 ,across one end1 an assortment of ,louis ,quinze sofas and chairs seemed equally out of place4 ,what1 ,i wondered1 were these incongruous objects doing in this religious establishment8 ,the explanation was soon forthcoming4 ,the sergeant found ,dr4 ,mutter in a small room adjoining the library4 ,he was a lanky1 studious individual with a shock of snow-white hair1 prominent teeth and a gentle manner which just missed being fawning4 ,hohenfurth's ,uriah ,heep1 ,i thought unkindly4 ,the moment he began to speak in halting ,english1 ,i revised my estimate of him4 ,he was neither crafty nor vicious4 ,on the contrary1 he was just a timid1 and1 at the moment1 frightened victim of circumstance4 ,what ,german ,i know has an ,austrian flavor1 and when ,i trotted this out he was so embarrassingly happy that ,i wished ,i had kept my tongue in my head4 ,but it served to establish an entente cordiale which proved valuable during the next few days4 ,they were to be more hectic than ,i had even faintly imagined4 ,after a little introductory palaver1 ,i explained that ,i had come to remove the collections which had been brought to the monastery by the ,germans1 and that ,i would like to make a preliminary tour of inspection4 ,i suggested that we look first at the paintings4 8,paintings80 he asked doubtfully4 8,you mean the modern pictures8 ,they are not very good--just the work of some of the ,nazi artists4 ,they were brought here--and quite a lot of sculpture too--when it was announced that ,hitler was coming to ,hohenfurth to see the really important things40 ,then ,i learned what he meant by the 8really important things0--room after room1 corridor after corridor1 all crammed with furniture and sculpture1 methodically looted from two fabulous collections1 the ,rothschild of ,vienna and the ,mannheimer of ,amsterdam4 ,by comparison1 the ,hearst collection at ,gimbel's was trifling4 ,the things ,i had seen in the library were only a small part of this mlange4 ,in an adjoining chamber--a vaulted gallery1 fifty feet long--there were a dozen pieces of ,french and ,dutch marquetry4 ,and stacked against the walls were entire paneled rooms1 coffered ceilings and innumerable marble busts4 ,next to that was a room crowded with more of the same sort of thing1 except that the pieces were small and more delicate4 ,in one corner ,i saw an extraordinary table made entirely of tortoise shell and mounted with exquisite ormolu4 ,it was an antique-hunter's paradise1 but for me quite the reverse4 ,how was ,i going to move all of this stuff8 ,dr4 ,mutter could see that ,i was perplexed1 and apologetically added that ,i had seen only a part of the collections4 ,remembering that ,i had asked to see the pictures1 he took me to a corner room containing approximately a hundred canvases4 ,as he had said1 they were a thoroughly dull lot--portraits of ,hitler1 ,hess and some of the other ,nazi leaders1 tiresome allegorical scenes1 a few battle subjects and a group of landscapes4 ,the labels pasted on the backs indicated that they had all been shown at one time or another in exhibitions at the ,haus der ,deutschen ,kunst in ,munich4 ,while ,i was looking at them1 ,dr4 ,mutter shyly confessed that he was a painter but that he didn't admire this kind of work4 ,on the floor below1 there was a forest of contemporary ,german sculpture--plaster casts1 for the most part1 all patinated to resemble bronze4 ,in addition there were a few portrait busts in bronze and one or two pieces in glazed terra cotta4 ,the terra-cotta pieces had some merit4 ,the sculpture occupied one entire side of a broad corridor which ran around the four sides of a charming inner garden4 ,the corridor had originally been open but the archways were now glassed in4 ,turning a corner1 we came upon a jumble of architectural fragments--carved ,gothic pinnacles1 sections of delicately chiseled moldings1 colonnettes1 ,florentine well-heads and wall fountains4 ,at one end was a pair of elaborate gilded wrought-iron doors and at either side were handsome wall lanterns1 also of wrought iron4 ,these too were ,mannheimer1 ,dr4 ,mutter replied1 when ,i hopefully asked if they were not a part of the monastery fittings4 ,as final proof of the looters' thorough methods1 ,i was shown a vaulted reception hall1 into the walls of which had been set a large and magnificent relief by ,luca della ,robbia1 a smaller but also very beautiful relief of the ,madonna and ,child by some ,florentine sculptor of the fifteenth century1 and an enormous carved stone fireplace of ,renaissance workmanship4 ,the hall was stacked with huge cases as yet unpacked1 and from the ceiling were suspended two marvelous ,venetian glass chandeliers--exotic accents against a background of chaste plaster walls4 ,this partial tour of inspection ended with a smaller room across from the reception hall where ,dr4 ,mutter proudly exhibited what he considered the finest thing of all--a life-sized1 seated marble portrait by ,canova4 ,it was indeed a distinguished piece of work4 ,hitler had bought the statue in ,vienna1 so ,dr4 ,mutter said1 from the ,princess ,windischgrtz4 ,it had been destined for the ,fhrer ,museum at ,linz4 ,i learned afterward that the statue had belonged at one time to the ,austrian emperor1 ,franz ,josef4 ,canova began the statue in #ahab as a portrait of ,maria-,elisa1 ,princess of ,lucca--a sister of ,napoleon4 ,the sculptor's more celebrated portrait of ,napoleon's sister ,pauline had been carved a few years earlier4 ,when ,maria-,elisa lost her throne and fortune1 she was unable to pay for the portrait4 ,but ,canova was resourceful3 he changed the portrait into a statue of ,polyhymnia1 the ,muse of poetry and song4 ,he accomplished this metamorphosis by idealizing the head and adding the appropriate attributes of the ,muse4 ,later the statue was given to ,franz ,josef4 ,eventually it passed into the collection of his granddaughter--the daughter of ,rudolf1 who died at ,mayerling--the ,princess ,windischgrtz4 ,the statue was one of the most delicate and graceful examples of the great neoclassic master's style1 and ,i marveled both at its cold perfection and the fact that it had come through its travels completely unscathed4 ,for all her airy elegance1 the ,muse must weigh at least a ton and a half1 ,i calculated--suddenly coming down to earth with the realization that ,i would be expected to take her back to ,munich6 ,over ,dr4 ,mutter's protest that ,i had not yet seen everything1 ,i said that ,i should get my men started4 ,there was no time to be lost4 ,colonel ,sheehan provided eight men and1 after cautioning them about the value and fragility of the objects1 ,i detailed ,dr4 ,mutter to supervise their work4 ,the first job was to bring some of the furniture down to the ground floor4 ,as yet we had no packing materials1 so we could do no actual loading4 ,the next step was to show the packers what we were up against4 ,at first they went from room to room shaking their heads and muttering1 but after ,i had explained that we would only select certain things1 they cheered up and set to work4 ,luckily1 some of the furniture had a fair amount of protective padding--paper stuffed with excelsior--and that could be used until we were able to get more4 ,we had enough1 they agreed1 to figure on perhaps two truckloads4 ,leaving them to mull over that1 ,i went off to round up a couple of the trucks4 ,here was another problem4 ,not only did the furniture have to be brought down a long flight of stone stairs1 but to reach the stairs in the first place it had to be carried a distance of two hundred yards4 ,once down the stairs it had to be carried another two hundred yards down a long sloping ramp to the only doorway opening onto the courtyard4 ,i told ,leclancher to bring one of the trucks around to that doorway and then took off in search of paper1 excelsior1 rope and blankets4 ,in one of the near-by sheds ,i found only a small supply of paper and some twine4 ,we would need much more4 ,major ,whittemore came to the rescue and drove me to a lumber and paper mill several kilometers away4 ,as we drove along he told me that he had been having trouble with the ,german managers of the mill1 but they knew now that he meant business1 so ,i was not to ask for what ,i wanted1 ,i was to tell them4 ,at the mill ,i got a generous supply of paper1 excelsior and rope and1 on my return to the monastery1 sent one of the trucks back to pick it up4 ,but there wasn't a spare blanket to be had in all of ,hohenfurth4 ,when ,i got back1 it looked like moving day4 ,the ramp was already lined with tables1 chairs and chests4 ,dr4 ,mutter was running back and forth1 cautioning one ,,gi not to drop a delicate cabinet1 helping another with an overambitious armful of equal rarity and all the while trying in vain to check the numbers marked on the pieces as they flowed down the stairs in a steady stream4 ,meanwhile1 my two packers trudged up and down the ramp1 lugging heavy chests and monstrous panels which looked more than a match for men twice their size4 ,in spite of their concerted efforts1 we didn't have anything like enough help1 so ,i appealed to ,leclancher4 ,with discouraging independence1 he indicated that his men were drivers1 not furniture movers1 and that he couldn't order them to help4 ,but he would put it up to them4 ,after a serious conference with them1 ,leclancher reported that they had agreed to join the work party4 ,now1 with a crew of twenty1 things moved along at a faster pace4 ,with a couple of the ,g,is1 the two packers and ,i set to work loading the first truck4 ,here was where the little ,rackhamites shone4 ,in half an hour the first truck was packed and ready to be driven back to its place beside the chapel wall4 ,the second truck was brought up and before long joined its groaning companion1 snugly parked against a buttress4 ,presently1 the eight ,g,is trooped out into the courtyard4 ,it was half past five and time for chow4 ,the ,frenchmen knocked off too1 leaving ,dr4 ,mutter1 the two packers and me to take stock of the afternoon's accomplishment4 ,while we were thus engaged1 ,leclancher came to tell me that my driver1 the one ,i called 8,double ,roger10 was feeling sick and wanted to see a doctor4 ,in the confusion of the afternoon's work ,i hadn't noticed that he was not about4 ,we found him curled up in the back of the truck and feeling thoroughly miserable4 ,i drove him down to the ,medical ,office in the village and there ,dr4 ,sverdlik1 the ,battalion ,surgeon1 examined him4 ,roger's complaint was a severe pain in the midriff and the doctor suggested heat treatments4 ,he said that the ,german surgeon up at the monastery hospital had the necessary equipment4 ,that seemed simple enough1 since the drivers were billeted in rooms adjoining the hospital wing4 ,but ,i reckoned without ,roger4 ,what8 ,be treated by a ,german doctor8 ,he was terrified at the prospect1 and it required all my powers of persuasion to talk him into it4 ,finally he agreed1 but only after ,dr4 ,sverdlik had telephoned to the hospital doctor and given explicit instructions4 ,i also had to promise to stand by while the doctor ministered to him4 ,the ,german1 ,major ,brecker1 was methodical and thorough4 ,he found that ,roger had a kidney infection and recommended that he be taken to a hospital as soon as possible4 ,i explained that we would not be returning to ,munich for at least two days and asked if the delay would be dangerous4 ,he said that he thought not4 ,in the meantime he would keep ,roger under a 8heat basket40 ,roger eyed this device with suspicion but truculently allowed it to be applied4 ,when ,i went off to my supper1 twenty minutes later1 he was sleeping peacefully--but not alone4 ,three of his fellow drivers were sprawled on cots near by1 just in case that ,boche had any intentions of playing tricks on their comrade4 ,maybe not1 but they were taking no chances6 ,what a lot of children they were1 ,i thought1 as ,i walked wearily down to supper4 ,that evening ,i asked the colonel if ,i could get hold of some ,p,ws to help out with the work the following day4 ,he said that there was a large camp between ,hohenfurth and ,krummau and that ,i could have as many as ,i wanted4 ,so ,i put in a bid for sixteen4 ,after arranging for them to be at the monastery at eight the next morning1 ,i went to my own quarters which were in a house just across the way4 ,illustration3 ,at the ,rest ,house at ,unterstein near ,berchtesgaden1 ,major ,harry ,anderson supervises the removal of the ,gring ,collection1 brought from ,karinhall1 near ,berlin4 ,international ,news ,photo ,illustration3 ,one of the forty rooms in the ,rest ,house in which the ,gring pictures1 #a1ajj in all1 were exhibited before their removal to ,munich for subsequent restitution4 ,international ,news ,photo ,illustration3 ,the ,,gi ,work ,party which assisted the ,special ,evacuation ,team 7,lieutenants ,howe1 ,moore and ,kovalyak7 pack the ,gring ,collection for removal from ,berchtesgaden to ,munich4 ,illustration3 ,truck loaded with sculpture from the ,gring ,collection at ,berchtesgaden4 ,statues were packed upright in excelsior for removal to the ,central ,collecting ,point in ,munich4 ,i had one little errand of mercy to take care of before ,i turned in4 ,there was a recreation room on the first floor and adjoining it a makeshift bar4 ,most of the officers had gone to the movies1 so ,i managed to slip in unobserved and pilfer two bottles of beer4 ,tucking them inside my blouse1 ,i made off for the monastery4 ,there1 after some difficulty in finding my way around the dark passageways1 ,i located the rooms occupied by my two little packers4 ,they were making ready for bed1 but when they saw what ,i had for them1 their leathery old faces lighted up with ecstatic smiles4 ,if ,i had been a messenger from heaven1 they couldn't have been happier4 ,leaving them clucking over their unexpected refreshments1 ,i went back to my own billet and fell into bed4 ,i hadn't had exactly what one would call a restful day myself4 ,that beer worked wonders ,i hadn't anticipated4 ,when ,i arrived at the monastery a little before eight the next morning ,i found that my two packers1 together with ,dr4 ,mutter1 had been at work since seven4 ,as yet there was no sign of the ,frenchmen1 but ,i thought that they would probably show up before long4 ,at eight my gang of ,p,ws appeared and the sergeant who brought them explained that ,i wouldn't be having the crew of ,g,is who had helped out the day before4 ,when ,i protested that ,i needed them more urgently than ever1 he informed me that the combination of ,,gi and ,,pw labor simply wouldn't work out2 that ,i certainly couldn't expect to have them both doing the same kind of work together4 ,i said that ,i most certainly could and did expect it4 ,well1 my protest was completely unavailing1 and if ,i had to make a choice ,i was probably better off with the sixteen ,p,ws4 ,perhaps my two packers could get enough work out of them to compensate for the loss of the ,g,is4 ,i had just finished assigning various jobs to the ,p,ws when ,leclancher turned up4 8,may ,i have a word with you80 he asked4 8,it is about ,roger40 8,what about ,roger8 ,is he any worse80 ,i asked4 8,no1 but he is not any better either10 he said4 8,is it possible that we shall be returning to ,munich tomorrow morning80 8,not the ghost of a chance10 ,i said4 8,we shan't be through loading before tomorrow night4 ,we're too shorthanded40 8,but if we all pitched in and worked1 even after supper80 he asked4 8,it would make a big difference10 ,i said4 8,but it's entirely up to you4 ,it's certainly worth a try if the drivers are willing40 ,i'll never forget that day4 ,i never saw ,frenchmen move with such rapidity or with such singleness of purpose4 ,when five o'clock came1 we had finished loading the fifth truck4 ,taking into account the two from the preceding day1 that left only three more trucks to fill4 ,leclancher came to me again4 ,the drivers wanted to work until it got dark4 ,that meant until nine o'clock4 ,knowing that the two packers were equally eager to get back to ,munich1 ,i agreed4 ,i hurried off to call the sergeant about the ,p,ws4 ,special arrangements would have to be made to feed them if we were keeping on the job after supper4 ,also1 ,i had to make sure that someone at ,battalion ,headquarters would be able to provide a vehicle to take them back to their camp4 ,while the drivers went off to chow and the ,p,ws were being fed in the hospital kitchen1 ,i joined ,dr4 ,mutter and the packers to discuss these new developments4 ,i felt sure that ,i would be returning to ,hohenfurth in another few days with additional trucks to complete the evacuation4 ,that being the case1 some preliminary planning was necessary4 ,i instructed ,dr4 ,mutter to call in a stonemason to remove the ,della ,robbia relief and the other pieces which had been set into the walls1 so that they would be ready for packing when we came back4 ,i gave him a written order which would enable him to lay in a supply of lumber for packing cases which would have to be built for some of the more fragile pieces4 ,lastly1 the four of us surveyed the storage rooms and made an estimate of the number of trucks we would need for the things still on hand4 ,to save time ,i had a couple of chocolate bars for my supper and was ready to resume work when our combined forces reappeared4 ,the next two hours and a half went by like a whirlwind and by eight o'clock we knotted down the tarpaulin on the last truck4 ,everybody was content4 ,even the ,p,ws seemed less glum than usual1 but that was probably because they had been so well fed in the hospital kitchen4 ,if we were to make it through to ,munich in the one day1 we would have to start off early the next morning4 ,accordingly ,i left word that the trucks were to be lined up outside the monastery entrance at seven-thirty sharp4 ,then ,i went down to the colonel's quarters to see about an armed escort for the convoy4 ,i found ,colonel ,sheehan and ,major ,thacher making preparations to 8go out on the town40 ,they looked very spruce in their pinks and were in high spirits4 8,we missed you at supper10 said the colonel4 8,how's the work coming along80 8,my trucks are loaded and ready to roll first thing in the morning if ,i can have an escort10 ,i said4 8,that calls for a celebration10 he said4 8,pour yourself a drink4 ,i'll make a bargain with you4 ,you can have the escort on one condition--that you join our party tonight40 ,i didn't protest4 ,i thought it was a swell idea4 ,a few minutes later1 the captain with whom ,i was billeted arrived and the four of us set out for an evening of fun4 ,in the short space of two days ,i had grown very fond of these three officers1 although we had met only at mealtime4 ,they were1 in fact1 characteristic of all the officers ,i had encountered at ,hohenfurth--friendly1 good-natured and ready to do anything they could to help4 ,that they were all going home soon may have had something to do with their contented outlook on life1 and they deserved their contentment4 ,as members of the #bfth ,division1 the famous 8,yankee ,division10 they had seen plenty of action1 and as we drove along that night in the colonel's car1 my three companions did a lot of reminiscing4 ,while they exchanged stories1 ,i had a chance to enjoy the romantic countryside through which we were passing4 ,we were1 the colonel had said1 headed for ,krummau1 an old town about fifteen miles away4 ,the road followed along the winding ,moldau ,river1 which had an almost supernatural beauty in the glow of the late evening light4 ,the bright green banks were mirrored1 crystal clear1 on its unrippled surface1 as were the rose-gold colors of the evening clouds4 ,we crossed the river at ,rosenberg1 and as we went over the bridge ,i noticed that it bore--as do all bridges in that region--the figure of ,st4 ,john ,nepomuk1 patron saint of ,bohemia4 ,the castle1 perched high above the river1 was the ancestral seat of the ,dukes of ,rosenberg who ruled this part of ,bohemia for hundreds of years4 ,one of them murdered his wife and1 according to the legend1 she still haunted the castle4 ,robed in white1 she was said to walk the battlements each night between eleven-thirty and twelve4 ,major ,thacher thought that we should test the legend by paying a visit to the castle on our return from ,krummau later that evening4 ,when we arrived in ,krummau it was too dark to see much of the old town except the outline of the gray buildings which lined the narrow streets4 ,our objective was a night club operated by members of an underground movement which was said to have flourished there throughout the years of ,nazi oppression4 ,there was nothing in any way remarkable about the establishment1 but it provided a little variety for the officers stationed thereabouts4 ,my companions were popular patrons of the place4 ,they were royally welcomed by the proprietor1 who found a good table for us1 not too near the small noisy orchestra4 ,two pretty ,czech girls joined us and we all took turns dancing4 ,there were so many more men than girls that we had to be content with one dance each4 ,then the girls moved on to another table4 ,we whiled away a couple of hours at the club before the colonel said that we should be starting back4 ,i hoped that we would be in time to pay our respects to the phantom duchess1 but the clock in the square was striking twelve when we rumbled through the empty streets of ,rosenberg4 ,it had begun to rain again4 ,at six the next morning1 ,i looked sleepily out the window4 ,it was still raining4 ,we would have a slow trip unless the weather cleared1 and ,i thought apprehensively of the steep road leading into ,linz4 ,fresh eggs--instead of the usual ,french toast--and two cups of black coffee brightened my outlook on the soggy morning and ,i was further cheered to find the convoy smartly lined up like a row of circus elephants when ,i reached the monastery at seven-thirty4 ,leclancher had taken the lead truck and the ailing ,roger was bundled up in the cab of one of the others4 ,dr4 ,mutter waved agitated farewells from beneath the ribs of a tattered umbrella as we slid slowly down the monastery drive4 ,at the corner of the main street of the village we picked up our escort1 two armed jeeps4 ,they conducted us to the border where we gathered in two similar vehicles which would set the pace for us into ,linz4 ,the bad weather was in one respect an advantage3 there was practically no traffic on the road4 ,at ,linz ,i stopped long enough to thank ,anderson and his colonel for the escort vehicles they had produced on a moment's notice that morning in response to a call from ,colonel ,sheehan4 ,this third pair of jeeps were very conscientious about their escort duties4 ,the one in the vanguard kept well in the lead and would signal us whenever he came to a depression in the road4 ,this got on ,leclancher's nerves1 for ,i heard him muttering under his breath every time it happened4 ,but ,i was so glad to have an escort of any kind that ,i pretended not to notice his irritation4 ,when we reached ,lambach1 midway between ,linz and ,salzburg1 we lost this pair of guardians but acquired two sent on from the latter city4 ,while waiting for them to appear1 ,i scrounged lunch for myself and the drivers at a local battery4 ,as soon as the new escorts arrived we started on again and pulled into ,salzburg at two-thirty4 ,this time there were no delays and we threaded our way through the dripping streets and out on to the ,autobahn without mishap4 ,i now had only one remaining worry--the bad detour near ,rosenheim4 ,again1 perhaps thanks to the weather1 we were in luck and found this treacherous by-pass free of traffic4 ,as we rolled into ,munich1 the rain let up and by the time we turned into the ,knigsplatz1 the sun had broken through the clearing skies4 ,my first major evacuation job was finished4 ,as soon as ,i got my drivers fixed up with transportation back to their camp and the members of our escort party fed and billeted ,i could relax with a clear conscience4 ,it was a little after five-thirty1 and ,third ,army's inflexible habits about the hour at which all enlisted men should eat didn't make this problem such an easy one4 ,third ,army ,headquarters was a good twenty minutes away1 so ,i took the men to the ,military ,government ,detachment where the meal schedule was more elastic4 ,afterward ,i shepherded them to their billets and went off to my own4 ,i would have to write up a report of the expedition for ,captain ,posey1 but that could wait4 7#e7 ,,second ,,trip ,,to ,,hohenfurth ,the first order of business the next morning was a conference with ,captain ,posey4 ,i gave him a complete account of the ,hohenfurth trip and presented my recommendations for a second and final visit to complete the evacuation4 ,it was my suggestion that ,i return to the monastery with the same trucks--as soon as they could be unloaded and serviced--and that he send up another officer with at least eight additional trucks1 the second convoy to arrive by the time ,i had completed the loading of my own4 ,i proposed taking four packers this time instead of two1 the idea being that two of the packers could help me with the loading while the others were building cases for the fragile objects which would have to be crated4 ,i mentioned also the impending withdrawal of our troops from ,hohenfurth1 which would make later operations of such nature impossible4 ,this was of course no news to ,captain ,posey as1 presumably1 it had been the determining factor in the removal of the ,hohenfurth things in the first place4 ,he approved my plan and advised me to get my trucks lined up1 and said he would see what he could do about sending an additional officer4 ,i didn't like the sound of that4 ,too often ,i had used those same words myself when confronted with a difficult request4 ,furthermore1 it had been my experience with the ,army in general thus far--and with ,third ,army in particular--that 8out of sight1 out of mind0 was a favorite motto4 ,i had no intention of going back to ,hohenfurth until ,i had a definite promise that reinforcements would be forthcoming4 ,i think that my insistence piqued the captain a bit4 ,but at that point ,i was feeling exceedingly brisk and businesslike--a mood which ,i found new and stimulating4 ,it would be better to have a clear understanding now as to who would join me in ,hohenfurth2 as ,i explained to ,captain ,posey1 ,i would like to give the officer some detailed instructions1 preferably oral ones1 before ,i started off4 ,i spent the rest of that day and most of the following one at the ,verwaltungsbau supervising the unloading of the ten trucks from ,hohenfurth and making trips out to the trucking company headquarters to conclude arrangements for continued use of the vehicles4 ,also1 ,i had to put in a request for eight others4 ,it was gratifying to find that every piece we had packed at ,hohenfurth came through without a scratch4 ,my two packers1 to whom all credit for this belonged1 were equally elated4 ,my request for the services of four packers was met with black looks1 but when ,i promised that we'd not be gone more than four or five days1 ,craig acquiesced4 ,late in the afternoon of the second day1 ,i went again to ,posey's office4 ,he was not there but ,i found ,lincoln1 as usual hunched morosely over his typewriter4 ,he said he had good news for me4 ,captain ,posey had pulled a fast one and snatched a wonderful guy away from ,jim ,rorimer1 ,monuments ,officer at ,seventh ,army--a fellow named ,lamont ,moore4 ,moore was already1 he thought1 on his way down to ,munich to make the trip to ,hohenfurth4 ,when ,i said ,i didn't know ,moore1 ,lincoln proceeded to tell me about him4 8,lamont was director of the educational program at the ,national ,gallery in ,washington before he went into the ,army4 ,before that he had a brilliant record at the ,newark ,museum4 ,the two of you ought to get along famously4 ,lamont's got a wonderful sense of humor4 ,he's exceedingly intelligent and he's had a lot of experience in evacuation work40 8,where did you know him80 ,i asked4 8,we were in ,france last winter4 ,that was before he was commissioned4 ,he's a lieutenant now10 ,lincoln said4 8,that sounds perfect4 ,but ,i want to ask you a question about something else and ,i want a truthful answer4 ,i have a sneaking notion that you knew all the time what was in that monastery at ,hohenfurth4 ,how about it80 8,furniture and sculpture1 you mean1 instead of paintings80 he asked4 8,of course ,i didn't40 8,well1 maybe you didn't1 but perhaps you can imagine how ,i felt when ,i found that the ,mannheimer collection alone contained more than two thousand items1 and that the ,rothschild pieces totaled up to a similar figure40 ,lincoln's chuckle belied his protestations4 8,i've got another piece of news for you10 he said4 8,john ,nicholas ,brown and ,mason ,hammond are arriving tomorrow4 ,i thought you might like to see them before you return to ,hohenfurth40 8,you told me once that ,captain ,posey1 like many another officer1 doesn't relish visitors from higher headquarters10 ,i said4 8,am ,i to infer a connection between his absence from the office and the impending arrival of these two distinguished emissaries from the ,group ,control ,council80 ,he assured me that ,i was not1 but ,i left the office wondering about it all the same4 ,that evening ,george ,stout paid one of his rare and fleeting visits to ,munich4 ,on these occasions he stayed either with ,craig or ,ham ,coulter4 ,this time the four of us--all 8strays0 from the ,navy--gathered in ,ham's quarters4 8,the work at the mine10 ,george said1 8is going along as rapidly as can be expected in the circumstances4 ,but it's got to be stepped up4 ,i came down to find out how soon you could join me40 8,i'm going back to ,hohenfurth again10 ,i said4 8,lamont ,moore is to meet me there40 ,george was glad to hear this and said that he and ,lamont had worked together at the ,siegen mine in ,westphalia4 ,he confirmed all of the good things ,lincoln had told me about ,lamont and said that he'd like to have both of us at ,alt ,aussee4 ,he promised to have a talk with ,posey about it1 because he was of the opinion that these big evacuation jobs should be handled by a team rather than by a single officer4 ,according to ,george1 a team of at least three--and preferably four--officers would be the perfect setup4 ,then the work could be divided up4 ,each officer would have specific duties1 assigned to him on the basis of his particular talents4 ,but all members of the team would have responsibilities of equal importance4 ,it would be teamwork in the real sense of the term4 ,like all of ,george's proposals1 this one sounded very sensible4 ,at the same time1 when ,i recalled the haphazard way ,i had been obliged to conduct operations thus far myself1 ,i wondered if it weren't ,utopian4 ,that didn't discourage ,george4 ,when he had a good idea he never let go of it4 ,and1 if we had only been a larger group1 ,i am convinced that his brain child about teams would have had wonderful results4 ,as it was1 the events of the next few weeks were to demonstrate how effective the scheme was on a small scale4 ,when ,i got out to ,third ,army ,headquarters the next morning1 ,george had already come and gone4 ,i would have liked to ask ,posey about their conversation but he didn't seem to be in a chatty mood--at least not on that subject4 ,however1 he did have a few caustic things to say about 8people from high headquarters who have nothing better to do than travel around and interrupt the work of others40 ,knowing that he was referring to ,messrs4 ,brown and ,hammond--,lincoln's assurance of the night before to the contrary notwithstanding--,i piously observed that high-level visitors to the field might do quite a lot of good4 ,for one thing1 the fact that they had taken the trouble to visit it emphasized the importance of the work they had come to inspect2 and1 for another1 it pleased the officer in the field to have his job noticed by the boys at the top4 ,i thought ,i sounded pretty convincing1 but sensing that ,i was not1 ,i turned to other topics4 ,about that time ,john and ,mason arrived4 ,our last meeting had taken place in the vaults of the ,reichsbank at ,frankfurt several weeks before4 ,mason referred to that and jokingly accused me of having run out on him4 ,when ,i told him that ,i was about to return to ,hohenfurth he announced loudly that that was perfect--he and ,john would drop in to see me there4 ,i said that would be fine but1 when ,i noted the expression on ,captain ,posey's face1 ,i added to myself1 8fine1 if they get the clearance40 ,before coming up to see me1 they expected to visit one or two places south of ,munich1 so they wouldn't reach ,hohenfurth before the end of the week4 ,captain ,posey was a great believer in the old theory that the ,devil finds work for idle hands1 at least as far as ,i was concerned4 ,that same afternoon he casually suggested that ,i take a 8little run down into the ,tyrol0 for him and inspect a castle about which he had been asked to make a report4 ,he proposed the trip with such prewar insouciance that it sounded like a pleasant holiday excursion4 ,as a matter of fact it was an appealing suggestion1 despite my plans for an early morning start to ,hohenfurth4 ,it was a beautiful summer day and my jeep driver asked if a friend of his1 a sergeant who was keen about photography1 might come along4 ,i agreed and the three of us headed out east of ,munich on the ,autobahn4 ,it was fun to be riding in an open jeep instead of an enclosed truck4 ,we reached ,rosenheim in record time and there struck south into the mountains4 ,our objective was the little village of ,brixlegg1 between ,kufstein and ,innsbruck4 ,we were on the main road to the ,brenner ,pass4 ,italy was temptingly close4 ,we stopped from time to time so that the sergeant could get a snapshot of some particularly dramatic vista4 ,but there was an embarrassment of riches--every part of the road was spectacularly beautiful4 ,brixlegg was a tiny cluster of picturesque chalets1 but it had not been tiny enough to elude the attentions of the air force4 ,on the outskirts we saw the shattered remains of what had been an important factory for the manufacture of airplane parts4 ,happily1 the bombers had concentrated their efforts on the factory4 ,the little village had suffered practically no damage at all4 ,we located our castle without difficulty4 ,it was ,schloss ,matzen1 one of the finest castles of the ,tyrol--the property of a ,british officer1 ,vice-,admiral ,baillie-,grohman4 ,this gentleman had requested a report on the castle from the ,american authorities4 ,we found everything in perfect order4 ,the admiral's cousin--a ,hungarian baron named ,von ,schmedes who spoke excellent ,english--was in residence4 ,he showed us over the place4 ,the castle was an example of intelligent restoration4 ,according to the inscription on a plaque over the entrance1 the aunt of the present owner had devoted her life to this task4 ,although an 8,off ,limits0 sign was prominently displayed on the premises1 the baron was fearful of intruders4 ,as the castle stood some distance from the main highway1 ,i thought he was being unduly apprehensive4 ,he said that an official letter of warning to unwelcome visitors would be an added protection4 ,to please him ,i wrote out a statement to the effect that the castle was an historic monument1 the property of a ,british subject1 etc41 and signed it in the name of the ,commanding ,general of the ,third ,u4 ,s4 ,army4 ,on our way out we were shown two rooms on the ground floor which were filled with polychromed wood sculpture from the museum at ,innsbruck4 ,the baron said that additional objects from the ,innsbruck museum were stored in a near-by castle1 ,schloss ,lichtwert4 ,it was but a few minutes' drive from ,schloss ,matzen1 so ,i decided to have a look at it4 ,schloss ,lichtwert1 though not nearly so picturesque either in character or as to site1 was the more interesting of the two4 ,it stood baldly in the middle of a field and was actually a big country house rather than a castle4 ,we were hospitably received by a courtly old gentleman1 ,baron von ,iname1 to whom ,i explained the reason for our visit4 ,one of his daughters offered to do the honors1 saying that her father was extremely deaf4 ,we followed her to a handsome drawing room on the second floor1 where several other members of the family were gathered in conversation around a large table set with coffee things4 ,in one of the wall panels was a concealed door1 which the daughter of the house opened by pressing a hidden spring4 ,leading the way1 she took us into a room about twenty feet square filled with violins1 violas and 'cellos4 ,they hung in rows from the ceiling1 like hams in a smokehouse4 ,frulein von ,iname said that the collection of musical instruments at ,innsbruck was a very fine one4 ,we were standing in a ,stradivarius forest4 ,when we passed back into the drawing room1 the father whispered a few words to his daughter4 ,she turned to us smiling and said1 8,father asked if ,i had pointed out to you the thickness of the walls in this part of the castle4 ,he is very proud of the fact that they date from the fourteenth century and that our family has always lived here4 ,he also asks me to invite you to take coffee with us40 ,knowing that coffee was valued as molten gold1 ,i declined the invitation on the grounds that we had a long trip ahead of us4 ,thanking her for her courtesy1 we left4 ,it was after eleven when we got back to ,munich4 ,we had driven a little more than three hundred miles4 ,bad weather and bad luck attended us all the way to ,hohenfurth the next day4 ,less than an hour out on the ,autobahn1 we came upon a gruesome accident--an overturned jeep and the limp figures of two ,g,is at one side of the road1 the mangled body of a ,german soldier in the center of the pavement4 ,an ambulance had already arrived and a doctor was ministering to the injured ,american soldiers4 ,the ,german was obviously beyond medical help4 ,as soon as the road was cleared1 we continued--but at a very sober pace4 ,on the other side of ,salzburg we had carburetor trouble which held us up for nearly two hours4 ,it was after five thirty when we reached ,linz4 ,we stopped there for supper and ,i had a few words with the colonel who had looked after us so well a few days before4 ,he seemed surprised to see me again1 and rather agitated4 8,you can get through this time10 he said1 8but don't try to come back this way40 8,what do you mean1 sir80 ,i asked1 puzzled by his curt admonition4 ,apparently annoyed by my query1 he said brusquely1 8,don't ask any questions4 ,just do as ,i say--don't come back this way40 ,at supper ,i saw ,lieutenant ,anderson again and ,i broached the subject to him4 8,does the colonel mean that the ,russians are expected to move up to the other side of the ,danube80 ,i asked4 8,take a good look at the bridge when you cross over tonight10 he said4 ,it was my turn to be nettled now4 8,look here1 ,i don't mean to be intruding on any precious military secret1 but ,i am expecting a second convoy to join me at ,hohenfurth in two days2 if the other trucks aren't going to be able to get through ,i ought to let the people at ,third ,army ,headquarters know40 8,well1 frankly ,i don't know just what the score is1 but the colonel probably has definite information10 he said4 8,what ,i meant about the bridge is that it's jammed with people and carts1 all coming over to the west side of the ,danube4 ,it's been like that for the past two days and it can mean only one thing--that the ,russians aren't far behind40 ,this wasn't too reassuring1 but ,i decided to take a fatalistic attitude toward it4 ,if ,i had to find some other route back from ,hohenfurth1 ,i'd worry about it when the time came4 ,i did1 however1 try to get through to ,third ,army ,headquarters on the phone4 ,posey's office didn't answer1 so ,i asked ,anderson to put in a call for me in the morning4 ,it was slow going over the bridge1 but we finally forced our way through the welter of carts and wagons4 ,once we were in open country1 the traffic thinned out and we moved along at a faster pace4 ,the ,czech and ,american officers at the frontier recognized us and waved us through without formality4 ,we arrived in ,hohenfurth a little before nine4 ,i knew the ropes this time1 so it was a simple matter to get the men billeted in the monastery4 ,after that ,i went on to my own former billet4 ,when ,i reached the house1 ,i found a group of officers in the recreation room4 ,they were holding an informal meeting4 ,colonel ,sheehan was presiding and motioned to me to join the group4 ,he had just returned from the headquarters at ,budweis with important news4 ,his own orders had come through1 so he would be pulling out for home in a few days4 ,but of greater concern to me was the news that the ,czechs would definitely take over at the end of the week4 ,we would still have some troops in the area1 but their duties would be greatly curtailed4 ,i would have to finish the job at the monastery as fast as possible and head back to ,munich4 ,we resumed our work at the monastery with surprisingly few delays4 ,it was almost as if there had been no interruption of our earlier operations4 ,this time ,i had double the number of ,p,ws1 so ,i did not have to call on the drivers to help with the loading4 ,during my absence1 ,dr4 ,mutter had put a stonemason to work on the pieces which had been set into the wall1 and these now lay like parts of a puzzle in a neat pattern on the floor of the reception hall1 ready to be packed4 ,he had also procured lumber and nails1 so my two extra packers were able to get to work on the cases which had to be built4 ,by evening1 seven of the trucks were loaded1 leaving only one more to do the next day4 ,that night ,i consulted one of the officers1 who had a wide knowledge of the roads in that area1 about an alternate route to ,munich4 ,he showed me1 on the map1 a winding back road which would take me through ,passau--instead of ,linz and ,salzburg--to ,munich4 ,it was1 he said1 a very 8scenic route0 but longer than the way ,i had come4 ,he felt sure1 though1 that ,i could get my trucks through1 that there were no bad detours1 etc4 ,it was comforting to know that this route existed as a possibility--just in case4 ,but ,i still had hopes of being able to go back by way of ,linz1 in spite of the colonel's warning4 ,the next day was the ,fourth of ,july--not that ,i expected either my ,french or ,german associates to take special notice of the fact4 ,still ,i was glad that ,i had only one truck to load on the holiday4 ,i took advantage of the later breakfast hour1 knowing that my faithful ,german packers would be on the job at seven o'clock as usual4 ,when ,i arrived at the monastery at nine-thirty1 ,i found that the last truck was already half loaded4 ,there was enough room to add the two cases containing the ,della ,robbia plaque and the ,renaissance fireplace taken out of the wall2 and1 if we were careful1 we might find a place for the fifteenth century ,florentine relief which the stonemason had also painstakingly removed4 ,once that was done1 there was nothing to do but wait for the arrival of ,lieutenant ,moore and the additional trucks4 ,i called the workmen together4 ,in halting ,german1 ,i explained the significance of the ,fourth of ,july and announced that there would be no more work that day4 ,it was providentially near the lunch hour4 ,i could send the ,p,ws back to their camp as soon as they had eaten4 ,the ,german packers1 intent on returning to ,munich as soon as possible1 chose to get on with the cases they were building4 ,dr4 ,mutter and ,i retired to his study to take stock of the receipts we had thus far made out4 ,as for the ,french drivers1 they had disappeared to their quarters4 ,after lunching at the officers' mess1 ,i decided to celebrate the ,glorious ,fourth in my own quiet way4 ,major ,whittemore had lent me a car1 so ,i set out on an expedition of my own devising4 ,ever since the night of our trip to ,krummau1 ,i had wanted to explore the castle of ,rosenberg1 and this seemed the logical time to do it4 ,rosenberg was only eight kilometers away4 ,it was a sleepy summer afternoon4 ,not a leaf was stirring as ,i followed the winding ,moldau into the pretty village with its storybook castle4 ,the road to the castle was rough and tortuous1 reminding me of a back road in the ,tennessee mountain country4 ,just as ,i was beginning to wonder if the little sedan were equal to the climb1 the road turned sharply into a level areaway before the castle courtyard4 ,i parked the car and went in search of the caretaker4 ,when ,i found no one1 ,i ascended a flight of stone steps which led from the courtyard to the second floor4 ,the room at the head of the stairs was empty1 but ,i heard voices in the one adjoining4 ,two cleaning women were scrubbing the floor1 chattering to each other as they worked4 ,they were startled to see me1 but one of them had the presence of mind to scurry off and return a few minutes later with the archetype of all castle caretakers4 ,he had been custodian for the past fifty-six years4 ,lately there hadn't been many visitors4 ,he took me first to the picture gallery--a long high-ceilinged room with tall windows looking out over the river4 ,there were a dozen full-length canvases around the rough plaster walls1 past ,dukes of ,rosenberg and their sour-faced ,duchesses4 ,the clou of the collection was a tubercular lady in seventeenth century costume4 ,the caretaker solemnly informed me that she was the ill-fated duchess who paced the ramparts of the castle every night just before twelve4 ,she had lived1 he told me1 in the fourteenth century4 ,when ,i mentioned as tactfully as possible that her gown indicated she had been a mere three hundred years ahead of the styles1 he gave me a dirty look as much as to say1 8a disbeliever40 ,i did my best to erase this unfortunate impression and proceeded to the next series of apartments4 ,they included a weapon room1 a sumptuous state bedchamber reserved for royal visitors1 several richly furnished reception rooms1 and a long gallery called the ,crusaders' ,hall--a copy1 the caretaker said1 of a room in the ,palace at ,versailles4 ,here hung full-length portraits of such historic personages as ,godefroy de ,bouillon1 ,robert ,guiscard and ,frederick ,barbarossa--all done by an indifferent ,german painter of the last century4 ,notwithstanding its ostentatious atmosphere1 the gallery had a dignity quite in keeping with the musty elegance of the castle4 ,i thanked the old man1 gave him a couple of cigarettes and returned to the car4 ,it was time for me to be getting back to the monastery4 ,i gauged my arrival nicely4 ,as ,i pulled up to the entrance1 the guard at the archway came over to the car to tell me that eight trucks had just driven through4 ,when ,i reached the courtyard the last of them was backing up against the chapel wall4 ,a tall1 rangy lieutenant1 wearing the familiar helmet liner prescribed by ,third ,army regulations1 walked up to the car as ,i was getting out and said1 8,good afternoon1 sir4 ,dr4 ,livingstone1 ,i presume80 ,so this was ,lamont ,moore4 ,just as ,lincoln had predicted1 ,i liked him at once4 ,there was a quiet self-possession about him1 coupled with a quizzical1 humorous expression1 which was pleasantly reassuring4 ,i have never forgotten the impression of ,olympian calm ,i received at that first meeting4 ,in succeeding months1 there were many times when ,lamont got thoroughly riled1 but his composure never deserted him4 ,his even temper and his sense of humor could always be depended upon to leaven the more impetuous actions of his companions4 ,without wasting breath on inconsequential conversation1 he suggested that we 8case the joint40 ,after introducing him to ,dr4 ,mutter1 who was still hovering around like a distracted schoolmaster1 we made a tour of the premises4 ,by the time we had finished ,i had the comforting1 if somewhat unflattering1 feeling that he had a clearer understanding of the work there than ,i1 notwithstanding the time ,i had spent at the monastery4 ,on our way down to the village afterward1 ,i asked ,lamont if he had had any difficulty coming up through ,linz4 ,he said no1 but that he also had been warned not to return that way4 ,as soon as he had found a billet1 we settled down to talk over the loading of his trucks4 8,the colonel says that we'll have to finish the job in a hurry4 ,the ,czechs are taking over at the end of the week10 ,i said4 8,and if the ,russians move up to the ,danube1 we won't be able to go back by way of ,linz4 ,we'll have to return by way of ,passau40 8,i understand that there isn't any bridge over the ,danube at ,passau10 ,lamont said quietly4 ,at that ,i got excited1 but in the same quiet voice ,lamont said1 8,don't worry4 ,we've got more important things to think about--something to drink1 for example40 ,we went over to the officers' club1 arriving just in time to be offered a sample of the ,fourth of ,july punch which two of the officers had been mixing that afternoon4 ,from the look of things1 they had perfect confidence in their recipe1 which called for red wine1 armagnac and champagne4 ,after the first sip ,i didn't have to be told there would be fireworks in ,hohenfurth that evening4 ,lamont and ,i began to discuss mutual friends and acquaintances in the museum world1 a habit deeply ingrained in members of our profession4 ,we agreed that a mutual 8hate0 often brought people together more quickly than a mutual admiration4 ,then inconsistently--it was probably the punch--we started talking about ,lincoln1 whom we both liked very much4 8,it was ,lincoln who told me what a fine fellow you are1 ,lamont10 ,i said4 8,that's interesting10 he said with a noiseless laugh4 8,he said the same thing about you40 ,comparing notes1 we found that ,lincoln had given us identical vignettes of each other4 8,tell me something about the work you've been doing in ,,mfa,a4 ,this is my first real job1 so ,i'm still a neophyte10 ,i said4 ,lamont rolled his eyes wearily and said1 8,oh1 ,i've been evacuating works of art for the past four months1 and ,i wonder sometimes if it's ever going to end4 ,siegen was my big show4 ,it was the foul and dripping copper mine in ,westphalia where the priceless treasures from the ,rhineland museums were stored4 ,the shaft was two thousand feet deep and some of the mine chambers were more than half a mile from the shaft4 ,walker ,hancock of ,first ,army and ,george ,stout had inspected it originally and advised immediate evacuation4 ,but no place was available4 ,first ,army was pushing eastward1 so all ,walker could do was to reassure himself from time to time that the contents were adequately guarded4 8,shortly before ,,ve-,day1 ,i received a cryptic telegram at ,ninth ,army ,headquarters stating that1 as of midnight that particular night1 ,siegen was my headache4 ,then followed weeks of activity in which ,walker1 ,steve and ,i were involved40 8,who is ,steve80 ,i asked4 8,steve ,kovalyak of ,punxsutawney1 ,pennsylvania10 said ,lamont4 8,i think he's with ,george at ,alt ,aussee now4 ,i hope you'll meet him4 ,he's a great character4 8,a bunker at ,bonn was approved as a new repository for the ,siegen treasures4 ,i surveyed the roads to ,bonn and found them impossible for truck transport4 ,george was called to ,alt ,aussee4 ,walker went off to see about setting up a collecting point at ,marburg4 8,then ,i was called back to ,ninth ,army ,headquarters4 ,the evacuation of ,siegen was momentarily at a standstill4 8,later ,i returned and1 with ,walker's and ,steve's assistance1 completed the evacuation4 ,we moved everything to ,marburg1 except the famous ,romanesque doors from the church of ,santa ,maria im ,kapitol4 ,walker took them to the cathedral at ,cologne1 along with the ,aachen crown jewels4 8,siegen was the second major evacuation--perhaps you could say it was the first carried out by a team of ,,mfa,a officers40 8,what was the first80 ,i asked4 8,the ,merkers mine1 where the ,nazi gold and the ,berlin ,museum things were stored4 ,that was the most spectacular of the early evacuations--that and ,bernterode40 8,what about ,bernterode80 ,i asked4 ,i had read ,hancock's official report of the operation and had seen some snapshots taken in the mine1 so ,i was curious to have a firsthand account4 8,walter ,hancock was the officer in charge of the evacuation10 said ,lamont4 8,like ,siegen1 it was a deep-shaft mine1 so the contents had to be brought up by an elevator4 ,it was a hell of a job to get the elevator back in working order4 ,the dramatic thing about ,bernterode was the discovery of a small chapel1 or shrine1 constructed in one of the mine chambers and then completely walled up4 8,in this concealed shrine1 the ,nazis had placed the bronze sarcophagi of ,frederick the ,great1 ,frederick ,william--the ,soldier ,king--and those of ,von ,hindenburg and his wife4 ,on the coffins had been laid wreaths1 ribbons and various insignia of the ,party4 ,around and about them were some two hundred regimental banners1 many of them dating from the early ,prussian wars4 8,when ,walker was ready to take the coffins out of the mine1 he found they were so large and heavy that they'd have to come up one at a time4 ,he was standing at the top of the shaft as the coffin of ,frederick the ,great rose slowly from the depths4 ,as it neared the level1 a radio in the distance blared forth the #8,star-,spangled ,banner4' ,and just as the coffin came into view1 the radio band struck up #8,god ,save the ,king4' ,the date10 ,lamont added significantly1 8was ,may the eighth40 ,if ,i thought ,i was going to get much sleep that night1 ,i reckoned without the patriotic officers of the ,yankee ,division1 who were hell-bent on making it a really ,glorious ,fourth4 ,it had been my mistake in the first place to move into quarters directly over the recreation room4 ,it wasn't much of a bedroom anyway--just an alcove with an eighteenth century settee for a bed4 ,i was resting precariously on this spindly collector's item when the door was flung open and ,major ,thacher shouted that ,i was wanted below4 ,i told him to go away4 ,to my surprise he did--but only to return a few minutes later with reinforcements4 ,i must come down at once--colonel's orders1 and if ,i wouldn't come quietly1 they'd carry me down4 ,before ,i could get off my settee1 it was pitched forward and ,i sprawled on the floor4 ,what fun it was for everybody--except me6 ,i put on a dressing gown and was marched down the stairs4 ,i had been called in1 as a naval officer1 to settle an argument3 ,who had won the ,battle of ,jutland8 ,the ,battle of ,jutland1 of all things6 ,at that moment ,i wasn't at all sure in what war it had been fought1 let alone who had won it4 ,but assuming an assurance ,i was far from feeling ,i declared that it had been a draw4 ,my luck was with me that night after all1 for that had been the colonel's contention4 ,so ,i was allowed to return to my makeshift bed4 ,lamont took some of the wind out of my sails by assuring me the next morning that the ,british had defeated the ,german fleet at ,jutland in #aiaf4 ,but we were having our own battle of ,hohenfurth that morning1 so ,i was too preoccupied to give ,jutland more than a passing thought4 ,just before noon1 as we finished our fourth truck1 ,john ,nicholas ,brown and ,mason ,hammond arrived4 ,mason1 as was his custom when traveling about ,germany1 was bundled up in a great sheepskin coat--the kind used by the ,wehrmacht on the ,russian front--and looked like something out of ,nanook of the ,north4 ,john1 less arctically attired1 hailed us gaily from the back seat of the command car4 ,lamont and ,i suspended operations to show them around4 ,we were pleased by their comments on our work--how admirably it was being handled and so on--but we struck a snag when we showed them ,canova's marble ,muse4 ,lamont and ,i had just about decided to leave her where she was4 ,our two visitors thought that would be a pity1 a downright shame4 ,we pointed out that to transport the statue would be a hazardous business1 even if we succeeded in getting it onto a truck in the first place4 ,we had no equipment with which to hoist anything so heavy4 ,on our inspection tour they kept coming back to the subject of the ,canova1 and ,lamont gave me an irritated look for having called their attention to it at all4 ,at lunch1 which we had with the colonel1 they fixed us4 ,when the subject of the statue was brought up1 the colonel instantly agreed to provide us with a winch and also two extra trucks4 ,we needed the trucks all right1 but we weren't particularly happy about the winch4 ,as soon as we got back to the monastery1 we broke the news to ,dr4 ,mutter4 ,the ,muse was about to take a trip4 ,he held up his hands in dismay and said it would take us half a day to get the statue loaded4 ,when we told the ,german packers what we had in mind1 they made a few clucking noises1 and then began the necessary preparations4 ,the first thing they did was to get hold of two logs1 each about six feet in length and five inches in diameter4 ,with the help of a dozen ,p,ws1 they got them placed beneath the base of the statue4 ,from that point on1 it was a matter of slowly rolling the statue as the logs rolled4 ,it was arduous work4 ,a distance of well over four hundred yards was involved1 and the last half of it was along a sloping ramp where it was particularly difficult to keep the heavy marble under control4 ,once the truck was reached1 it was necessary to set up a stout runway from the ground to the bed of the truck4 ,this done1 the next move was to place heavy pads around the base of the statue1 so that the cable of the winch would not scratch the surface of the marble4 ,it was a tense moment4 ,would the winch be strong enough to drag its heavy burden up the runway8 ,it began to grind1 and slowly the ,muse slid up the boards1 paused for a quivering instant and then glided majestically along the bed of the truck4 ,there were cheers from the ,p,ws who had gathered around the truck to watch4 ,we all sighed with relief1 and then congratulated the little packers who had engineered the whole operation4 ,dr4 ,mutter kept shaking his head in disbelief4 ,he told us that when the statue had been brought to the monastery in the first place1 it had taken three hours to unload it4 ,the present operation had taken forty-five minutes4 ,after this triumph1 the loading of the remaining trucks seemed an anticlimax1 but we kept hard at it for the next six hours4 ,by seven o'clock1 all ten of them were finished4 ,all told1 we would be a convoy of eighteen trucks4 ,we were on the point of starting down to the village for supper1 when ,dr4 ,mutter1 even more agitated than he had been before1 rushed up and implored us to grant him a great favor4 ,would we1 out of the kindness of our hearts--oh1 he knew he had no right to ask such a favor--would we take him and his wife and little girl along with us to ,linz the next day8 ,linz was his home1 he had a house there4 ,he had brought his family to ,hohenfurth only because the ,nazis wouldn't allow him to give up his duties as custodian of the collections at the monastery4 ,now the ,czechs were going to be in complete control4 ,he and his family were ,austrians and there was no telling what would happen to them4 ,how news does get around1 ,i thought to myself4 ,we hadn't said a word about the ,czechs taking over1 but when ,i expressed the proper surprise and asked him where he had heard that rumor1 he wagged his head as much as to say1 8,oh1 ,i know what ,i am talking about1 all right60 ,my heart wasn't exactly bleeding for ,dr4 ,mutter1 but at the thought of his little girl1 who was about the age of my own1 ,i couldn't say no4 ,i told him to be ready to leave at seven the next morning4 ,i didn't tell him how uncertain it was that we would ever get to ,linz at all4 ,it was pouring when ,i crawled out of my bed at six ,a4,m4 ,i seemed to specialize in bad weather1 particularly when starting out with a convoy6 ,at the monastery everything was in order4 ,at the last minute ,i decided to tell ,dr4 ,mutter there was a possibility--even a probability--that we would not be able to cross over at ,linz1 and ,i told him why4 ,he was terrified when ,i mentioned the prospect of being stopped by the ,russians4 ,i assured him that we would drop him and his family off at one of the villages on the other side of the ,austrian border1 if we found there was going to be trouble4 ,it was cold comfort but the best ,i had to offer4 ,i climbed into the lead truck1 ,lamont into the tenth1 and ,leclancher1 as usual1 took over the last truck4 ,leclancher1 with his customary ability to pull a rabbit out of a hat at a critical juncture1 had found among his drivers one who spoke some ,russian1 so we had put him at the controls of the first truck4 ,it might make a good impression4 ,once again we had a jeep escort to the border1 and there we picked up three others to conduct us as far as ,linz4 ,the cocky little sergeant in the jeep that was to lead came over to my truck1 squinted up at me and said1 8,you look nervous this morning1 ,lieutenant40 ,well1 ,i thought1 if it's that apparent1 what's the use of denying it8 8,i am10 ,i said4 8,this is a big convoy and it's filled with millions of dollars' worth of stuff4 ,i'd hate to have anything happen to it40 ,he whistled at that4 ,then1 rubbing his hands briskly1 he retorted1 8,and nothing is going to happen to it40 ,he took off and we swung in behind him4 ,the first hour was a long one4 ,there was more traffic than ever before--a steady stream of carts all moving toward ,linz4 ,at last we shifted into low gear1 and ,i knew that we were on the steep grade leading down to ,urfahr4 ,if there were going to be trouble1 we'd know it in a minute4 ,at that moment1 the sergeant in the lead jeep turned around and waved4 ,i thought1 ,there's trouble ahead4 ,but he was only signaling that the road was clear4 ,we rolled over the rough cobblestones onto the bridge4 ,i saw the gleaming helmet liners of the new escort awaiting us as we drew up to the center of the span4 ,i motioned to one of our new guardians that we would stop at the first convenient place on the other side4 ,we were such a long convoy that ,i thought we'd be halfway through ,linz before our escort directed us to pull over to the curb4 ,there we unloaded the ,mutter family and their luggage4 ,the doctor and his wife were tearfully grateful and the little girl smiled her thanks4 ,i was feeling relaxed and happy and wanted to share my relief with someone1 so ,i suggested to ,lamont that we pay our respects to the colonel who had warned us not to come through ,linz4 ,it was a letdown to find only a warrant officer in the colonel's anteroom4 ,but he remembered us and was surprised to see us again4 ,he said we had been lucky2 the latest news was that the ,russians would move up to the opposite side of the ,danube by noon4 ,we left appropriate messages for the colonel and his adjutant1 returned to our trucks and headed west toward ,lambach4 ,as on the previous trip1 the escort turned back at that point4 ,a new one--this time an impressive array of six armed jeeps--shepherded us from there4 ,we stopped for lunch with a ,corps of ,engineers outfit of the #aath ,armored ,division on the outskirts of ,schwannenstadt4 ,the ,c4,o41 ,major ,allen1 and his executive officer1 ,captain ,myers1 welcomed us as warmly as if we had been commanding generals instead of a motley crew of eighteen ,french drivers1 plus twelve 8noncoms0 from the escorting jeeps--a total of thirty-two1 including ,lamont and me4 ,we doled out ,k rations to our four packers1 for we couldn't take civilians into an ,army mess4 ,after lunch ,i telephoned ahead to ,salzburg to ask for an escort from there to ,munich1 requesting that it meet us on the edge of town1 east of the river4 ,the weather had cleared1 and drying patches of water on the road reflected a blue sky4 ,by the time we had sighted ,salzburg it was actually hot4 ,as we rolled into the outskirts we were enveloped in clouds of dust from the steady procession of military vehicles4 ,we waited in vain for our new escort4 ,after an hour we decided to proceed without one4 ,i didn't like the idea very much1 but it was getting on toward five o'clock1 and we wanted to reach ,munich in time for supper4 ,we fell far short of our goal1 being forced to stop once because of a flat tire1 and a second time because of carburetor trouble4 ,these two delays cost us close to two hours4 ,at seven o'clock we halted by the placid waters of ,chiemsee and ate cold ,c rations in an idyllic setting4 ,it was after nine when we lumbered into the parking area behind the ,gargantuan depot at the ,knigsplatz4 ,lamont and ,i had twin objectives--hot baths and bed4 ,it didn't take us long to achieve both6 ,we had had every intention of making an early start the next morning1 not so much because of any blind faith in ,benjamin ,franklin's precepts1 but simply because they stopped serving breakfast in the ,third ,army mess shortly before eight o'clock4 ,in fact1 the first thing one saw on entering the mess hall was a large placard which stated peremptorily1 8,the mess will be cleared by #jhjj4 ,by order of the ,commanding ,general40 ,and such was ,third ,army discipline--we had a different name for it--that the mess hall was completely devoid of life on the stroke of eight4 ,it was a little after seven when ,i woke up4 ,lamont was still dead to the world1 so ,i shaved and dressed before waking him4 ,there was a malevolent gleam in his eyes when he finally opened them4 ,he asked frigidly1 8,are you always so infernally cheerful at this hour of the morning80 ,i told him not to confuse cheerfulness with common courtesy1 and mentioned the peculiar breakfast habits of the ,third ,army4 ,we arrived at the mess hall with a few minutes to spare4 ,the sergeant at the entrance asked to see our mess cards4 ,we had none but ,i explained that we were attached to the headquarters4 8,temporary duty80 he asked4 8,yes1 just temporary duty10 ,i said with a hint of thankfulness4 8,then you can't eat here4 ,take the bus to the ,transient ,officers' ,mess downtown40 ,i asked about the bus schedule4 8,last bus left at #jgde10 he said4 ,it was then #jgej4 8,well1 how do you like #8chicken' for breakfast80 ,i asked ,lamont as we walked out to the empty street4 ,there was nothing to do but walk along until we could hail a passing vehicle4 ,we had gone a good half mile before we got a lift4 ,knowing that the downtown mess closed at eight1 ,i thought we'd better try the mess hall at the ,military ,government ,detachment where the officers usually lingered till about eight-thirty4 ,among the laggards we found ,ham ,coulter and ,craig4 ,after airing our views on the subject of ,third ,army hospitality1 we settled down to a good breakfast and a full account of our trip back from ,hohenfurth4 ,we told ,craig that a couple of our ,french drivers were to meet us at the ,collecting ,point at nine4 ,they were to bring some of the trucks around for unloading before noon4 ,it was a ,saturday and in ,bavaria everything stopped at noon4 ,once in a great while ,craig could persuade members of his civilian crew to work on ,saturday afternoons1 but it was a custom they didn't hold with1 so he avoided it whenever possible4 ,there were those who frowned on this kind of 8coddling10 as they called it1 but they just didn't know their ,bavarians4 ,craig did1 and ,i think he got more work out of his people than if he had tried to change their habits4 ,we spent part of the morning with ,herr ,dbler1 the chief packer1 at the ,collecting ,point1 helping him decipher our trucking lists1 hastily prepared at ,hohenfurth in longhand4 ,meanwhile the trucks1 one after another1 drew up to the unloading platform and disgorged their precious contents4 ,the descent of the marble ,muse caused a flurry of excitement4 ,our description of loading the statue had lost nothing in the telling and we were anxious to see how she had stood the trip4 ,the roads had been excruciatingly rough in places1 especially at ,linz and on the dread detour near ,rosenheim4 ,at each chuckhole ,i had offered up a little prayer4 ,but my worries had been groundless--she emerged from the truck in all her gleaming1 snow-white perfection4 ,just before noon1 ,captain ,posey summoned ,lamont and me to his office4 ,he cut short our account of the ,hohenfurth operation with the news that we were to leave that afternoon for the great mine at ,alt ,aussee4 ,at last we were to join ,george--both of us4 ,george was going to have his team after all4 ,a command car had already been ordered4 ,the driver was to pick us up at one-thirty4 ,posey got out a map and showed us the road we were to take beyond ,salzburg4 ,as his finger ran along the red line of the route marked with the names ,st4 ,gilgen1 ,st4 ,wolfgang1 ,bad ,ischl and ,bad ,aussee1 our excitement grew4 ,untold treasures were waiting to be unearthed at the end of it4 ,he said that the trip would take about six hours4 ,we could perhaps stop off at ,bad ,aussee for supper4 ,two naval officers--,lieutenants ,plaut and ,rousseau1 both of them ,,oss--had set up a special interrogation center there1 an establishment known simply as 8,house #ga10 and were making an intensive investigation of ,german art-looting activities4 ,they lived very well1 ,posey said with a grin4 ,we could do a lot worse than to sample their hospitality4 ,i knew ,jim ,plaut and ,ted ,rousseau--in fact had seen them at ,versailles not so many weeks ago--so ,i thought we could prevail on them to take us in4 ,the mention of food reminded ,lamont that we ought to pick up a generous supply of rations--the kind called 8ten-in-ones0--somewhere along the road4 ,the captain gave us a written order for that1 and also provided each of us with a letter stating that we were authorized to 8enter art repositories in the area occupied by the ,third ,u4 ,s4 ,army40 ,our earlier permits had referred to specific localities4 ,these were blanket permits--marks of signal favor1 we gathered from the ceremonious manner in which they were presented to us4 ,there were various odds and ends to be attended to before we could get off1 among them the business of our ,,px rations4 ,that was ,lamont's idea4 ,he said that we might not be able to get them later4 ,he was right2 they were the last ones we were able to lay our hands on for three weeks4 ,illustration3 ,german altarpiece from the ,louvre ,museum1 by the ,master of the ,holy ,kinship1 was acquired by ,gring in exchange for paintings from his own collection4 ,illustration3 ,this panel1 ,mary ,magdalene1 by van ,scorel1 was given to ,hitler by ,gring4 ,shortly before the war's end the ,fhrer returned it to ,gring for safekeeping4 ,illustration3 ,wing of an ,italian ,renaissance altarpiece by del ,garbo1 representing ,saint ,john the ,evangelist and ,saint ,justin4 ,illustration3 ,life-size statue of polychromed wood1 ,the ,magdalene1 by ,erhardt1 was formerly owned by the ,louvre4 7#f7 ,,loot ,,underground3 ,,the ,,salt ,,mine ,,at ,,alt ,,aussee ,it was nearly two o'clock by the time we were ready to start4 ,i was now so familiar with the road between ,munich and ,salzburg that ,i felt like a commuter4 ,just outside ,salzburg1 ,lamont began looking for signs that would lead us to a ,quartermaster depot4 ,he finally caught sight of one and1 after following a devious route which took us several miles off the main road1 we found the depot4 ,we were issued two compact and very heavy wooden boxes bound with metal strips4 ,we dumped them on the floor of the command car and drove on into town4 ,across the river1 we picked up a secondary road which led out of the city in a southeasterly direction4 ,for some miles it wound through hills so densely wooded that we could see but little of the country4 ,then1 emerging from the tunnel of evergreens1 we skirted ,fuschl ,see1 the first of the lovely ,alpine lakes in that region4 ,somewhere along its shores1 we had been told1 ,ribbentrop had had a castle4 ,it was being used now as a recreation center for ,american soldiers4 ,our road led into more rugged country4 ,we continued to climb and with each curve of the road the scenery became more spectacular4 ,after an hour's drive we reached ,st4 ,gilgen1 its neat white houses and picturesque church spire silhouetted against the blue waters of ,st4 ,wolfgang ,see4 ,then on past the village of ,strobl and finally into the crooked streets of ,bad ,ischl1 where the old ,emperor ,franz ,josef had spent so many summers4 ,from ,bad ,ischl our road ribboned through ,laufen and ,goisern to ,st4 ,agatha4 ,beyond ,st4 ,agatha lay the ,ptschen ,pass4 ,the road leading up to it was a series of hairpin turns and dangerous grades4 ,as we ground slowly up the last steep stretch to the summit1 ,i wondered what route ,george was using for his convoys from the mine4 ,surely not this one4 ,large trucks couldn't climb that interminable grade4 ,i found out later that this was the only road to ,alt ,aussee4 ,on the other side of the pass1 the road descended gradually into a rolling valley and1 in another half hour1 we clattered into the narrow main street of ,bad ,aussee4 ,from there it was only a few miles to ,alt ,aussee4 ,midway between the two villages we hoped to find the house of our ,,oss friends4 ,we came upon it unexpectedly1 around a sharp bend in the road4 ,it was a tall1 gabled villa1 built in the gingerbread style of fifty years ago4 ,having pictured a romantic chalet tucked away in the mountains1 ,i was disappointed by this rather commonplace suburban structure1 standing behind a stout iron fence with padlocked gates1 within a stone's throw of the main highway4 ,jim and ,ted received us hospitably and took us to an upper veranda with wicker chairs and a table immaculately set for dinner4 ,we were joined by a wiry young lieutenant colonel1 named ,harold ,s4 ,davitt1 who bore a pronounced resemblance to the ,duke of ,windsor4 ,he was the commanding officer of a battalion of the #aath ,armored ,division stationed at ,alt ,aussee1 the little village just below the mine4 ,colonel ,davitt's men constituted the security guard at the mine4 ,he knew and admired our friend ,george ,stout4 ,it was strange and pleasant to be again in an atmosphere of well-ordered domesticity4 ,to us it seemed rather a fine point when one of our hosts rebuked the waitress for serving the wine in the wrong kind of glasses4 ,during dinner we noticed a man pacing about the garden below4 ,he was ,walter ,andreas ,hofer1 who had been ,gring's agent and adviser in art matters4 ,a shrewd and enterprising ,berlin dealer before the war1 ,hofer had succeeded in ingratiating himself with the ,reichsmarschall4 ,he1 more than any other single individual1 had been responsible for shaping ,gring's taste and had played the stellar role in building up his priceless collection of ,old ,masters4 ,some of his methods had been ingenious4 ,he was credited with having devised the system of 8birthday gifts0--a scheme whereby important objects were added to the collection at no cost to the ,reichsmarschall4 ,each year1 before ,gring's birthday on ,january twelfth1 ,hofer wrote letters to wealthy industrialists and businessmen suggesting that the ,reichsmarschall would be gratified to receive a token of their continued regard for him4 ,then he would designate a specific work of art--and the price4 ,more often than not1 the piece in question had already been acquired4 ,the prospective donor had only to foot the bill4 ,now and then the victim of this shakedown protested the price1 but he usually came through4 ,in ,hofer1 the ,reichsmarschall had had a henchman as rapacious and greedy as himself4 ,and ,hofer had possessed what his master lacked--a wide knowledge of ,european collections and the international art market4 ,gring had been a gold mine and ,hofer had made the most of it4 ,hofer had been arrested shortly after the close of hostilities4 ,he had been a 8guest0 at ,house #ga for some weeks now1 and was being grilled daily by our 8cloak and dagger boys40 ,they were probing into his activities of the past few years and had already extracted an amazing lot of information for incorporation into an exhaustive report on the ,gring collection and 8how it grew40 ,hofer was just one of a long procession of witnesses who were being questioned by ,plaut and ,rousseau in the course of their tireless investigation of the artistic depredations of the top ,nazis4 ,these ,,oss officers knew their business4 ,with infinite patience1 they were cross-examining their witnesses and gradually extracting information which was to lend an authentic fascination to their reports4 ,hofer's wife1 they told us1 had ably assisted her husband4 ,her talents as an expert restorer had been useful4 ,she had been charged with the technical care of the ,gring collection--no small job when one stopped to consider that it numbered over a thousand pictures4 ,indeed1 there had been more than enough work to keep one person busy all the time4 ,we learned that ,frau ,hofer was living temporarily at ,berchtesgaden where1 until recently1 she had been allowed to attend to emergency repairs on some of the ,gring pictures there4 ,we turned back to the subject of ,hofer1 who had not yet finished his daily constitutional and could be seen still pacing back and forth below us4 ,he was1 they said1 a voluble witness and had an extraordinary memory4 ,he could recall minute details of complicated transactions which had taken place several years before4 ,on one occasion ,hofer had recommended an exchange of half a dozen paintings of secondary importance for two of the very first quality4 ,as ,i recall1 the deal involved a group of seventeenth century ,dutch pictures on the one hand1 and two ,bouchers on the others4 ,hofer had been able to reel off the names of all of them and even give the price of each4 ,it was just such feats of memory1 they said with a laugh1 that made his vague and indefinite answers to certain other questions seem more than merely inconsistent4 ,listening to our hosts1 we had forgotten the time4 ,it was getting late and ,george would be wondering what had happened to us4 ,there had been a heavy downpour while we were at dinner4 ,the weather had cleared now1 but the evergreens were dripping as we pulled out of the drive4 ,the road to ,alt ,aussee ran along beside the swift and milky waters of an ,alpine river4 ,it was a beautiful drive in the soft evening light4 ,the little village with its winding streets and brightly painted chalets was an odd setting for ,g,is and jeeps1 to say nothing of our lumbering command car4 ,we found our way to the ,command ,post1 which occupied a small hotel in the center of the village4 ,there we turned sharply to the right1 into a road so steep that it made the precipitous grades over which we had come earlier that afternoon seem level by comparison4 ,we drove about a mile on this road and ,i was beginning to wonder if we wouldn't soon be above the timber line--perhaps even in the region of 8eternal snow0 to which ,roger had once so poetically referred--when we came to a bleak stone building perched precariously on a narrow strip of level ground4 ,behind it1 a thousand feet below1 stretched an unbroken sea of deep pine forests4 ,this was the control post1 and the guard1 a burly ,,gi armed with a rifle1 signaled us to stop4 ,we asked for ,lieutenant ,stout4 ,he motioned up the road1 where1 in the gathering dusk1 we could distinguish the outlines of a low building facing an irregular terrace4 ,it was a distance of about two hundred yards4 ,we drove on up to the entrance where we found ,george waiting for us4 ,he took us into the building which he said contained the administrative offices of the salt mine--the ,steinbergwerke1 now a government monopoly--and his own living quarters4 ,we entered a kind of vestibule with white plaster walls and a cement floor4 ,a narrow track1 the rails of which were not more than eighteen inches apart1 led from the entrance to a pair of heavy doors in the far wall4 8,that10 said ,george1 8is the entrance to the mine40 ,he led the way to a room on the second floor4 ,its most conspicuous feature was a large porcelain stove4 ,the woodwork was knotty pine4 ,aside from the two single beds1 the only furniture was a built-in settle with a writing table which filled one corner4 ,the table had a red and white checked cover and over it1 suspended from the ceiling1 was an adjustable lamp with a red and white checked shade4 ,opening off this room was another bedroom1 also pine-paneled1 which was occupied by the captain of the guard and one other officer4 ,george apologized for the fact that the only entrance to the other room was through ours4 ,apparently1 in the old days1 the two rooms had formed a suite--ours having been the sitting room--reserved for important visitors to the mine4 ,for the first few days there was so much coming and going that we had all the privacy of ,grand ,central ,station1 but we soon got used to the traffic4 ,george and ,steve ,kovalyak shared a room just down the hall4 ,lamont had spoken of ,steve when we had been at ,hohenfurth1 and ,i was curious to meet this newcomer to the ,,mfa,a ranks4 ,george said that ,steve would be back before long4 ,he had gone out with ,shrady4 ,that was ,lieutenant ,frederick ,shrady1 the third member of the trio of ,monuments ,officers at the mine4 ,while ,lamont and ,i were getting our things unpacked1 ,george sat and talked with us about the work at the mine and what he expected us to do4 ,as he talked he soaked his hand in his helmet liner filled with hot water4 ,he had skinned one of his knuckles and an infection had set in4 ,the doctors wanted to bring the thing to a head before lancing it the next day4 ,i had noticed earlier that one of his hands looked red and swollen4 ,but ,george hadn't said anything about it4 ,as he was not one to relish solicitous inquiries1 ,i refrained from making any comment4 ,george outlined the local situation briefly4 ,the principal bottle-neck in the operation lay in the selection of the stuff which was to be brought out of the various mine chambers4 ,there were1 he said1 something like ten thousand pictures stored in them1 to say nothing of sculpture1 furniture1 tapestries1 rugs and books4 ,at the moment he was concentrating on the pictures and he wanted to get the best of them out first4 ,the less important ones--particularly the works of the nineteenth century ,german painters whom ,hitler admired so much--could wait for later removal4 ,he and ,steve and ,shrady had their hands full above ground4 ,that left only ,sieber1 the ,german restorer1 who had been at the mine ever since it had been converted into an art repository1 to choose the paintings down below4 ,in addition ,sieber had to supervise the other subterranean operations1 which included carrying the paintings from the storage racks1 dividing them into groups according to size1 and padding the corners so that the canvases wouldn't rub together on the way up to the mine entrance4 ,where we could be of real help would be down in the mine chambers1 picking out the cream of the pictures and getting them up topside4 7,george's vocabulary was peppered with nautical expressions47 ,in the midst of his deliberate recital1 we heard a door slam4 ,the chorus of 8,giannina ,mia0 sung in a piercingly melodic baritone echoed from the stairs4 8,steve's home10 said ,george4 ,a second later there was a knock on the door and the owner of the voice materialized4 ,steve looked a bit startled when he caught sight of two strange faces1 but he grinned good-naturedly as ,george introduced us4 8,i thought you were going out on the town with ,shrady tonight10 said ,george4 8,no10 said ,steve1 8,i left him down in the village and came back to talk to ,kress40 ,kress was an expert photographer who had been with the ,kassel ,museum before the war4 ,he had been captured when our troops took over at the mine just as the war ended4 ,since ,steve's arrival1 he had been his personal ,,pw4 ,steve was an enthusiastic amateur and had acquired all kinds of photographic equipment4 ,kress1 we gathered1 was showing him how to use it4 ,their 8conversations0 were something of a mystery1 because ,steve knew no ,german1 ,kress no ,english4 8,i use my ,high ,german1 laddies10 ,steve would say with a crafty grin and a lift of the eyebrows1 as he teetered on the balls of his feet4 ,we came to the conclusion that 8,high ,german0 was so called because it transcended all known rules of grammar and pronunciation4 ,but1 for the two of them1 it worked4 ,steve--stocky1 gruff and belligerent--and ,kress--timid1 beady-eyed and patient--would spend hours together4 ,they were a comical pair4 ,steve was always in command and very much the captor4 ,kress was long-suffering and had a kind of doglike devotion to his master1 whose alternating jocular and tyrannical moods he seemed to accept with equanimity and understanding4 ,but all this we learned later4 ,that first evening1 while ,george went on with his description of the work1 ,steve sat quietly appraising ,lamont and me with his keen1 gray-green eyes4 ,he had worked with ,lamont at ,bernterode1 so ,i was his main target4 ,now and then he would look over at ,george and throw in a remark4 ,between the two there existed an extraordinary bond4 ,as far as ,steve was concerned1 ,george was perfect1 and ,steve had no use for anyone who thought otherwise4 ,if1 at the end of a hard day1 he occasionally beefed about ,george and his merciless perfection--well1 that was ,steve's prerogative4 ,for his part1 ,george had a fatherly affection for ,steve and a quiet admiration for his energy and resourcefulness and the way he handled the men under him4 ,presently ,steve announced that it was late and went off to bed4 ,i wondered if he had sized me up4 ,there was a flicker of amusement in ,lamont's eyes and ,i guessed that he was wondering the same thing4 ,when ,george got up to go1 he said1 8,you'll find hot water down in the kitchen in the morning4 ,breakfast will be at seven-thirty40 ,steve roused us early with a knock on the door and said he'd show us the way to the kitchen4 ,we rolled out1 painfully conscious of the cold mountain air4 ,below1 in the warm kitchen1 the sun was pouring in through the open door4 ,there were still traces of snow on the mountaintops4 ,the highest peak1 ,steve said1 was ,loser4 ,its snowy coronet glistened in the bright morning light4 ,when my eyes became accustomed to the glare1 ,i noticed that there were several other people in the kitchen4 ,one of them1 a wrinkled little fellow wearing ,lederhosen and white socks1 was standing by the stove4 ,steve saluted them cheerfully with a wave of his towel4 ,they acknowledged his greeting with good-natured nods and gruff monosyllables4 ,these curious mountain people1 he said1 belonged to families that had worked in the mine for five hundred years4 ,they were working for us now1 as members of his evacuation crew4 ,we washed at a row of basins along one wall4 ,above them hung a sign lettered with the homely motto3 8,nach der ,arbeit ,vor dem ,essen ,hnde waschen ,nicht vergessen40 ,it rang a poignant bell in my memory4 ,that same admonition to wash before eating had hung in the little pension at near-by ,grndlsee where ,i had spent a summer fifteen years ago4 ,our mess hall was in the guardhouse down the road1 the square stone building where the sentry had challenged us the night before4 ,we lined up with our plates and1 when they had been heaped with scrambled eggs1 helped ourselves to toast1 jam and coffee and sat down at a long wooden table in the adjoining room4 ,george was finishing his breakfast as the three of us came in4 ,with him was ,lieutenant ,shrady1 who had recently been commissioned a ,monuments officer at ,bad ,homburg4 ,subsequently he had been sent down to ,alt ,aussee by ,captain ,posey4 ,he was a lean1 athletic1 good-looking fellow4 ,although he helped occasionally with the loading1 his primary duties at the mine were of an administrative nature--handling the workmen's payrolls through the local ,military ,government ,detachment1 obtaining their food rations1 making inspections in the area1 filing reports and so on4 ,after he and ,george had left1 ,steve told us that ,shrady was a portrait painter4 ,right now he was working on a portrait of his civilian interpreter-secretary who1 according to ,steve1 was something rather special in the way of ,viennese beauty4 ,this was a new slant on the work at the mine and ,i was curious to know more about the glamorous ,maria1 whom ,steve described as being 8beaucoup beautiful40 ,but ,george was waiting to take us down into the mine4 ,as we walked up the road1 ,steve explained to us that the miners worked in two shifts--one crew from four in the morning until midday1 another from noon until eight in the evening4 ,the purpose of the early morning shift was to maintain an uninterrupted flow of 8stuff0 from the mine1 so that the daytime loading of the trucks would not bog down for lack of cargo4 ,at the building in which the mine entrance was located we found ,george with a group of the miners4 ,it was just eight o'clock and the day's work was starting4 ,we were introduced to two men dressed in white uniforms which gave them an odd1 hybrid appearance--a cross between a street cleaner and a musical-comedy hussar4 ,this outfit consisted of a white duck jacket and trousers4 ,the jacket had a wide1 capelike collar reaching to the shoulders4 ,two rows of ornamental black buttons converging at the waistline adorned the front of the jacket1 and a similar row ran up the sleeves from cuff to elbow4 ,in place of a belt1 the jacket was held in place by a tape drawstring4 ,a black garrison cap completed the costume4 ,the two men were ,karl ,sieber1 the restorer1 and ,max ,eder1 an engineer from ,vienna4 ,it was ,eder's job to list the contents of each truck4 ,perched on a soapbox1 he sat all day at the loading entrance1 record book and paper before him on a makeshift desk4 ,he wrote down the number of each object as it was carried through the door to the truck outside4 ,the truck list was made in duplicate3 the original was sent to ,munich with the convoy2 the copy was kept at the mine to be incorporated in the permanent records which ,lieutenant ,shrady was compiling in his office on the floor above4 ,in the early days of their occupancy1 the ,nazis had recorded the loot1 piece by piece1 as it entered the mine4 ,the records were voluminous and filled many ledgers4 ,but1 during the closing months of the war1 such quantities of loot had poured in that the system had broken down4 ,instead of a single accession number1 an object was sometimes given a number which merely indicated with what shipment it had arrived4 ,occasionally there would be several numbers on a single piece4 ,frequently a piece would have no number at all4 ,in spite of this confusion1 ,eder managed somehow to produce orderly lists4 ,if the information they contained was not always definitive1 it was invariably accurate4 ,george was anxious to get started4 8,it's cold down in the mine10 he said4 8,you'd better put on the warmest things you brought with you40 8,how cold is it80 ,i asked4 8,forty degrees1 ,fahrenheit10 he said4 8,the temperature doesn't vary appreciably during the year4 ,i believe it rises to forty-seven in the winter4 ,and the humidity is equally constant1 about sixty-five per cent4 ,that's why this particular salt mine was chosen as a repository1 as you probably know40 ,while we went up to get our jackets and mufflers1 ,george ordered ,sieber to hitch up the train4 ,when we returned we noticed that the miners1 who resembled a troop of ,walt ,disney dwarfs1 were wearing heavy sweaters and thick woolen jackets for protection against the subterranean cold4 ,the train's locomotion was provided by a small gasoline engine with narrow running boards on either side which afforded foothold for the operator4 ,attached to it were half a dozen miniature flat-cars or 8dollies40 ,the miners called them 8,hnde10 that is1 dogs4 ,they were about five feet long1 and on them were placed heavy wooden boxes approximately two feet wide4 ,the sides were roughly two feet high4 ,following ,george's example1 we piled a couple of blankets on the bottom of one of the boxes and squeezed ourselves in4 ,each box1 with judicious crowding1 would accommodate two people facing each other4 ,at a signal from ,sieber1 who was sardined into a boxcar with ,george1 one of the gnomes primed the engine4 ,after a couple of false starts1 it began to chug and the train rumbled into the dim cavern ahead4 ,for the first few yards1 the irregular walls were whitewashed1 but we soon entered a narrow tunnel cut through the natural rock4 ,it varied in height and width4 ,in some places there would be overhead clearance of seven or eight feet1 and a foot or more on either side4 ,in others the passageway was just wide enough for the train1 and the jagged rocks above seemed menacingly close4 ,there were electric lights in part of the tunnel1 but these were strung at irregular intervals4 ,they shed a dim glow on the moist walls4 ,george shouted that we would stop first at the ,kaiser ,josef mine4 ,the track branched and a few minutes later we stopped beside a heavy iron door set in the wall of the passageway4 ,this part of the tunnel was not illuminated1 so carbide lamps were produced4 ,by their flickering light1 ,george found the keyhole and unlocked the door4 ,we followed him into the unlighted mine chamber4 ,flashlights supplemented the wavering flames of the miners' lamps4 ,ahead of us we could make out row after row of huge packing cases4 ,beyond them was a broad wooden platform4 ,the rays of our flashlights revealed a bulky object resting on the center of the platform4 ,we came closer4 ,we could see that it was a statue1 a marble statue4 ,and then we knew--it was ,michelangelo's ,madonna from ,bruges1 one of the world's great masterpieces4 ,the light of our lamps played over the soft folds of the ,madonna's robe1 the delicate modeling of the face4 ,her grave eyes looked down1 seemed only half aware of the sturdy ,child nestling close against her1 one hand firmly held in hers4 ,it is one of the earliest works of the great sculptor and one of his loveliest4 ,the incongruous setting of the bare boards served only to enhance its gentle beauty4 ,the statue was carved by ,michelangelo in #aeja1 when he was only twenty-six4 ,it was bought from the sculptor by the ,mouscron brothers of ,bruges1 who presented it to the ,church of ,notre ,dame early in the sixteenth century4 ,there it had remained until ,september #aidd1 when the ,germans1 using the excuse that it must be 8saved0 from the ,american barbarians1 carried it off4 ,in the early days of the war1 the statue had been removed from its traditional place in the ,chapel of the ,blessed ,sacrament to a specially built shelter in another part of the church4 ,the shelter was not sealed1 so visitors could see the statue on request4 ,then one afternoon in ,september #aidd1 the ,bishop of ,bruges1 prompted by the suggestion of a ,german officer that the statue was not adequately protected1 ordered the shelter bricked up4 ,that night1 before his orders could be carried out1 ,german officers arrived at the church and demanded that the dean hand over the statue4 ,with an armed crew standing by1 they removed it from the shelter1 dumped it onto a mattress on the floor of a ,red ,cross lorry and drove away4 ,at the same time1 they perpetrated another act of vandalism4 ,they took with them eleven paintings belonging to the church4 ,among them were works by ,gerard ,david1 ,van ,dyck and ,caravaggio4 ,the statue and the pictures were brought to the ,alt ,aussee mine4 ,it was a miracle that the two lorries with their precious cargo got through safely1 for the roads were being constantly strafed by ,allied planes4 ,now we were about to prepare the ,madonna for the trip back4 ,this time she would have more than a mattress for protection4 ,in the same mine chamber with the ,michelangelo was another plundered masterpiece of sculpture--an ancient ,greek sarcophagus from ,salonika4 ,it had been excavated only a few years ago and was believed to date from the sixth century ,b4,c4 ,already the ,greek government was clamoring for its return4 ,on our way back to the train1 ,george said that the other cases--the ones we had seen when we first went into the ,kaiser ,josef mine--contained the dismantled panels of the ,millionen ,zimmer and the ,chinesisches ,kabinett from ,schnbrunn4 ,the ,alt ,aussee mine1 he said1 had been originally selected by the ,viennese as a depot for ,austrian works of art1 which accounted for the panels being there4 ,they had been brought to the mine in #aidb4 ,then1 a year later1 the ,nazis took it over as a repository for the collections of the proposed ,fhrer ,museum at ,linz4 ,we boarded the train again and rumbled along a dark tunnel to the ,mineral ,kabinett1 one of the smaller mine chambers4 ,again there was an iron door to be unlocked4 ,we walked through a vestibule into a low-ceilinged room about twenty feet square4 ,the walls were light partitions of unfinished lumber4 ,ranged about them were the panels of the great ,ghent altarpiece--the ,adoration of the ,mystic ,lamb--their jewel-like beauty undimmed after five hundred years4 ,the colors were as resplendent as the day they were painted by ,hubert and ,jan van ,eyck in #adcb4 ,this famous altarpiece1 the greatest single treasure of ,belgium1 had also been seized by the ,germans4 ,one of the earliest examples of oil painting1 it consisted originally of twelve panels1 eight of which were painted on both sides4 ,it was planned as a giant triptych of four central panels1 with four panels at either side4 ,the matching side panels were designed to fold together like shutters over a window4 ,therefore they were painted on both sides4 ,i knew something of the history of the altarpiece4 ,it belonged originally to the ,cathedral of ,st4 ,bavon in ,ghent4 ,early in the nineteenth century1 the wings had been purchased by ,edward ,solly1 an ,englishman living in ,germany4 ,in #ahaf1 he had sold them to the ,king of ,prussia and they were placed in the ,berlin ,museum4 ,there they had remained until restored to ,belgium by the terms of the ,versailles ,treaty4 ,from #aiah on1 the entire triptych was again in the ,cathedral of ,st4 ,bavon4 ,in #aicc1 the attention of the world was drawn to the altarpiece when the panel in the lower left-hand corner was stolen4 ,this was one of the panels painted on both sides4 ,the obverse represented the ,knights of ,christ2 the reverse1 ,st4 ,john the ,baptist4 ,according to the story1 the thief sent the cathedral authorities an anonymous letter demanding a large sum of money and guarantee of his immunity for the return of the panels4 ,as proof that the panels were in his possession1 he is said to have returned the reverse panel with his extortion letter4 ,the authorities agreed to these terms but sought to lay a trap for the culprit4 ,their attempt was unsuccessful and nothing was heard of the panel until a year or so later4 ,on his deathbed1 the thief--one of the beadles of the cathedral--confessed his guilt4 ,as he lay dying1 he managed to gasp1 8,you will find the panel 4440 but he got no further4 ,the panel has never been found4 ,in ,may #aidj1 the ,belgians entrusted the altarpiece to ,france for safekeeping4 ,packed in ten cases1 it was stored in the ,chteau of ,pau together with many important works of art from the ,louvre4 ,the ,director of the ,french ,national ,museums1 mindful of his grave responsibilities1 obtained explicit guarantees from the ,germans that these treasures would be left inviolate4 ,by the terms of this agreement1 confirmed by the ,vichy ,ministry of ,fine ,arts1 the ,ghent altar was not to be moved without the joint consent of the ,director of the ,french ,national ,museums1 the ,mayor of ,ghent and the ,german organization for the protection of ,french monuments4 ,notwithstanding this contract1 the ,director of the ,french ,national ,museums learned quite by accident in ,august #aidb that the altarpiece had just been taken to ,paris4 ,dr4 ,ernst ,bchner1 who was director of the ,bavarian ,state ,museums1 in company with three other ,german officers had gone to ,pau the day before with a truck and ordered the ,director of the ,museum there to hand over the retable4 ,a telegram from ,m4 ,bonnard1 ,vichy ,minister of ,fine ,arts1 arriving simultaneously1 reinforced ,dr4 ,bchner's demands4 ,nothing was known of its destination or whereabouts1 beyond the fact that it had been taken to ,paris4 ,there the matter rested until the summer of #aidd4 ,with the arrival of ,allied armies on ,french soil1 reports of missing masterpieces were received by our ,,mfa,a officers4 ,the ,ghent altarpiece was among them4 ,but there were no clues as to where it had gone4 ,months passed and by the time our troops had approached ,germany1 our ,monuments officers1 all similarly briefed with photographs and other pertinent data concerning stolen works of art1 began to hear rumors about the ,lamb4 ,it might be in the ,rhine fortress of ,ehrenbreitstein2 perhaps it had been taken to the ,berghof at ,berchtesgaden or possibly to ,karinhall1 ,gring's palatial estate near ,berlin4 ,and then again it might have been flown out of the country altogether--to one of the neutral countries1 ,spain or ,switzerland4 ,captain ,posey and ,private ,lincoln ,kirstein picked up additional rumors from museum directors in ,luxembourg4 ,they had heard that the altarpiece was in a salt mine1 but they had also been told that it was in the vaults of the ,berlin ,reichsbank4 ,it was impossible to reconcile these conflicting pieces of information4 ,finally1 near ,trier1 ,posey and ,kirstein tracked down a young ,german scholar who had been in ,france during the occupation4 ,lincoln told me later that it was hard to believe that this unassuming fellow had been high in the confidence of ,gring and other members of the ,nazi inner circle4 ,from him they learned that the altarpiece had been taken to ,alt ,aussee4 ,then followed the rapid advance across ,germany4 ,to ,posey and ,kirstein it was a period of agonizing suspense4 ,they couldn't be sure that ,third ,army would move into the area in which the mine lay4 ,just as their hopes began to fade1 occupancy of the cherished area did fall to ,third ,army4 ,tactical troops were alerted to the importance of the isolated mountain region4 ,it was of no significance as a military objective and would doubtless otherwise have been left unoccupied for the moment4 ,they pressed forward through ,bad ,ischl and the wild confusion of capitulating ,german troops to the wilder confusion of surrendering ,,ss units in the little village of ,alt ,aussee itself4 ,from there it was but a mile to the mine4 ,when they reached the mine1 they found it heavily guarded by men of the #hjth ,infantry ,division1 but the mine had been dynamited4 ,it wasn't possible to go into the mine chambers4 ,armed with acetylene lamps1 ,posey and ,lincoln entered the main tunnel4 ,they groped their way along the damp passageway for a distance of a quarter of a mile or more before they reached the debris of the first block4 ,after assessing the damage they returned to consult the ,austrian mineworkers4 ,the miners said it would take from ten days to two weeks to clear the passageway4 ,captain ,posey thought that the ,army ,engineers could do it in less than a week1 perhaps in two or three days4 ,both were wrong4 ,they entered the first mine chamber the next day4 ,and now1 here before us1 stood the fabulous panels which they had found on that ,may morning a few weeks before4 ,while we examined them1 ,sieber pieced out the one gap in the story of the altarpiece3 the ,nazis had taken it from ,paris to the ,castle of ,neuschwanstein where a restorer from ,munich worked on the blisters which had developed on some of the panels4 ,the altarpiece remained at the castle for two years4 ,it was brought to the mine in the summer of #aidd4 ,pieces of waxed paper were still affixed to the surface of the panels1 on the places where the blisters had been laid4 ,the big panel representing ,st4 ,john had split lengthwise with the grain of wood4 ,this had happened at the mine4 ,sieber had repaired it1 and ,george said he had done a good job4 ,as we were leaving the ,mineral ,kabinett1 ,sieber asked me if ,andrew ,mellon really had offered ten million dollars for the altarpiece4 ,people had said so in ,berlin4 ,i hated to tell him that the story was without foundation1 so far as ,i knew4 ,when we came out of the mine at noon we found that ,steve and ,shrady had finished loading two trucks4 ,they said they had enough pictures left to fill two more4 ,the afternoon crew would be coming on at four4 ,in the meantime it was up to ,lamont and me to select at least two hundred paintings1 so that the loading could go on without interruption4 ,after lunch we returned to the mine with ,sieber4 ,this time the trip on the train was much longer4 ,our objective was a part of the mine called the ,springerwerke4 ,owing to the peculiar honeycomb structure of the mine network1 it had been necessary to establish guard posts at intervals along the tunnels4 ,one of these was at the entrance to the ,springerwerke4 ,two ,g,is were on duty4 ,it was a dismal assignment as well as a cold one4 ,they were bundled up in fleece-lined coats which had been made for ,german troops on the ,russian front4 ,george and ,steve had obtained about two hundred of these coats and were using them for packing unframed pictures4 ,each time a convoy of empty trucks returned from ,munich1 they counted the coats carefully to make sure that none had disappeared4 ,the ,springerwerke contained more than two thousand paintings4 ,they were arranged in two tiers around three sides and down the center of a room fifty feet long and thirty feet wide4 ,in one section we found thirty or forty ,italian paintings of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries from the well known ,lanz ,collection of ,amsterdam4 ,next to them we came upon the group of canvases1 which the ,germans in their greedy haste had filched from ,bruges when they had made off with the ,michelangelo ,madonna4 ,aside from these two lots1 the pictures had been stored according to size rather than by provenance4 ,it was a bewildering assortment4 ,quality was to be our guide in making this initial selection4 ,and as a kind of corollary1 we were to set aside for shipment all pictures bearing the infamous 8,e4,r4,r40 stencil--the initials of the ,rosenberg looting organization4 ,we had ,sieber and four of the gnomes to help4 ,sieber stood by with list and flashlight4 ,two of the gnomes hauled out the pictures for us to examine4 ,the other two put protective pads of paper filled with excelsior across the corners of the ones chosen4 ,by the end of the afternoon we had picked out between a hundred and fifty and two hundred paintings4 ,the crew which had come on at four had already gone up with one trainload4 ,we took stock of the lot waiting to go4 ,we hadn't done so badly3 our selection included works of ,hals1 ,breughel1 ,titian1 ,rembrandt1 ,tintoretto1 ,rubens1 ,van ,dyck1 ,lancret1 ,nattier1 ,reynolds1 and a raft of smaller examples of the seventeenth century ,dutch school4 ,not a dud among them1 we agreed smugly4 ,before we knocked off for supper1 ,sieber showed us an adjoining room divided into small compartments4 ,each one contained a miscellaneous assortment of art objects--pictures1 porcelain1 bric-a-brac of various kinds4 ,each compartment bore a label with the name of a different family1 fifteen or twenty in all4 ,they were the pilfered possessions of ,viennese ,jewish families4 ,our feelings were of both pathos and disgust4 ,after working with the fruits of looting on a grand scale1 we found these trifles sordid evidences of greedy persecution4 ,lamont and ,i spent the next two days in the ,springerwerke4 ,we worked nights as well4 ,it was a molelike existence4 ,on the third morning we transferred our base of operations to the ,kammergrafen1 the largest of the mine caverns and the most remote4 ,it was three-quarters of a mile from the mine entrance4 ,whereas the other mine chambers were on one level1 the great galleries of the ,kammergrafen were on several4 ,beyond those in which floors had been laid1 there were vast unlighted caves of echoing blackness4 ,the galleries were so high that those on the first level could accommodate three tiers of pictures between floor and ceiling1 while those on the second had four tiers4 ,the records listed six thousand pictures4 ,in addition there were quantities of sculpture1 hundreds of examples of the very finest eighteenth century ,french cabinetwork1 tapestries and rugs1 and the books and manuscripts of the ,biblioteca ,herziana in ,rome--one of the greatest historical libraries in the world4 ,kammergrafen was quality and quantity combined1 for here had been stored the collections for ,linz4 ,among the pictures1 for example1 were canvases from the ,rothschild1 ,gutmann and ,mannheimer collections1 the celebrated tempera panels of the fourteenth century ,hohenfurth altarpiece1 ,rembrandts and other great ,dutch masters from the stock of ,goudstikker1 who had been the ,duveen of ,amsterdam1 a collection of ,french pictures known as the 8,sammlung ,berta10 and hundreds of nineteenth century ,german paintings1 these last the objects of ,hitler's special veneration4 ,the sculpture ranged from ancient to modern1 with notable emphasis on examples of the ,gothic period4 ,there were ,egyptian tomb figures1 ,roman portrait busts1 ,renaissance and ,baroque bronzes1 exquisite ,french marbles of the eighteenth century and delicate ,tanagra figurines4 ,a bewildering hodgepodge of the plastic arts4 ,there were tapestries from ,cracow1 furniture from the ,castle at ,posen1 rows of inlaid tables and cabinets from the ,vienna ,rothschilds1 shelves and cases filled with the finest porcelains1 prints and drawings of the sixteenth1 seventeenth and eighteenth centuries1 the decorations from the ,reichskanzlei in ,berlin1 and ,hitler's own purchases from the annual exhibitions of ,german art in ,munich4 ,such was the ,kammergrafen treasure4 ,and the best of it1 as ,i have said before1 was to have adorned the galleries of the unbuilt ,fhrer ,museum at ,linz1 the city by the ,danube which ,hitler aspired to raise to the dignity of ,vienna4 ,the rarest treasure of that collection was the celebrated ,vermeer ,portrait of the ,artist in ,his ,studio4 ,this superb work of the seventeenth ,dutch master1 by whom there are only some forty unquestioned examples in the world1 had been for years in the collection of ,count ,czernin at ,vienna4 ,the collection was semipublic2 ,i had visited it before the war4 ,known simply as the 8,czernin ,vermeer10 the picture had long been coveted by the great collectors4 ,it had remained for ,hitler to succeed where others had failed3 he acquired this masterpiece in #aidj for an alleged price of one million1 four hundred thousand ,reichsmarks--part of his earnings from the sale of ,mein ,kampf4 ,he boasted at the time that ,mr4 ,mellon had offered six million dollars for it4 ,whether the sale was made under duress is still a matter of controversy4 ,members of the ,czernin family today contend that it was4 ,the picture has now been returned to ,vienna where the matter will be ultimately decided4 ,rivaling the ,vermeer in international significance were the fifteen cases of paintings and sculpture from ,monte ,cassino4 ,the paintings included ,titian's ,dana1 ,raphael's ,madonna of the ,divine ,love1 ,peter ,breughel's ,blind ,leading the ,blind1 a ,crucifixion by ,van ,dyck1 an ,annunciation by ,filippino ,lippi1 a ,sacra ,conversazione by ,palma ,vecchio1 a ,landscape by ,claude ,lorraine1 and ,sebastiano del ,piombo's ,portrait of ,pope ,clement ,,vii4 ,among the sculpture were antique bronzes of the greatest rarity and importance from ,herculaneum and ,pompeii4 ,all had belonged to the ,naples ,museum4 ,in #aidc the ,italians had placed them1 together with one hundred and seventy-two other cases of objects from the ,naples ,museum1 in the ,abbey of ,monte ,cassino for safekeeping4 ,the following ,january1 arrangements were made for all of the cases to be returned to the ,vatican4 ,when they arrived1 fifteen were missing4 ,members of the ,hermann ,gring ,division had carried them off as a birthday gift for the ,reichsmarschall4 ,gring was incensed1 when he learned of the arrival of these treasures1 and refused to accept them4 ,there is reason to believe that such was his reaction1 for he had striven to maintain a semblance of legality in his art transactions4 ,even this rapacious collector could not have interpreted the behavior of his loyal officers as 8correct10 so far as the ,monte ,cassino affair was concerned4 ,after the ,reichsmarschall's refusal of the cases1 they were brought to ,alt ,aussee for storage1 pending their later return to ,italy4 ,the ,springerwerke had been child's play compared with the task confronting us in the ,kammergrafen4 ,we began arbitrarily with the big pictures4 ,titian1 ,tintoretto1 ,veronese1 ,van ,dyck1 ,rubens1 ,rembrandt--all were represented in profusion4 ,many of them were from private collections in ,holland1 ,belgium and ,france1 and were unknown to us save through reproduction4 ,it was a great lesson in connoisseurship1 particularly when we had exhausted the 8stars0 and come to the lesser masters4 ,the ,dutch school of the seventeenth century was abundantly represented4 ,there were scores1 hundreds1 of still lifes and flower paintings4 ,my predilection for them amused ,lamont and ,sieber4 ,i had always admired these incredibly deft creations of the seventeenth century ,dutch artists1 and here was an unparalleled opportunity to study them4 ,there was one peculiar thing about our selections3 if a picture looked good to us down in the mine1 it invariably looked better when we examined it later in the light of day at the mine entrance4 ,this happened time and again4 ,i remember one instance in particular4 ,the painting was a large ,rembrandt1 a study of two dead peacocks4 ,down in the mine we had looked at it without much enthusiasm1 though we admired it1 and had even hesitated to include it in that first selection1 which was to number only the best of the best4 ,the next morning1 as it was being loaded onto the truck1 we were struck by its distinction4 ,and ,i remember the next time ,i saw that picture3 it was at the ,rijksmuseum in ,amsterdam4 ,it was included in the small group of outstanding ,dutch masterpieces returned to ,holland by special plane as a gesture of token restitution in the name of ,general ,eisenhower6 ,lamont and ,i liked ,sieber1 the ,german restorer4 ,lamont referred to him as the 8tragic ,gilles in white40 ,not that there was anything particularly tragic about him1 any more than there was about the plight in which most ,nazis found themselves4 ,he made no bones about having joined the ,party in the early thirties--ironically enough at the suggestion of one of his clients1 a ,jewish art dealer1 who had thought it would be a good thing for ,sieber's business4 ,sieber had been a restorer of pictures in ,berlin and had done a little dealing on the side4 ,it was the half-mournful expression he perpetually wore1 together with his white costume1 that accounted for ,lamont's appellation4 ,george had described him as a good1 run-of-the-mill restorer1 perhaps a little better than average4 ,he had sized him up as a man ninety-eight per cent preoccupied with his profession and possibly two per cent concerned with politics4 ,and ,george1 as ,i think ,i have observed before1 was a good judge of men4 ,sieber was a quiet1 willing worker4 ,he was neither fawning on the one hand1 nor arrogant on the other4 ,when you asked him a question1 you always got a considered answer4 ,one evening we drew ,sieber out on the subject of the attempted destruction of the mine4 ,we had heard several versions of this fantastic plot and1 according to one1 ,sieber had been instrumental in foiling the conspirators4 ,the story was as follows3 ,on the tenth1 thirteenth and thirtieth of ,april #aide1 ,glinz1 the ,gauinspektor of ,ober-,donau1 had come to the mine with eight great cases marked in black letters 8,marmor--,nicht strzen10 that is1 8,marble--,don't drop40 ,he was acting on explicit instructions from ,eigruber1 ,gauleiter of the region1 to place them at strategic positions in the mine tunnels4 ,each case contained a hundred-pound bomb4 ,had these bombs been detonated1 the entire contents of the mine would have been destroyed4 ,the resulting cave-ins would have blocked every means of access4 ,it would have taken months to repair the apparatus which carried off the water seeping constantly into the mine chambers4 ,by that time the treasures they contained would have been completely ruined4 ,it is generally agreed that ,eigruber had obtained ,hitler's tacit consent to this artistic ,gtterdmmerung1 if not his actual approval of it4 ,i learned later that ,captain ,posey found a letter from ,martin ,bormann1 ,hitler's deputy1 stating in the first paragraph that the contents of the mine must1 at all costs1 be kept from falling into the hands of the enemy4 ,and then the second paragraph stated that the contents of the mine must not be harmed4 ,members of the ,austrian resistance movement got wind of this diabolical plan and took ,sieber into their confidence4 ,his intimate knowledge of the mine passageways enabled him to set off small charges of dynamite here and there along the tunnels without endangering the contents of the chambers beyond4 ,the resulting damage was slight and served a twofold purpose3 it gave the impression that the mine had been permanently walled up2 and1 if that ruse were discovered1 immediate access to the art works themselves was denied the plotters4 ,eigruber did discover that his attempt had been thwarted and in his rage gave orders for the counterconspirators to be rounded up and shot4 ,but by that time it was the seventh of ,may1 so the tragedy was mercifully averted4 ,sieber told the story in a straightforward1 factual way4 ,i don't think it mattered to him who got control of the mine1 but it was simply unthinkable that any harm should come to the precious things it housed4 ,it was very much to his credit that he never capitalized on the part he played in this affair4 ,the only other reference he made to it was when he later showed us the places where he had set off the charges of dynamite4 ,during all the time we were at the mine1 ,sieber made only one request of us4 ,it came at the very end of our stay and was reasonable enough3 he asked if we could expedite his return to ,germany4 ,there seemed to be little prospect of regular employment for him in ,austria1 but that was of less concern to him than the welfare of his wife and young daughter who lived with him in a house near the mine4 ,some months later1 one of our officers tried to get him a job in ,wiesbaden1 but he was not acceptable to the ,military ,government authorities there because of his political affiliations4 ,the last ,i heard of him1 he and his family were still at ,alt ,aussee1 waiting for permission to go back to ,germany4 ,i hope they finally got it4 ,our concentrated efforts underground produced the desired results4 ,pictures were coming out of the mine at such a prodigious rate that ,george called a halt4 ,enough of a backlog had been accumulated to make further selection down in the mine unnecessary for a couple of days4 ,lamont and ,i had better help with the actual loading4 ,loading a truck was a specialized operation1 and ,george had perfected the technique4 ,lamont1 ,steve and ,shrady were his pupils4 ,that left me the only neophyte4 ,so far ,i had had experience only with the loading of cases and heavier objects such as furniture and sculpture4 ,packing pictures1 especially unframed ones--and there were a great many of the latter at ,alt ,aussee--was an altogether different problem4 ,the first step was to place a length of waterproof paper over the side bars of the truck and spread it smoothly on the floor to the center of the truck bed4 ,for this we had a large supply of stout1 green1 clothlike paper which had been used by the ,wehrmacht as protection against gas attacks4 ,then a strip of felt was laid over the paper4 ,the third step was to place 8sausages0 in two rows1 end to end1 on the floor of the truck4 ,the space between the rows would depend on the size of the pictures to be loaded1 for they were intended to cushion the shock as the trucks rumbled along over bumpy roads4 ,the 8sausages0 had been ,george's invention4 ,packing materials of all kinds were at a premium1 and certain types just didn't exist4 ,to make up for the lack of the usual packer's pads1 ,george had improvised this substitute4 ,in one of the mine chambers he had found a large supply of ordinary curtain material of machine-made ecru lace4 ,this had been cut up into yard lengths1 eighteen inches wide4 ,when rolled around a central core of coarser cloth1 or sometimes excelsior1 and tied with string1 they were a very satisfactory 8ersatz0 product4 ,we used to refer to them augustly as the pads made from ,hitler's window curtains4 ,their manufacture was periodically one of the major industries at the mine4 ,george had trained a crew of the gnomes and they loved to turn them out4 ,it was easy work4 ,seated at long benches they resembled a kind of ,alpine 8husking bee40 ,once the paper1 felt and 8sausages0 were in place1 the pictures could be brought to the truck4 ,one after another they were placed in a stack leading from the sideboards of the truck to the center4 ,pads and small blankets were inserted between them to prevent rubbing4 ,to ensure safe packing1 all the pictures in a given row had to be carefully selected as to size1 ranging from large to medium in one1 and from medium to small in another4 ,that was the most tedious part of the entire operation4 ,as soon as a row had been 8built10 it required only a few minutes to bring first the felt and then the green paper over the top of the row1 tuck both down along the sides1 and then lash the whole stack firmly to the side of the truck4 ,by this method it was possible to load as many as a hundred and fifty medium-sized canvases on a single truck1 for three rows of twenty-five each could be built up on either side of our big two-and-a-half-ton trucks4 ,a truck loaded in this way could often accommodate several pieces of sculpture as well4 ,carefully padded and swathed in blankets1 these could be placed down the center4 ,the final step was to adjust the tarpaulin over the bows and to close the tailboard4 ,a truck of the size we used could normally be loaded in two hours4 ,we were at the mercy of the weather1 as far as loading was concerned4 ,on rainy days we could work on only one truck at a time1 because there was but one doorway with a protective stoop under which a single truck could park4 ,taking advantage of the sunny mornings1 we would divide up into two teams--,george and ,steve on one truck1 ,lamont and ,i on another4 ,as soon as a truck was filled and the tarpaulin securely fastened down1 it was driven to one side of the narrow terrace in front of the building4 ,the average convoy consisted of six trucks4 ,we had a crew of eighteen ,negro drivers4 ,barboza1 the ,c4,o41 was a very starchy lieutenant1 ,jamaica born4 ,he and his men were billeted down in the little town of ,bad ,aussee4 ,they were magnificent drivers but a bit reckless4 ,their occasional disregard for their vehicles was a worry to ,george4 ,it would have been so with any drivers1 ,i guess4 ,a breakdown on the steep mountain roads could be a serious matter4 ,it meant the complete disruption of the convoy schedule1 involving reloading en route4 ,to provide for this contingency1 we made a practice of loading the trucks to three-quarters of their capacity4 ,the contents of a single truck could thus be absorbed by the others4 ,when a convoy was ready to start1 either ,george or ,i would lead off in a jeep and escort the six trucks down the precipitous road to ,alt ,aussee4 ,two half-tracks from the #aath ,armored ,division1 as front and rear guards1 would be waiting to accompany the convoy to ,munich4 ,at breakfast one morning ,george said1 8,this looks like a good day to load the gold-seal products40 ,he meant the ,michelangelo ,madonna and the ,ghent altarpiece4 ,this was an important event1 for they were unquestionably the two most precious things still at the mine4 ,every possible precaution would have to be taken to make this operation a success4 ,it must go off without a hitch4 ,if anything happened to either of these masterpieces1 the repercussions would be catastrophic4 ,they would overshadow all the accomplishments of our ,,mfa,a officers4 ,for the past several days1 ,george and ,steve had been working on the ,madonna4 ,she was now heavily padded and trussed up like a ham1 ready to be brought out of the mine4 ,we all went down to the ,kaiser ,josef chamber where we had first seen her4 ,george made a final inspection of the ropes and pulleys which had been set up to hoist her onto the waiting train4 ,then1 with a satisfied smile1 he said1 8,i think we could bounce her from ,alp to ,alp1 all the way to ,munich1 without doing her any harm40 ,once the statue was gently loaded on the little flat car1 the train pulled slowly out of the mine chamber and switched back onto the track of the main tunnel4 ,from there it chugged slowly--,george walking alongside--to the mine entrance where the truck stood waiting4 ,this truck and the one which was to carry the altarpiece had been put in perfect condition4 ,and ,george had put the fear of ,god into the two drivers1 both of whom he had personally chosen from our crew4 ,a dozen of the gnomes were waiting to lift the marble onto the truck4 ,we slid it cautiously to the fore part where boards had been laid parallel and nailed to the floor4 ,these would prevent shifting4 ,on either side of the statue1 small packing cases about two feet square were arranged in even rows and lashed firmly to the sides of the truck4 ,these cases had been stored in a chamber of the mine called the ,kapelle4 ,they contained the coin collection intended for the ,linz ,museum and were accordingly marked 8,mnz ,kabinett0 or ,coin ,room4 ,blankets were wedged in between the cases and the statue4 ,the large case containing the ,greek sarcophagus from ,salonika was set in place behind the statue and similarly secured to the floor and at the sides4 ,that done1 the truck was ready to go4 ,as ,george was putting the finishing touches on the packing1 he said1 8,tom1 will you go down and get the #8,lamb'80 ,to be entrusted with the removal of the great altarpiece was an exciting assignment4 ,i wanted to share it with someone who would also get a kick out of telling his grandchildren that he had actually brought the famous panels out of their underground hiding place4 ,i called ,lamont1 and the two of us1 followed by eight of the gnomes1 hitched four of the 8dogs0 to the little engine and proceeded to the ,mineral ,kabinett4 ,one of the 8dogs10 especially designed to carry pictures of unusual height1 had a lower bed than the others4 ,we would use this one for the big central panel of the altarpiece4 ,otherwise it would not clear a portion of the mine tunnel where the jagged rocks hung low over the track4 ,the panels were now in their cases1 and it was a relatively simple matter to carry them from the storage room to the train4 ,we had to make two trips down and back in order to get all ten cases up to the mine entrance4 ,they were much lighter than the statue1 but the loading was a more exacting undertaking4 ,lashing them upright in parallel rows1 in the truck1 and stowing cases on either side for ballast1 took time4 ,we didn't finish until well after six4 ,it had taken most of the day to load the 8gold-seal products40 ,illustration3 ,mary ,magdalene by ,cranach4 ,gring was especially fond of ,cranach's work and owned many paintings by him4 ,illustration3 ,the ,mystic ,marriage of ,saint ,catherine by ,david was one of the finest in the ,gring ,collection4 ,illustration3 ,diana1 an exquisite ,boucher acquired by ,gring from the ,rothschild ,collection1 has been returned to ,france4 ,illustration3 ,atalanta and ,meleager by ,rubens1 found in the ,gring ,collection1 was from the ,goudstikker ,collection of ,amsterdam4 ,that night we held a conference in ,george's room4 ,he was to go to ,munich the next morning with the convoy to supervise the unloading of the ,madonna and the 8,lamb0 at the depot4 ,he expected to come back directly1 but might have to go on up to ,frankfurt4 ,he mapped out the work he wanted us to do while he was away4 ,in addition to the job at the mine1 there was a special one down at ,bad ,ischl4 ,a series of famous panels by ,albrecht ,altdorfer1 one of the greatest ,german painters of the fifteenth century1 was stored on the second floor of a highly combustible old inn4 ,these panels were among his finest works and belonged to the monastery of ,st4 ,florian outside ,linz4 ,fifty or sixty pieces of sculpture--mostly polychromed wood figures1 fifteenth century ,gothic--also the property of the monastery1 were stored there too4 ,george thought we'd better figure on two trucks4 ,we were to pick up the stuff1 bring it back to the mine and then send it to ,munich with the next convoy4 ,we made notations of what he had told us1 and then ,steve produced drinks--something of an occasion1 for liquor was hard to come by at the mine4 ,somehow he had got hold of a bottle of cognac and insisted on making 8,alpine ,specials40 ,this was a drink consisting of a jigger of cognac and an equal amount of a pink syrupy liquid resembling grenadine4 ,steve prized the syrup4 ,eder1 the chemical engineer at the mine1 had concocted it especially for him4 ,the mixture made a drink of dubious merit4 ,we drank to the success of ,george's trip to ,munich4 ,the convoy got off early the next morning4 ,lamont and ,i went down with ,george as far as the village4 ,two half-tracks were waiting to escort the trucks to ,munich4 ,they were equipped with radios for intercommunication1 in case of delays along the way4 ,between ,alt ,aussee and ,salzburg1 the road led through isolated country4 ,conditions were as yet far from settled4 ,small bands of ,,ss troops still lurked in the mountains4 ,the half-tracks weren't just going along for the ride4 ,when we returned to the mine1 we found ,steve and ,shrady in conversation4 ,they were planning an excursion and asked us to join them4 ,we expressed pious disapproval of letting up on the job the minute ,george's back was turned4 ,steve's answer was1 8,that's a crock4 ,i haven't taken a day off in two weeks4 ,you can do as you like1 me lads2 ,i'm off to see the wizard40 ,the two of them climbed into the sporty ,mercedes-,benz convertible which ,shrady had recently acquired1 and drove off down the mountain4 8,i have an idea10 said ,lamont4 8,they can have their fun today4 ,we'll have ours tomorrow1 while they pick up the ,altdorfer panels at ,bad ,ischl40 ,lamont turned to the loading of trucks1 while ,i went down to the ,kammergrafen with ,sieber4 ,in the course of the morning ,i selected approximately two hundred pictures4 ,we concentrated on those of small size1 which were stored on the top racks1 and the work went rapidly4 ,among the paintings we chose was one which had a typewritten label on the back4 ,i read the words 8,von dem ,fhrer noch nicht entschieden0--not yet decided upon by the ,fhrer4 ,i asked ,sieber what this signified4 ,he explained that every picture intended for the ,linz ,museum--and this was one of them--had to be personally approved by ,hitler before it could be officially included in the prospective collection4 ,i could easily understand that the ,fhrer would have wanted to examine the more important acquisitions1 but that each canvas had to receive his personal approval struck me as preposterous4 ,hitler had entrusted the formation of his collections first to ,dr4 ,hans ,posse1 a noted scholar1 and1 after his death1 to ,dr4 ,hermann ,voss1 director of the ,dresden ,gallery4 ,this meticulous procedure1 involving the submission of all pictures to the ,fhrer in ,munich1 must have been trying to those two luminaries of the ,german art world4 ,when ,i came up from the mine for lunch ,i found that ,lamont had completed the loading of two trucks4 ,as the stock of pictures in the packing room at the mine entrance was almost exhausted1 he said that he would join ,sieber and me in making further selections4 ,we returned to the ,kammergrafen and continued with the smaller pictures4 ,on one of the top shelves we found a cardboard carton bearing the name of ,dr4 ,helmut von ,hmmel1 who had been connected with the formation of the ,linz collections4 ,the label indicated that the contents had been destined for the museum4 ,on the carton appeared the word 8,sittenbilder40 ,lamont and ,i knew the word 8,bilder0 meant pictures1 but the other two syllables conveyed nothing4 ,sieber knew very little ,english but tried to explain4 ,he thought perhaps the word meant 8customs10 or something like that4 ,i thought that ,i understood him4 ,he probably meant that they were little scenes from everyday life4 ,we opened the carton4 ,on top were three small watercolors1 with beautiful gray-blue mounts and carved1 gilt frames4 ,if they were not by ,franois ,boucher1 they were by a close pupil4 ,the workmanship was exquisite and they were highly pornographic4 ,so these were 8,sittenbilder40 ,in our limited ,german we tried to tell ,sieber that they might be called 8scenes from life10 but hardly everyday life4 ,the rest of the things in the carton were of the same order1 some of them contemporary1 all of them licentious4 ,none approached the first three watercolors in sheer virtuosity of technique4 ,we wondered just which department of the ,linz ,museum would have harbored them4 ,later we showed them to ,steve4 ,when he looked at the three watercolors he asked1 8,who did those80 8,they look very much like ,boucher10 ,i said without thinking4 8,boucher80 asked ,steve incredulously4 8,not the fellow who painted that #8,holy ,family' ,i saw this afternoon80 ,lamont said quickly1 8,tom means a pupil of ,boucher1 not ,boucher himself40 8,well1 that's more like it10 said ,steve4 8,i didn't see how an artist who painted anything so beautiful as that big picture could paint smutty things like these40 ,the ,holy ,family to which he referred was a sensitive and tender representation4 ,steve's point was well taken4 ,the fact that he had not seen much eighteenth century ,french painting didn't alter the validity of his argument4 ,on our way up from the ,kammergrafen that afternoon we stopped at the ,kapelle4 ,this was one of the mine chambers which ,i had visited only long enough to take out some of the cases used in packing the ,bruges ,madonna4 ,in addition to the ,mnz ,kabinett collections1 the ,kapelle contained the magnificent collection of ,spanish armor--casques1 breastplates1 full suits of armor1 and a great number of firearms--which had been gathered together at ,schloss ,konopischt by the late ,archduke ,franz ,ferdinand4 ,most of it was of sixteenth century workmanship1 exquisitely inlaid with gold and silver4 ,formerly ,austrian1 it had been the property of the ,czech government since the last ,world ,war4 ,nonetheless1 the ,germans had carried it off1 using some flimsy nationalistic argument to justify their action4 ,while the atmosphere of the mine was excellent for paintings1 it was not satisfactory for metal objects4 ,consequently1 every piece in the ,konopischt collection had been heavily coated with grease to keep it from oxidizing4 ,their storage room1 the ,kapelle1 was--as the name indicates--a chapel1 dedicated to the memory of ,dollfuss1 the ,austrian ,chancellor4 ,it had an electrically illuminated altar1 hewn from a block of translucent salt crystal1 which was one of the sights of the mine4 ,that night when ,steve and ,shrady returned from their outing we all had hot chocolate and cheese and crackers in the comfortable kitchen on the ground floor of the main building4 ,they had had a wonderful day4 ,maria1 ,shrady's interpreter-secretary1 had been with them4 ,they had gone first to ,st4 ,wolfgang4 ,there a sentry had tried to prevent them from driving up the road leading to the little church4 ,leopold1 the ,belgian king1 was living near there with his wife1 and motorists were not allowed on that road4 ,but they had got around the sentry and gone into the church to see the wonderful carved altarpiece by ,michael ,pacher4 ,steve had brought us some colored photographs of it4 ,afterward they had had a swim in the lake and a picnic lunch4 ,and in the afternoon--this had been the high spot of the day--they had gone over to ,bad ,ischl and called on ,franz ,lhar4 ,the old fellow had been delighted to see them1 had played the ,merry ,widow waltz for them and given them autographed photographs4 ,it sounded like fun4 ,our day at the mine had been very prosaic in comparison4 ,mention of ,bad ,ischl reminded ,lamont of his scheme for the next day4 ,he proposed to ,steve and ,shrady that they should call for the ,altdorfer panels4 ,they fell in with the suggestion at once1 and before we could explain that we thought we'd take the day off1 ,steve was telling us about some of the things we should see in the neighborhood4 ,we slept late and when we got up the sky was gray and threatening4 ,it was no day for an outing4 ,in fact it was so cold that we decided we'd be warmer down in the mine4 ,there was still one series of chambers which we had not explored4 ,this was the ,mondsberg1 and it took us almost three-quarters of an hour to reach it4 ,the pictures were arranged on racks as in the ,kammergrafen and the ,springerwerke1 only in the ,mondsberg there were a great many contemporary paintings4 ,it didn't take us long to run through them4 ,they were all obviously ,german-owned and1 judging from the labels1 the great majority of the canvases had been included in the annual exhibitions at the ,haus der ,deutschen ,kunst in ,munich4 ,ranged along one side of the main chamber was a row of old pictures4 ,these were of high quality1 and we went through them carefully4 ,i came to a canvas which looked vaguely familiar4 ,it was the portrait of a young woman dressed in a gown of cherry brocade4 ,i guessed it to be sixteenth century ,venetian1 perhaps by ,paris ,bordone4 ,i said to ,lamont1 8,i'm sure ,i've seen that picture somewhere1 but ,i can't place it40 8,let's see if there's any mark on the back that might give you a lead10 said ,lamont4 ,he found a label and started reading aloud1 8,california ,palace of the ,legion of ,honor1 ,san ,francisco44440 ,i thought he was joking4 ,but not at all4 ,there was the printed label of my museum4 ,and there too in my own handwriting appeared the words 8,portrait of a ,young ,woman1 by ,paris ,bordone06 ,no wonder the portrait had looked familiar4 ,i had borrowed it from a ,new ,york art dealer for a special loan exhibition of ,venetian painting in the summer of #aich4 ,i learned from the mine records that the dealer had subsequently sold the picture to a ,jewish private collector in ,paris4 ,the ,nazis had confiscated it with the rest of his collection4 ,it was a weird business finding it seven years later in an ,austrian salt mine4 ,after supper that evening ,shrady asked us to go down to ,alt ,aussee with him4 ,some ,viennese friends of his were having an evening of music4 ,the weather had cleared and the snow on the mountains was pink in the afterglow as we drove down the winding road from the mine4 ,the house1 a small chalet1 stood on the outskirts of the village4 ,our host1 his wife and their two daughters1 had taken refuge there just before the ,russians reached ,vienna4 ,he introduced us to ,dr4 ,victor ,luithlen1 one of the curators of the ,vienna ,museum1 who had driven over from ,laufen4 ,many of the finest things from the museum were stored in the salt mine there4 ,dr4 ,luithlen was the custodian4 ,both he and ,shrady played the piano well4 ,luithlen played some ,brahms and ,shrady followed with the music he had composed for a ballet based on ,poe's 8,raven40 ,shrady said that it had been produced by the ,russian ,ballet in ,new ,york4 ,it was a very flamboyant piece and ,shrady performed it with terrific virtuosity4 ,afterward coffee and strudel were served4 ,the atmosphere of the household was casual and friendly4 ,i was reminded of what an ,austrian friend of mine had once told me3 8,in other countries1 conditions are often serious1 but not desperate2 in ,austria they are often desperate but never serious40 ,thinking that ,george ,stout might have returned from ,munich1 ,lamont and ,i went back up to the mine that night before the others4 ,george had just come in4 ,he brought exciting but disturbing news4 ,we were to continue the work at ,alt ,aussee for another ten days4 ,then we were to transfer our base of operations to ,berchtesgaden4 ,our job there would be the evacuation of the ,gring collection6 ,on our way through ,salzburg we were to pick up the pictures and tapestries from the ,vienna ,museum4 ,these were the paintings by ,velsquez1 ,titian and ,breughel which had been highjacked by the ,nazis two months ago and later retrieved by our officers4 ,the disturbing part of what ,george had to tell was that he was going to leave us to carry on alone at the mine4 ,he would try to join us at ,berchtesgaden4 ,but there was a possibility that he might not be able to make it4 ,months ago ,george had put in a request for transfer to the ,pacific4 ,he felt that things were shaping up on the ,european scene and that others could carry on the work4 ,there would be a big job protecting and salvaging works of art in ,japan4 ,he didn't think that a program had been planned4 ,he had offered his services4 ,he had already told us that he had asked for this assignment1 but we had never considered it as a possibility of the present or even of the immediate future4 ,now it looked as though it might materialize at once4 ,in any case he was going up to ,frankfurt the day after tomorrow to find out4 8,as senior officer1 ,tom10 ,george said1 8you will take over as headman of the team4 ,i'll take you down to see ,colonel ,davitt before ,i go4 ,he is responsible for the security guard here at the mine and has been extremely co-operative4 ,you should go to him if you have any complaints about the arrangements after ,i am gone40 ,back in our rooms that night ,lamont said1 8,i have a hunch that this is the last we'll see of ,george4 ,it's not like him to talk the way he did tonight if he hasn't a pretty good idea that he won't be coming back40 ,together we mapped out a tentative division of the work ahead4 ,steve1 who had come into the room in time to hear ,george's news1 joined our discussion4 ,it was after midnight when the first meeting of the 8three powers0 broke up4 ,while ,george was in ,munich he had been informed of the imminent withdrawal of ,third ,army from the part of ,austria in which we were working4 ,no one could1 or would1 tell him the exact date1 but it appeared likely that it would take place within two weeks4 ,it was difficult for me to understand why the arrival of another ,american army--,general ,mark ,clark's ,fifth from ,italy--should cause the cessation of our operations4 ,but of course the ,army had its own way of doing things4 ,we were attached to ,third ,army and if they were getting out1 we would have to get out with them4 ,all along we had known that this might happen before we could empty the mine4 ,it was quite probable that ,fifth ,army would want to resume the work1 but it would take time4 ,such a delay would impede the processes of restitution1 and we had therefore been giving first attention to the finest things4 ,having taken stock of the paintings1 sculpture and furniture on which we were going to concentrate in the time we had left1 we spent ,george's last day working as usual4 ,the loading went well and we finished four more trucks4 ,another convoy would be ready to take off in the morning4 ,george had his own jeep and driver and could make better time than the convoy1 so after early breakfast we went down to ,colonel ,davitt's office4 ,george explained the change in his own plans and said that ,i would be taking over at the mine4 ,then he thanked the colonel for his co-operation4 ,it was a long speech for ,george4 ,when he had finished1 ,colonel ,davitt said1 8,in all the time you've been here1 you haven't made a single unreasonable demand4 ,if ,lieutenant ,howe can come anywhere near that record1 we'll get along all right40 ,compliments embarrassed ,george1 so he said good-by as quickly as possible and climbed into his jeep4 ,he wished me luck and drove off4 ,i waited for ,lamont to come down with the convoy and give me a lift back up the mountain4 7#g7 ,,the ,,rothschild ,,jewels2 ,,the ,g,,ring ,,collection ,we had our share of troubles during those last ten days at ,alt ,aussee4 ,they began that first day of my investiture as head of the team4 ,lamont and ,i were sorting pictures in the room at the mine entrance4 ,it was early in the afternoon and we were about to start loading our third truck4 ,i had just said to ,lamont that ,i thought the morning's convoy had probably passed ,salzburg1 when a jeep pulled up to the door4 ,the driver called out to us that one of our trucks had broken down at ,goisern4 ,that was an hour's drive from the mine4 ,why hadn't we been notified earlier8 ,i asked4 ,he didn't know4 ,perhaps there hadn't been anybody around to bring back word4 ,maybe the driver had thought he could repair the truck4 ,we got hold of ,steve and the three of us started for ,goisern in the messenger's jeep4 ,we'd have to transfer the load1 so an empty truck followed us4 ,we were thankful that the breakdown hadn't happened while the convoy was going over the ,ptschen ,pass4 ,it would have been a tough job to shift the pictures from one truck to another on that steep and dangerous part of the road4 ,it was bad enough as it was1 because it looked as though we'd have rain4 ,one of the trucks had a lot of very large pictures4 ,we hoped that it wasn't the one that had broken down4 ,it was a little after three when we reached ,goisern4 ,the truck had been parked by the headquarters of a small detachment of troops on the edge of town4 ,there were several houses near by but plenty of room for us to maneuver the empty truck alongside4 ,the ,negro driver of the stranded truck said that it had 8thrown a rod0 and would have to be taken to ,ordnance for repairs4 ,that meant that the vehicle would be laid up for two or three weeks4 ,we'd have to see about a replacement4 ,the main thing was to get on with the unloading before it began to rain4 ,and it was the truck with the big pictures4 ,with the two trucks lined up alongside1 and only a few inches apart1 we could hoist the pictures over the sideboards4 ,in this way each row of paintings was kept in the same order4 ,lamont and ,steve boarded the empty truck1 while one of the gnomes from the mine and ,i started unlashing the first stack of loaded pictures4 ,before long a crowd of women and children had collected to watch this unusual operation4 ,there were excited 8oh's0 and 8ah's0 as we began to transfer one masterpiece after another--two large ,van ,dycks1 a ,veronese1 a pair of colossal decorative canvases by ,hubert ,robert1 a ,rubens1 and so on4 ,the spectators were quiet and well behaved1 whispering among themselves4 ,they didn't pester us with questions4 ,we rather enjoyed having an audience4 ,we finished the job in an hour and a half4 ,it wasn't too soon1 for as we were securing the tarpaulin at the rear of the newly loaded truck1 it began to pour4 ,we parked the truck1 arranged for an overnight guard1 then climbed into our jeep and started back to the mine4 ,in a few minutes the rain turned to hail4 ,the stones were so large that we were afraid they'd break the windshield of the jeep4 ,we pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the storm to let up4 ,while we waited1 the gnome told us that sometimes the hailstones were large enough to kill sheep grazing in the high meadows4 ,only the summer before he had lost two of his own lambs during one of the heavy summer storms4 ,he swore that the stones were the size of tennis balls4 ,we were thoroughly soaked and half frozen when we got back to the mine4 ,but we had won our race with the weather1 and the truck would proceed to ,munich with the next convoy4 ,during the next three days we were beset by a series of minor difficulties4 ,two of the trucks broke down on the way up to the mine to be loaded4 ,it took half a day to get replacements1 so the convoy was delayed4 ,one night the guard on duty at the mine entrance developed an unwarranted interest in art and poked around among the pictures which ,lamont and ,i had carefully stacked according to size for loading the next morning4 ,no harm was done1 but it caused a delay4 ,he was under strict orders to let no one into the temporary storage room and was not to go in there himself4 ,it was partly our fault2 we shouldn't have trusted him with the key4 ,the captain of the guard was notified and appropriate disciplinary action taken4 ,the gnomes developed a tendency to prolong their regular rest periods beyond a point ,steve considered reasonable1 and we had to come to an understanding about that4 ,on the whole1 however1 the work went fairly well4 ,even the great chambers of the ,kammergrafen were beginning to thin out4 ,they were far from empty1 but we had cleared them of a substantial part of the external loot1 that is1 the loot which had come from countries outside ,germany4 ,there were still quantities of things taken from ,austrian collections1 but they had not been our primary concern4 ,the time had come to make a final check1 to make sure that we had not overlooked anything important in the category of external loot4 ,together with ,sieber1 we started this last inspection4 ,we checked off the pictures first4 ,our work there had been pretty thorough4 ,after that the sculpture4 ,this also seemed to be well weeded out4 ,and the furniture too4 ,sieber was ahead of us with his flashlight4 ,the light fell on two cartons standing in a dark corner behind a group of ,renaissance bronzes4 ,i asked what was in them4 ,sieber shrugged his shoulders4 ,they had never been opened4 ,he had forgotten that they were there4 ,we dragged them out and looked for an identifying label4 ,sieber recalled that one of the former custodians at the mine had said the things inside were 8sehr wertvoll0--very valuable1 but he knew nothing more4 ,we carried the boxes to a table where there was better light4 ,they were the same size1 square1 and about two feet high4 ,they were not heavy4 ,we pried open the lid of one of them with great care4 ,it might be ,roman glass1 and that stuff breaks almost when you look at it4 ,but it wasn't ,roman glass4 ,inside was a row of small cardboard boxes4 ,i lifted the lid and removed a layer of cotton4 ,on the cotton beneath lay a magnificent golden pendant studded with rubies1 emeralds and pearls4 ,the central motif1 a mermaid exquisitely modeled and wrought in iridescent enamel1 proclaimed the piece the work of an ,italian goldsmith of the ,renaissance4 ,the surrounding framework of intricate scrolls1 shells and columns blazed with jewels4 ,there were forty boxes filled with jewels--necklaces1 pendants and brooches--all of equal splendor4 ,the collection was worth a fortune4 ,each piece bore a minute tag on which appeared an identifying letter and a number4 ,these were ,rothschild jewels4 ,and we had stumbled on them quite by accident4 ,lamont and ,i agreed that they should be taken to ,munich without delay4 ,there they could be stored in a vault4 ,furthermore we decided to deliver them ourselves4 ,it wouldn't do to risk such precious objects with the regular convoy4 ,we admonished ,sieber to say nothing about our find4 ,in the meantime we would keep the two boxes under lock and key in our room4 ,that night we told ,steve we had a special surprise for him4 ,after barring the door against unexpected visitors1 we emptied the boxes onto one of the beds4 ,we told him not to look until we were ready4 ,we arranged each piece with the greatest care1 straightening out the links of the necklaces1 adjusting the great baroque pearls of the pendants1 balancing one piece with another1 until the whole glittering collection was spread out on the white counterpane4 ,then we signaled to ,steve to turn around4 8,god ,almighty1 where did you find those80 he asked4 ,while we were telling him how we had happened onto the two cartons that afternoon1 he kept shaking his head1 and when we had finished1 said solemnly1 8,they're beyond my apprehension40 ,the expression stuck and from that time on we invoked it whenever we were confronted with an unexpected problem4 ,early the following morning we stowed the jewels in the back seat of our command car and set out for ,munich4 ,halfway to ,salzburg we encountered ,captain ,posey1 headed in the opposite direction4 ,he was surprised to see us1 and still more surprised when we told him what we had in the car4 ,he was on his way to the mine4 ,there were some things he wanted to tell us about our next job--at ,berchtesgaden--but if we would come to his office the next day that would be time enough4 ,he wasn't going to stay at the mine more than a couple of hours4 ,he should be back in ,munich before midnight4 ,he said there was one thing we could do when we reached ,salzburg--call on the ,property ,control ,officer and arrange for clearance on the removal of the ,vienna ,museum pictures to the ,munich depot4 ,this was an important part of the plan which ,george had outlined1 so we said that we'd see what we could do4 ,we had some difficulty finding the right office4 ,there were two ,military ,government ,detachments in ,salzburg--one for the city1 and the other for the region4 ,they were on opposite sides of the river4 ,we caught ,lieutenant ,colonel ,homer ,k4 ,heller1 the ,property ,control ,officer1 as he was leaving for lunch4 ,i explained that it was our intention to call for the paintings and tapestries on our way to ,berchtesgaden the following week4 ,he said he could not authorize the removal2 that we would have to see ,colonel ,w4 ,b4 ,featherstone at the headquarters across the river4 ,if the colonel gave his ,o4,k41 it would be all right with him4 ,he didn't think that the colonel would take kindly to the idea4 ,this was a surprise4 ,who would have the temerity to question the authority of ,third ,army8 ,lamont was amused4 ,he told me ,i could have the pleasure of tackling ,colonel ,featherstone alone4 ,it was after two o'clock before the colonel was free4 ,nothing doing on the ,vienna pictures4 ,that would require an ,o4,k4 from ,verona4 ,why ,verona1 ,i asked8 8,general ,clark's headquarters10 was the answer4 ,didn't ,i know that the ,fifth ,army was taking over the area very shortly8 ,then the colonel1 in accents tinged with sarcasm1 expressed his satisfaction at finally meeting one of the ,monuments officers of the ,third ,army4 ,he had heard such a lot about them and the wide territory they had covered4 ,he had been told that a group of them was working at the ,alt ,aussee mine1 but ,i was the first one he had laid eyes on4 ,i gathered that he was mildly nettled by ,third ,army in general and by me in particular4 ,as a matter of fact1 the colonel's attitude about the ,vienna pictures was logical3 why move them out of ,austria8 ,if1 as he supposed1 they were to be returned to ,vienna eventually1 why take them all the way to ,munich8 ,i had no answer to that and took refuge in the old 8,i only work here0 excuse4 ,he found it rather droll that the ,navy should be mixed up in this high-class van and storage business4 ,i had too1 once1 but the novelty had worn off4 ,i rejoined ,lamont and the jewels4 ,i wondered what ,captain ,posey would have to say to all this4 ,we reached ,munich too late that afternoon to see ,craig at the depot1 so we took the jewels with us to his quarters4 ,i had not seen him since my departure for ,alt ,aussee some weeks before4 ,in the interim1 there had been a tightening up on billeting facilities4 ,as a result he and ,ham ,coulter were now sharing a single apartment4 ,i was the only one adversely affected by this arrangement4 ,craig no longer had a spare couch for chance guests4 ,when ,lamont and ,i walked in1 we found them talking with a newly arrived naval lieutenant4 ,he was ,lane ,faison1 who had been around ,harvard in my day4 ,in recent years he had been teaching at ,williams and was at present in ,,oss4 ,after we had been there a little while1 ,lamont asked very casually1 8,would you boys care to see the ,rothschild jewels80 ,ham wanted to know what the hell he was talking about4 8,well1 we have two boxes filled with them here in the hall10 ,lamont said4 ,for the second time we displayed the treasures4 ,craig's enthusiasm was tempered with concern for their safety4 ,he was relieved when we said we had come purposely to put them in one of the steel vaults at the depot4 ,we went with him to the ,knigsplatz forthwith and stowed them safely for the night4 ,lamont and ,i continued on our way to ,third ,army ,headquarters4 ,lincoln was working late4 ,when we walked in he looked up from his typewriter and said 8,hello0 in a flat voice4 ,lincoln was in one of his uncommunicative moods4 ,we left him alone and busied ourselves with letters from home which we found on ,posey's desk4 ,lincoln went on with his typing4 ,presently he stopped and said1 8,george's orders came through4 ,he's gone to the ,pacific40 8,it ought to be interesting work10 said ,lamont4 8,oh1 you knew about his orders80 asked ,lincoln4 8,no10 said ,lamont4 ,that broke the mood4 ,we had a lively session for the next hour4 ,lincoln was always a reservoir of information1 a lot of it in the realm of rumor1 but all of it fascinating4 ,that evening he was unusually full of news4 ,he had a perfect audience in ,lamont and me because we had been completely out of touch with things while at the mine4 ,after exhausting his stock of fact and fiction1 he produced his latest box of food from home4 ,there were brandied peaches1 tins of lobster and caviar1 several kinds of cheese1 dried fruits and crackers4 ,it was a combination you'd never risk at home1 if you were in your right mind4 8,you do very well for yourself10 ,i said when he had the refreshments spread out on his desk4 8,my wife knows the enlisted men's motto3 #8,nothing is too good for our boys1 and nothing is what they get4'0 ,we finished the box and ,lincoln showed us an article he had written on ,nazi sculpture4 ,we were reading it when ,captain ,posey came in4 ,he asked if we had stopped in ,salzburg to see ,colonel ,heller4 ,i told him what had happened there4 ,if he was annoyed1 he gave no sign of it4 ,he rummaged in his desk and brought out a list of instructions for us in connection with the operation at ,berchtesgaden4 ,he suggested that we stop there on the way back to ,alt ,aussee2 it wouldn't be very much out of our way4 ,he gave us the names of the officers we should see about billeting1 and so on4 ,it would be well to have all these things settled in advance4 ,then he gave us some special orders for ,lieutenant ,shrady1 who was to be transferred to ,heidelberg1 now that the evacuation of the mine was ending4 ,captain ,posey said that ,i was to take over the ,mercedes-,benz4 ,it had been obtained originally for the evacuation team4 ,we were to take it with us to ,berchtesgaden4 ,i could make good use of the car1 transportation facilities being what they were1 but ,i didn't relish the prospect of taking it from ,shrady4 ,he had spent money of his own fixing it up and looked on it as his personal property4 ,i told ,captain ,posey how ,i felt4 ,he said he had a letter for me which would take care of the matter4 ,it was a letter directing me to deliver ,lieutenant ,shrady's orders and to appropriate the car4 ,when we saw ,faison at the depot the next morning1 he asked if he might drive back with us4 ,he was joining ,plaut and ,rousseau at ,house #ga to work with them on the investigation of ,nazi art looting4 ,i said we'd be glad to have him4 ,the three of us started off after early lunch4 ,we were looking forward to the ,berchtesgaden detour4 ,none of us had been there during the ,nazi regime and ,i1 for one1 was curious to see what changes had taken place in the picturesque resort town since ,i had last seen it fifteen years before4 ,we took the ,salzburg ,autobahn past ,chiemsee almost to ,traunstein1 and then turned off to the southwest4 ,this was the finest secondary road ,i ever traveled4 ,it led into the mountains and the scenery was worthy of ,switzerland4 ,thanks to perfectly banked turns1 we made the ninety-mile run in two hours4 ,the little town was as peaceful and quiet as ,i remembered it4 ,in fact it was so quiet that ,lamont and ,i had difficulty locating an ,army outfit to give us directions4 ,we learned that the #ddth ,,aaa ,brigade had just moved in and that the last remnants of the famous #ajast ,airborne ,division were pulling out4 ,there was no love lost between the two1 as we found out later4 ,consequently1 when ,i asked an officer of the ,,aaa ,brigade where ,i would find ,major ,anderson of the #ajast ,airborne1 he informed me curtly that that outfit was no longer at ,berchtesgaden4 ,then ,i asked if he knew where the ,gring collection was4 ,he didn't seem to know what ,i was talking about1 so ,i rephrased my question1 inquiring about the captured pictures which had been on exhibition a short time ago4 ,yes1 he knew vaguely that there had been some kind of a show4 ,he thought it had been over in ,unterstein1 not in ,berchtesgaden4 ,well1 where was ,unterstein8 ,he said it was about four kilometers to the south1 on the road to the ,knigssee4 ,his directions weren't too explicit1 but eventually we found the little back road which landed us in ,unterstein ten minutes later4 ,in a clearing on the left side of the road stood the building we were looking for4 ,it was a low rambling structure of whitewashed stucco in the familiar ,bavarian farmhouse style4 ,it had been a rest house for the ,luftwaffe4 ,the center section1 three stories high1 had a gabled roof with widely overhanging eaves4 ,on either side were long wings two stories high1 similarly roofed4 ,the casement windows were shuttered throughout4 ,we found ,major ,harry ,anderson on the entrance steps4 ,he was a husky fellow with red hair and a shy1 boyish manner4 ,he was not altogether surprised to see us because ,george had stopped by on his last trip to ,munich and told him we'd be arriving before long4 ,how soon could we start to work on the collection8 ,in four or five days' time1 we thought4 ,could he make some preliminary arrangements for us8 ,we would need billets for three officers1 that is1 the two of us--and ,lieutenant ,kovalyak4 ,no1 there would be four1 we had forgotten to include the ,negro lieutenant in charge of the truck drivers4 ,then there would be twenty drivers4 ,could we say definitely what day we'd arrive8 ,lamont and ,i made some rapid calculations4 ,it was a ,tuesday4 ,how about ,friday evening8 ,that was fine4 ,the sooner the better as far as the major was concerned4 ,he was slated to pull out the minute the job was done1 so we couldn't start too soon to suit him4 ,he asked if we'd care to take a preliminary look around but we declined4 ,it was getting late and we still had a hard three-hour drive ahead of us4 ,as we turned to go1 ,jim ,plaut and ,ted ,rousseau came out of the building4 ,they had been expecting ,faison but were surprised to find him with us4 ,wouldn't we all have dinner with them that night at ,house #ga8 ,they had come over from ,bad ,aussee that afternoon1 bringing ,hofer with them4 ,they had been quizzing him about certain pictures in the collection and he had wanted to refresh his memory by having a look at them4 ,they pointed to a stocky ,german dressed in gray tweeds who stood a little distance away talking with a tall1 angular woman4 ,we recognized him as the man we had seen pacing the garden at ,house #ga weeks before--the evening ,lamont and ,i first reported to ,george at the mine4 ,that was his wife1 they said4 ,would we mind taking ,hofer back with us8 ,if we could manage that1 they'd take ,faison with them4 ,there were some urgent matters they'd like to talk over with him in connection with their work4 ,we agreed and ,ted brought ,hofer to the car4 ,as we left he called out1 8,wiederschauen1 liebe ,mutti10 and kept waving and throwing kisses to his tall wife4 ,i was struck by the stoical expression on her face4 ,she watched us go but made no effort to return his salutations4 ,i wondered if she gave a damn4 ,hofer was a loquacious passenger4 ,all the way to ,bad ,aussee he kept up a line of incessant chatter1 half in ,english1 half in ,german1 on all sorts of subjects4 ,he gesticulated constantly with both hands1 notwithstanding the fact that one of them was heavily bandaged4 ,he explained that he had scalded it4 ,the bandage had been smeared with evil-smelling ointment which had soaked through4 ,as he gestured the air was filled with a disagreeable odor of medication4 ,did we know ,salzburg8 ,ah1 such a lovely city1 so musical6 ,did we know ,stokowski8 ,he knew him well4 8,then you'll probably be interested to know that he has just married one of the ,vanderbilt heiresses1 a girl of nineteen10 ,i said4 ,but ,i must be joking4 ,was it really so8 ,i was getting bored with this chatterbox when he suddenly began to talk about ,gring and his pictures4 ,we asked him the obvious question3 ,what did ,gring really like when it came to paintings8 ,well1 he was fond of ,cranach4 ,yes1 we knew that4 ,and ,rubens2 he had greatly admired ,rubens4 ,and many of the ,dutch masters of the seventeenth century4 ,but according to ,hofer it was he who had directed the ,reichsmarschall's taste4 ,then1 to my surprise1 he mentioned ,vermeer4 ,did we know about the ,vermeer which ,gring had bought8 ,after that he went into a lengthy account of the purchase1 leading up to it with an involved story of the secrecy surrounding the transaction1 which had many confusing details4 ,when we pulled up before ,house #ga1 ,hofer was still going strong4 ,lamont and ,i were worn out4 ,shrady departed the following morning in compliance with the orders ,i had brought him4 ,he left the ,mercedes-,benz behind4 ,if ,i could have foreseen the trouble that car was going to cause us1 nothing could have tempted me to add it to our equipment4 ,even then ,lamont eyed it with suspicion1 but we were both talked out of our misgivings by ,steve1 who rubbed his hands with satisfaction at the prospect of the clat it would lend our future operations4 ,with ,shrady's going1 we fell heir to his duties4 ,during our last three days at the mine they complicated our lives considerably4 ,there were records to be put in order1 reports to be finished1 pay accounts to be adjusted1 ration books to be extended for the skeleton crew which would remain at the mine4 ,in addition1 ,i had to see ,colonel ,davitt about the reduction and reorganization of the guard1 and make provision for different billeting and messing facilities4 ,in the midst of these preparations1 ,ted ,rousseau telephoned from ,house #ga4 ,were we planning to take ,kress1 the photographer1 with us to ,berchtesgaden8 ,we certainly were4 ,steve would sooner have parted with his right eye4 ,well1 they wanted to interrogate him before we left4 ,how long would they need him8 ,a few days4 ,i suggested they start right away4 ,we'd be needing him too4 ,steve was wild when he heard about it4 ,i agreed that it was a nuisance but that we'd have to oblige4 ,the ,,oss boys came for ,kress that afternoon4 ,steve watched them1 balefully1 as they drove off down the mountain4 ,then he resumed the work he had been doing on his big ,steyr truck4 ,this was a cumbersome vehicle which he and ,kress had been putting in order4 ,it had belonged originally to the ,einsatzstab ,rosenberg and was part of ,kress' photographic unit4 ,he and ,steve were refitting it to serve our purposes in a similar capacity4 ,it was a fine idea1 but so far they hadn't been able to get it in running order4 ,steve had had it painted4 ,when he had nothing better to do1 he tinkered with the dead motor4 ,next to ,kress1 the truck was his most prized possession4 ,i returned to ,shrady's old office where ,i found ,lamont in conversation with ,dr4 ,hermann ,michel4 ,michel was a shadowy figure who had been working at the mine with ,sieber and ,eder throughout our stay4 ,when ,posey and ,lincoln ,kirstein had arrived at ,alt ,aussee in ,may1 he had identified himself as one of the ringleaders of the ,austrian resistance movement and vociferously claimed the credit of saving the mine4 ,since then he had been working in the mine office4 ,captain ,posey had given him permission to make a routine check of the books and archives stored there4 ,he was such a talkative fellow that we kept out of his way as much as possible4 ,and we didn't like his habit of praising himself at the expense of others4 ,he was forever running to ,plaut and ,rousseau at ,house #ga with written and oral reports1 warning them to beware of this or that man in the mine organization4 ,lamont looked decidedly harassed when ,i walked in4 ,michel was protesting our demands for a complete set of the records4 ,we were to leave them in ,colonel ,davitt's care when we closed the mine4 ,michel had taken the opportunity to say a few unpleasant things about ,sieber4 ,we finally made it clear to him that there would be no nonsense about the records1 and also that what we did about ,sieber was our business4 ,we finally packed him off still protesting and shaking his head4 ,the afternoon before our departure ,lamont and ,i had to go over to ,st4 ,agatha4 ,the little village lay in the valley on the other side of the ,ptschen ,pass4 ,we were to verify the report that a small but important group of paintings was stored in an old inn there4 ,a fine ,hubert ,robert ,landscape1 given to ,hitler by ,mussolini1 was said to be among them4 ,we went first to the ,brgermeister who had the key4 ,he drove with us to the inn4 ,it was an attractive ,gasthaus1 built in the early eighteenth century4 ,the walls were frescoed and a wrought-iron sign hung over the doorway4 ,when we arrived the proprietress was washing clothes in the arched passageway through the center of the building4 ,she took us to a large corner room on the second floor4 ,there were some fifty pictures1 all of them enormous and unframed4 ,the ,brgermeister helped us shift the unwieldy canvases about1 so that we could properly examine them4 ,they were1 for the most part1 of indifferent quality--sentimental landscapes by obscure ,german painters of the nineteenth century4 ,but we did find five that were fine3 the mammoth landscape with classical ruins by ,hubert ,robert1 the eighteenth century ,french master--this was the one ,mussolini had given the ,fhrer2 an excellent panel by ,pannini--it too a landscape2 a ,van ,dyck portrait2 a large figure composition by ,jan ,siberechts1 the seventeenth century ,flemish painter2 and a painting by ,ribera1 the seventeenth century ,spanish artist4 ,we set them aside and said we'd return for them in a few days4 ,we had hoped to leave for ,berchtesgaden by midmorning the next day1 but we didn't get off until three in the afternoon4 ,at the last minute ,i received word from ,colonel ,davitt's office that the ,mercedes-,benz was to be left at the mine4 ,i said that since we had no escort vehicle1 it was an indispensable part of our convoy4 ,that being the case1 the colonel's adjutant said we could take the car1 but on condition that we return it within twenty-four hours4 ,i said ,i'd see what ,i could do about that4 ,steve fumed while ,i talked4 ,when ,i hung up the receiver he said1 8,don't be a damn fool4 ,once the car's out of his area1 the colonel hasn't got a thing to say about it4 ,let's get going40 ,sieber and ,eder1 together with a dozen of the gnomes1 were waiting in front of the mine building when we came down the stairs4 ,lamont was already in the car4 ,i gave final instructions to the captain of the guard1 said good-bys all around1 and got in the car myself4 ,everybody smiled and waved as we drove off4 ,the evacuation had been a success4 ,ninety truckloads of paintings1 sculpture and furniture had been removed from the mine during the past five weeks4 ,although it was by no means empty1 the most important treasures had been taken out4 ,third ,army was withdrawing from the area4 ,from now on the mine would be the responsibility of ,general ,clark's forces4 ,we were a lengthy cavalcade4 ,lamont and ,i took the lead4 ,steve followed in the ,steyr truck1 in running order at last4 ,behind him trailed five trucks4 ,we were to pick up eight more at ,alt ,aussee4 ,it wasn't going to be easy to keep such a long convoy in line4 ,if we could only stay together until we got over the pass1 the rest of the trip wouldn't be too difficult4 ,we made it over the pass without mishap4 ,from time to time ,lamont looked back to make sure the trucks were still following4 ,he couldn't count them all1 they were so strung out and the road was so winding4 ,but we had instructed the ,negro lieutenant to give orders to his men to signal the truck ahead in case of trouble1 so we felt reasonably sure that everything was in order4 ,when we reached ,fuschl ,see we stopped along the lake shore to take count4 ,one after another eight trucks pulled up4 ,five were missing4 ,fifteen minutes passed and still no sign of the laggards4 ,steve said not to worry1 to give them another quarter of an hour4 ,the blue waters of the lake were inviting4 ,schiller might have composed the opening lines of ,wilhelm ,tell on this very spot4 8,es lchelt der ,see1 er ladet zum ,bade40 ,steve and ,lamont decided to have a swim4 ,i dipped my hand in the water2 it was icy4 ,while they swam ,i kept an eye out for the missing vehicles4 ,presently two officers drove by in a jeep4 ,i hailed them and ask if they had seen our trucks4 ,they had--about ten miles back two trucks had gone off the road4 ,they thought there had been two or three others at the scene of the accident4 ,lamont and ,steve dressed quickly4 ,steve said he'd go on with the eight trucks and meet us in ,salzburg4 ,then ,lamont and ,i started back toward ,bad ,ischl4 ,we hadn't gone more than five miles when we came upon three of our vehicles4 ,we signaled them to pull over to the side of the road4 ,at first we couldn't make out what the drivers were saying--all three talked at once4 ,we finally got the story4 ,a driver had taken a curve too fast and had lost control of his truck4 ,the one behind had been following too closely and had also crashed over the side4 ,the first driver had got pinned under his truck and they had had to amputate a finger before he could be extricated4 ,the lieutenant in charge had stayed behind to take care of things4 ,he had told them to try to catch up with the rest of the convoy4 ,by the time they had given us all the details1 we realized that they had been drinking4 ,and we guessed that alcohol had also had something to do with the truck going off the road4 ,we would have something to say to the lieutenant when he reached ,berchtesgaden4 ,he was new on the job1 having replaced ,lieutenant ,barboza only two days ago4 ,we were thankful that our precious packing materials had been put in two of the trucks up ahead4 ,steve was waiting for us in the ,mozart ,platz when we reached ,salzburg an hour and a half later with our three trucks in tow4 ,he told the drivers where they could get chow4 ,the three of us went across the river to the ,gablerbru1 the small hotel for transients1 for our own supper4 ,the ,berchtesgaden operation hadn't begun auspiciously4 ,our troubles weren't over4 ,when we pulled into ,berchtesgaden at eight o'clock1 we couldn't find ,major ,anderson1 so we had to fend for ourselves4 ,we managed to put the drivers up for the one night in a barracks by the railway station before going on to ,unterstein ourselves4 ,the lieutenant in charge of the drivers hadn't turned up when we were ready to go1 so ,i left word that he was to report to me first thing the next morning4 ,while we three felt unhappy over the lack of billeting arrangements for us1 we were too tired to think much about it that night4 ,bed was all that mattered4 ,the officer on duty at the ,unterstein rest house said there was an empty room over the entrance hall which we could use until we got permanent quarters4 ,there were three bunks1 so we moved in4 ,by contrast1 everything started off beautifully the following morning4 ,major ,anderson appeared as we were finishing breakfast4 ,his apologies were profuse and he did everything he could to make amends4 ,we declined his offer to obtain rooms for us at the elegant ,berchtesgadener ,hof in town4 ,we wanted to be on the spot4 ,there was plenty of room in the rest house where we would be working2 and we could mess with the half-dozen officers billeted in the adjacent barracks4 ,the major introduced us to ,edward ,peck1 the sergeant1 who had been working on an inventory of the collection4 ,together we made a tour of the premises4 ,the paintings alone filled forty rooms4 ,four rooms and a wide corridor at the end of the ground-floor hall were jammed with sculpture4 ,still another room was piled high with tapestries4 ,rugs filled two rooms adjoining the one with the tapestries4 ,two more rooms were given over to empty frames1 hundreds of them4 ,there was the 8,gold ,room0 where the objects of great intrinsic value were kept under lock and key4 ,and there were three more rooms crammed with barrels1 boxes and trunks full of porcelain4 ,one very large room was a sea of books and magazines1 eleven thousand altogether4 ,a small chapel on the premises was overflowing with fine ,italian ,renaissance furniture4 ,the preliminary survey was discouraging4 ,although the objects were infinitely more accessible than those at the mine had been1 this advantage was largely offset by the fact that they were all loose and would have to be packed individually4 ,even the porcelain in barrels would have to be repacked4 ,our first request was for a work party of twelve men--,g,is1 not ,p,ws4 ,we suggested to the young ,c4,o41 ,major ,paul ,miller1 that he call for volunteers4 ,if possible1 we wanted men who might prefer this kind of job to guard duty or other routine work4 ,they could start in on the books while we mapped out our plan of attack on the rest of the things4 ,steve went off with ,major ,miller to select the crew1 and ,lamont and ,i settled down to discuss other problems with ,major ,anderson and ,sergeant ,peck4 ,it was the sergeant's idea that the collection could be packed up one room at a time4 ,he had compiled his inventory with that thought in mind4 ,unfortunately we couldn't carry out the evacuation in that order4 ,we explained why his system wouldn't work3 paintings1 for example1 had to be arranged according to size4 ,otherwise we couldn't build loads that would travel safely4 ,even if we could have packed the pictures as he suggested--one room at a time--it would have meant the loss of valuable truck space4 ,we assured him that1 in the long run1 our plan was the practical one4 ,it did1 however1 involve considerable preliminary work4 ,the first job would be to assemble all of the pictures--and there were a thousand of them--in a series of rooms on one floor of the building4 ,as the sergeant had not quite finished his lists1 we agreed to devote our energies to the books for the rest of the day4 ,by morning he would have his inventory completed4 ,then the pictures could be shifted4 ,lamont and ,i wanted to know more about the collection4 ,how did it get to ,berchtesgaden in the first place8 ,major ,anderson was the man who could answer our questions4 ,as the war ended1 the ,french reached the town ahead of the ,americans4 ,they had it to themselves for about three days and had raised hell generally4 ,gring's special train bearing the collection had reached ,berchtesgaden just ahead of the ,french4 ,the collection1 having been removed from the ,reichsmarschall's place1 ,karinhall1 outside ,berlin1 was to have been stored in an enormous bunker by his hunting lodge up the road4 ,but there hadn't been time4 ,the men in charge of the train got only a part of the things unloaded4 ,some of them were put in the bunker1 others in a villa near by4 ,most of the collection was left in the nine cars of the train4 ,the men had been more interested in unloading a stock of champagne and whisky which had been brought along in two of the compartments4 ,when the ,french entered the town1 the train was standing on a siding not far from the bunker4 ,they may have made off with a few of the things1 but there were no apparent depredations4 ,they peppered it along one side with machine-gun fire4 ,however1 the damage had been relatively slight4 ,then the ,french had cleared out and the train was1 so to speak1 dumped in ,major ,anderson's lap1 since he was the ,military ,government ,officer with the #ajast ,airborne ,division4 ,under his supervision1 the collection had been transferred from the train1 from the bunker and from the villa1 to the rest house4 ,later he had been instrumental in having it set up as an exhibition4 ,the exhibition had been a great success--perhaps too great a success4 ,he meant that it had attracted so much attention that some of the higher-ups began to worry about the security of the things4 ,finally he had received orders that the show was to close and of course he had complied at once4 ,he said that ,general ,arnold had come to see the exhibition the day after that4 ,we asked if he had let him in4 ,well1 what did we think8 ,but he had turned down a three-star general who had come along after hearing that ,general ,arnold had been admitted4 ,the general1 he said1 was hopping mad4 ,the major's most interesting experience in connection with the collection was his visit with ,frau ,gring4 ,he heard that some of the best pictures were in her possession1 so he took a run down to ,zell am ,see where she was staying in a ,schloss belonging to a ,south ,american4 ,he found the castle2 he found ,emmy2 and he found the pictures4 ,there were indeed some of the best pictures--fifteen priceless gems of the fifteenth century ,flemish school1 from the celebrated ,renders collection of ,brussels4 ,gring had bought the entire collection of about thirty paintings4 ,we knew that ,m4 ,renders was already pressing for the return of his treasures1 claiming that he had been forced to sell them to the ,reichsmarschall4 ,but that was another story4 ,frau ,gring wept bitterly when the major took the pictures1 protesting that they were her personal property and not that of her husband4 ,on the same visit he had recovered another painting in the collection4 ,frau ,gring's nurse handed over a canvas measuring about thirty inches square4 ,she said ,gring had given it to her the last time she saw him4 ,as he placed the package in her hands he had said1 8,guard this carefully4 ,it is of great value4 ,if you should ever be in need1 you can sell it1 and you will not want for anything the rest of your life40 ,the package contained ,gring's ,vermeer4 ,major ,anderson stayed for lunch4 ,as we walked back from the mess1 a command car pulled up in front of the rest house4 ,bancel ,la ,farge and a man in civilian clothes climbed out4 ,i hadn't seen ,bancel for two months4 ,he was a major now4 ,the civilian with him was an old friend of mine1 ,john ,walker1 ,chief ,curator of the ,national ,gallery at ,washington and a special adviser to the ,roberts ,commission4 ,john had flown over to make a brief inspection tour of ,,mfa,a activities4 ,bancel was serving as his guide4 ,they were on their way to ,salzburg and ,alt ,aussee4 ,major ,anderson proposed a trip to the ,eagle's ,nest1 ,hitler's mountain hide-out1 suggesting that the visitors could look at the ,gring pictures that evening4 ,lamont and ,i said we had work to do1 but we were easily talked out of that4 ,you could see the ,eagle's ,nest from the rest house4 ,it was perched on top of the highest peak of the great mountain range which rose sharply from the pine forests across the valley4 ,we crossed to the western side and began a steep ascent4 ,about a thousand feet above the floor of the valley we came to ,obersalzberg1 once a select community of houses belonging to the most exalted members of the ,nazi hierarchy4 ,in addition to the ,berghof1 ,hitler's massive chalet1 it included a luxurious hotel--the ,platter ,hof--,,ss barracks1 and week-end 8cottages0 for ,gring and ,martin ,bormann4 ,the ,british bombed ,obersalzberg in ,april #aide4 ,the place was now in ruins4 ,the ,berghof was still standing but gutted by fire and stripped of all removable ornamentation by souvenir hunters4 ,we continued up the winding road carved from the solid rock1 through three tunnels1 at length emerging onto a terraced turnaround1 around1 five thousand feet above ,berchtesgaden4 ,the major told us that the road had been built by slave labor4 ,three thousand men had worked on it for almost three years4 ,illustration3 ,portrait of a ,young ,girl by ,chardin 7left7 and ,young ,girl with ,chinese ,figure by ,fragonard 7right7 were acquired by ,gring from the confiscated ,rothschild ,collection of ,paris4 ,the paintings have been returned to ,france4 ,illustration3 ,christ and the ,adulteress1 the fraudulent ,vermeer1 for which ,gring exchanged #acg paintings of unquestioned authenticity4 ,illustration3 ,portrait of the ,artist's ,sister by ,rembrandt4 ,one of the five ,rembrandts in the ,gring ,collection4 ,the ,eagle's ,nest was still four hundred feet above4 ,from the turnaround there were two means of access3 an elevator and a footpath4 ,the elevator shaft1 hewn out of the mountain itself1 was another feat of engineering skill4 ,a broad archway of carved stone marked the entrance4 ,beside the elevator stood a sign which read1 8,for ,field ,grade ,officers ,only0--that is1 majors and above4 8,a sentiment worthy of the builder10 ,lamont observed as we took to the footpath4 ,on our steep climb we wondered what ,steve would say to such discrimination4 ,we hadn't long to wait4 ,he made a trip to the ,eagle's ,nest a few days later4 ,when stopped by the guard1 he looked at him defiantly and asked1 8,what do you take me for1 a ,nazi80 ,steve rode up in the elevator4 ,the ,eagle's ,nest was devoid of architectural distinction4 ,built of cut stone1 it resembled a small fort1 two stories high4 ,from the huge1 octagonal room on the second floor--a room forty feet across1 with windows on five sides--one could look eastward into ,austria1 southward to ,italy4 ,a mile below lay the green valleys and blue lakes of ,bavaria4 ,they used to say that every time ,hitler opened a window a cloud blew in4 ,the severity of the furnishings matched the bleakness of the exterior4 ,an enormous conference table occupied the center of the room4 ,before the stone fireplace stood a mammoth sofa and two chairs4 ,a smaller room adjoined the main octagon at a lower level4 ,the heavy carpet was frayed along one side4 ,the caretaker1 pointing to the damage1 said that in his frequent frenzies ,hitler used to gnaw the carpet1 a habit which had earned him the nickname of 8,der ,teppich-,beisser10 the rug-biter4 ,considering the labor expended on this mountain eyrie1 the place had been little used4 ,the same caretaker told us that ,hitler had never stayed there overnight4 ,daytime conferences had been held there occasionally1 but that was all4 ,it was late when we got back to the rest house1 so our guests postponed their inspection of the ,gring collection until the following morning4 ,that evening ,lamont and ,i made a second and more thorough survey of the rooms in which the paintings were stacked4 ,we began with a room which contained works of the ,dutch1 ,flemish1 ,german and ,french schools4 ,the inventory listed five ,rembrandt portraits4 ,one was the ,artist's ,sister2 another was his son ,titus2 the third was his wife1 ,saskia2 the fourth was the portrait of a ,bearded ,old ,man2 and the fifth was the likeness of a ,man with a ,turban4 ,we examined the backs of the pictures for markings which might give us clues to previous ownership4 ,two of the portraits--those of ,saskia and of the artist's sister--had belonged to ,katz1 one of the best known ,dutch dealers4 ,i had been surprised to learn in ,paris that ,katz1 a ,jew1 had done business with the ,nazis4 ,but ,i was also told that only through acceding to their demands for pictures had he been able to obtain permits for his relatives to leave ,holland4 ,according to the information ,i received1 he had succeeded thereby in smuggling twenty-seven members of his family into ,switzerland4 ,a revealing commentary on the extent and quality of his paintings4 ,the portrait of ,titus had been in the ,van ,pannwitz collection4 ,mme4 ,catalina van ,pannwitz1 ,south ,american born1 but a resident of the ,netherlands1 ,i believe1 had sold a large part of her collection to ,gring4 ,whether it had been a bona fide or a forced sale was said to be a moot question4 ,another important ,dutch private collection1 that of ,ten ,cate at ,almelo1 had 8contributed0 the ,man with a ,turban4 ,and the ,bearded ,old ,man had been bought from the ,swiss dealer1 ,wendland1 who had agents in ,paris4 ,he had allegedly discovered the painting in ,marseilles4 ,these five pictures posed an interesting problem in restitution4 ,to whom should they be returned8 ,who were the rightful owners--as of the summer of #aide8 ,at the time we were beginning our work on the ,gring collection1 definite plans for the restitution of works of art were being formulated by the ,american ,military ,government4 ,they were an important part of the general restitution program then being planned by the ,reparations1 ,deliveries and ,restitution ,division of the ,u4 ,s4 ,group ,control ,council4 ,pending the implementation of the program1 the ,monuments1 ,fine ,arts and ,archives ,section of ,u4 ,s4 ,forces1 ,european ,theater1 was the technical custodian of all art works eventually to be restituted4 ,bancel ,la ,farge1 who became ,chief of the ,section when ,,shaef dissolved1 had outlined the plans to us on our way back from the ,eagle's ,nest that afternoon4 ,there were two main categories of works of art slated for prompt restitution to the overrun countries from which they had been taken4 ,the first included all art objects easily identifiable as loot--the great ,jewish collections and the property of other 8enemies of the state0 which had been seized by the ,nazis4 ,the second embraced all art works not readily identifiable as loot1 but for which some compensation was known or believed to have been paid by the ,nazis4 ,the actual restitution was to be made on a wholesale scale4 ,works of art were to be returned en bloc to the claimant nations1 not to individual claimants of those nations4 ,to expedite this 8mass evacuation0 country by country1 properly qualified art representatives would be invited to the ,american ,occupied ,zone1 specifically to the ,central ,collecting ,point at ,munich1 where they could present their claims4 ,once their claims were substantiated--either by documents in their possession or by records at the ,collecting ,point--the representatives would be responsible for the actual removal4 ,we asked ,bancel how the various representatives were to be selected4 ,he explained that several of the overrun countries had set up special ,fine ,arts ,commissions4 ,the one in ,france was called the ,commission de ,rcupration ,artistique4 ,the one in ,holland had an unpronounceable name1 so it was known simply as 8,c4,g4,r40--the initials stood for the name translated into ,french1 ,commission de ,rcupration ,gnrale4 ,and the one in ,belgium had such a long name that he couldn't remember it offhand4 ,czechoslovakia1 ,poland and ,greece would probably establish similar committees before long4 ,each commission would choose a representative and submit his name to the ,,mfa,a ,section for approval4 ,once the names were approved and the necessary military clearances obtained1 the representatives could enter the ,american ,zone1 proceed to ,munich and start to work4 ,bancel said that each representative would have to sign a receipt in the name of his country before he could remove any works of art from the ,collecting ,point4 ,the receipt would release our government from all further responsibility for the objects concerned--as of the time they left the ,collecting ,point4 ,furthermore1 it would contain a clause binding the receiving nation to rectify any mistakes in restitution4 ,for example1 if the ,dutch representative inadvertently included a painting which later turned out to be the property of a ,belgian1 then1 by the provisions of the receipt1 ,holland would be obligated to return that painting to ,belgium4 ,the chief merit of this system of fine arts restitution lay in the fact that it relieved ,american personnel of the heavy burden of settling individual claims4 ,from the point of view of our government1 this was an extremely important consideration because of the limited number of men available for so formidable an undertaking4 ,and from the point of view of the receiving nations1 the system had the advantage of accelerating the recovery of their looted treasures4 ,in the room where ,lamont and ,i had seen the ,rembrandts1 we found a pair of panels by ,boucher1 the great ,french master of the eighteenth century4 ,each represented an ardent youth making amorous advances to a coy and but half-protesting maiden in a rustic setting4 ,they were appropriately entitled ,seduction and were said to have been painted for the boudoir of ,madame de ,pompadour4 ,according to the inventory1 the panels had been bought from ,wendland1 the dealer of ,paris and ,lucerne4 ,these slightly prurient canvases flanked one of the most beautiful fifteenth century ,flemish paintings ,i had ever seen1 ,the ,mystic ,marriage of ,st4 ,catherine by ,gerard ,david4 ,the ,madonna with the ,child on her lap was portrayed against a landscape background1 ,st4 ,catherine kneeling at her right1 dressed in russet velvet4 ,round about were grouped five other female saints1 each richly gowned in a different color4 ,it was not a large composition1 measuring only about twenty-five inches square1 but it possessed the dignity and monumentality of a great altarpiece4 ,the authenticity of its sentiment put to shame the facile virtuosity of the two ,bouchers which stood on either side4 ,the second room we visited that evening contained an equally miscellaneous assortment of pictures4 ,here the canvases were even more varied in size4 ,a ,dutch ,interior by ,pieter de ,hooch1 a ,view of the ,piazza ,san ,marco by ,canaletto1 and two ,courbet landscapes were lined up along one wall4 ,the de ,hooch1 an exceptionally fine example of the work of this seventeenth century master1 was listed in the inventory as having belonged to ,baron douard de ,rothschild of ,paris4 ,the ,courbets were something of a rarity1 as ,gring had few ,french paintings of the nineteenth century4 ,one of the landscapes1 a winter scene1 was an important work1 signed and dated #ahfi4 ,the inventory did not indicate from whom it had been acquired4 ,in one corner stood a full-length portrait of the ,duke of ,richmond by ,van ,dyck4 ,our list stated that it had come from the ,katz collection4 ,beside it was a brilliant landscape by ,rubens4 ,there were perhaps ten other pictures in the room1 among them several nondescript panels which appeared to be by an artist of the fifteenth century ,florentine school1 a portrait by the sixteenth century ,german master1 ,bernhard ,strigel1 a 8fte champtre0 by ,lancret1 and two or three seascapes of the seventeenth century ,dutch school4 ,lamont and ,i had been looking at this assemblage for some little time before we noticed an unframed canvas standing on the washbasin by the window4 ,the upper edge of the picture leaned against the wall mirror at an angle which made it difficult to get a good look at the composition from where we stood4 ,closer inspection revealed the subject to be ,christ and the ,woman ,taken in ,adultery4 ,i studied it for a few minutes and was still puzzled4 ,turning to ,lamont ,i asked1 8,what do you make of this8 ,i can't even place it as to school1 let alone guess the artist40 8,unless ,i am very much mistaken10 he said slowly1 8that is the famous ,gring #8,vermeer4'0 8,you're crazy10 ,i said4 8,why1 ,i could paint something which would look more like a ,vermeer than that40 ,we consulted the inventory4 ,lamont was right4 ,a few lines below the listing of the ,rubens landscape--a picture ,i had just been admiring in another part of the room--appeared the entry 8,vermeer1 ,jan 444 #8,the ,adulteress' 444 ,canvas1 #ij cm4 #if cm40 ,the subject coincided with that of the picture on the washbasin4 ,the measurements were identical4 ,i tried to visualize the picture properly framed1 properly lighted and hanging in a richly furnished room4 ,but still ,i couldn't conceive how such trappings could blind one to the flat greens and blues1 the lack of subtlety in the modeling of the flesh tones1 the absence of that convincing rendering of the 8total visual effect0 which ,vermeer had so completely mastered4 8,who attributed this painting to ,vermeer80 ,i asked4 8,i don't know10 said ,lamont1 8but it is related stylistically to the #8,vermeer1' in the ,boymans ,museum at ,rotterdam1 the ,christ at ,emmaus40 ,so this was the painting ,hofer was talking about2 this was the painting ,gring had given the nurse4 ,one of the notorious ,van ,meegeren fakes4 ,lamont's reference to the ,boymans' 8,vermeer0 called to mind the great furor in the art world nearly a decade ago when that picture had turned up in the art market4 ,dr4 ,bredius1 the famous connoisseur of ,dutch painting1 discovered the picture in ,paris in #aicf4 ,he was convinced that it was a hitherto unknown work by ,vermeer1 the rarest of all ,dutch masters4 ,the subject matter was of special interest to ,dr4 ,bredius1 for the only other ,vermeer which dealt with a religious theme was the one in the ,national ,gallery at ,edinburgh4 ,the past history of the picture was as reassuring as that of many another accepted 8old master40 ,dr4 ,bredius learned that it had belonged to a ,dutch family4 ,one of the daughters had married a ,frenchman in the middle eighties4 ,the picture had been a wedding present and she had taken it with her to ,paris4 ,but their house had been too small for such a large painting--it was four feet high and nearly square--so the canvas had been relegated to the attic4 ,according to the story1 they hadn't known that it was particularly valuable or they might have sold it4 ,in any case1 the picture remained in the attic until the couple died4 ,it had come to light again when the house was being dismantled4 ,through ,dr4 ,bredius1 the ,boymans ,museum had become interested in the picture4 ,other experts were called in4 ,a few questioned it1 but the majority accepted it as a ,vermeer4 ,in #aicg1 the directors of the ,boymans ,museum purchased the ,christ at ,emmaus for the staggering price of three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars4 ,unknown to the outside world1 several more ,vermeers were 8discovered0 during the war years4 ,all were of religious subjects4 ,one was bought at a fantastic price by ,van ,beuningen1 the great private collector of ,rotterdam2 another by the ,nazi-controlled ,dutch ,government for an exorbitant sum2 and a third by ,hermann ,gring4 ,though the ,reichsmarschall did not pay cash for his ,vermeer1 the price was high2 he traded one hundred and thirty-seven pictures from his collection4 ,according to ,hofer1 his adviser and agent1 the paintings he gave in exchange were all of high quality4 ,the final chapter in the story of these newly found ,vermeers is one of the most interesting in the annals of the art world4 ,at the close of the war1 ,dr4 van ,gelder1 the director of the ,mauritshuis--the museum at ,the ,hague--and other ,dutch art authorities began an official investigation4 ,it was curious that so many lost ,vermeers had come to light in such a short space of time4 ,it was recalled that in #aidb an artist named ,van ,meegeren had delivered a million guilders to a ,dutch bank for credit to his account4 ,the money was in thousand-guilder notes1 which the ,germans had ordered withdrawn from circulation at that time4 ,the artist was not known to be a man of means and his mediocre talents as a painter could not have enabled him to amass such a fortune4 ,van ,meegeren was questioned and finally admitted that he had painted the ,christ at ,emmaus and the other lately discovered 8,vermeers40 ,even after he had made a full confession1 there were certain ,dutch critics who doubted the truth of his statements4 ,this nettled ,van ,meegeren1 and he promptly offered to demonstrate his prowess4 ,his choice of a subject might have been symbolic3 ,jesus ,confounding the ,doctors4 ,it took him two months to finish the picture4 ,the work was done in the presence of several witnesses4 ,he painted entirely from memory1 using no models4 ,in the course of the demonstration1 he explained the ingenious methods he had used to defraud the experts4 ,in the first place his compositions were original but painted in the style of ,vermeer4 ,in the second1 he used old canvas and only the pigments known to the ,dutch masters of the seventeenth century4 ,it had not been difficult to pick up at auctions old paintings of little value4 ,it was not always necessary to remove the existing pictures4 ,he frequently adapted portions of them to his own compositions1 or1 conversely1 rearranged his to take advantage of part of an old picture4 ,he was scrupulously careful to avoid modern zinc white and used only lead white which had been employed by the artists of the seventeenth century4 ,he took equal precautions with his other colors1 using ground lapis lazuli and cochineal for his blues and reds4 ,he had obtained these1 at great expense1 from abroad4 ,at the time ,i was evacuating the ,gring pictures1 the ,dutch government was completing its investigation of ,van ,meegeren's activities4 ,subsequently1 the ,ministry of ,education1 ,arts and ,sciences publicly announced its findings1 confirming the fact that ,henrik van ,meegeren was the author of the celebrated picture in the ,boymans ,museum and also of 8other forgeries done so marvelously that the best art experts pronounced them genuine40 ,bancel ,la ,farge and ,john ,walker returned the following morning4 ,although it was ,sunday1 our crew of ,g,is had reported for work at seven-thirty and1 under ,steve's supervision1 continued to pack books4 ,some eight thousand volumes remained to be placed in cases before they could be loaded onto the trucks4 ,while this work was in progress ,lamont and ,i made a tour of the pictures with our guests4 ,we looked again at the rooms we had visited the night before1 singling out the paintings we thought would be of greatest interest to them1 such as the best of the ,dutch and ,flemish masters1 the ,cranachs1 the eighteenth century ,french pictures and the finest sculptures4 ,we concluded the tour at noon4 ,our visitors had to get started on their way to the mine at ,alt ,aussee4 ,after lunch ,lamont joined the crew at work on the books1 while ,i went in search of ,sergeant ,peck4 ,we had explained to him that all of the paintings would have to be numbered before we could prepare them for loading4 ,the sergeant had agreed1 but ,i was not certain that he altogether understood why we were so insistent on this point4 ,i found ,peck in his room at the end of the south wing of the rest house4 ,as usual1 he was working on the inventory4 ,he was a serious1 scholarly fellow4 ,before entering the ,army1 he had been an art teacher at an ,ohio college1 so his present assignment was very much to his liking4 ,he had done a remarkably fine job on the inventory4 ,it was a detailed seventy-page document giving the title of each picture1 the name of the artist1 the dimensions of the canvas and1 where known1 the name of the collection from which it had been acquired4 ,i told him that we hoped to get started on the pictures the next morning4 ,we would arrange them in rooms on the second floor of the center section of the building4 ,those rooms were the ones most accessible to the door leading to our loading platform4 ,we would want him to be responsible for checking off each picture as it was carried onto the truck4 ,since there were more than a thousand paintings in the inventory1 there was only one practical way this checking could be done3 by going through all the rooms and numbering each picture1 setting down the corresponding number on the correct entry in the inventory4 ,i asked if he could spare the time to help me with the numbering that afternoon4 ,he agreed2 so1 armed with the inventory and some chalk1 we began with the rooms on the second floor4 ,by midafternoon we had finished marking two hundred pictures4 ,lamont could start with these the next forenoon4 ,they would keep him busy until we had numbered an additional batch4 ,at three ,steve and ,i drove over to ,brigade ,headquarters to make arrangements for escort vehicles4 ,we expected to have our first convoy ready to leave for ,munich the following afternoon4 ,it was only a ninety-mile run1 ,autobahn all the way1 so two jeeps would suffice4 ,the #ddth ,,aaa ,brigade was established in ,general ,keitel's old headquarters1 about two miles northwest of ,berchtesgaden4 ,with its smooth gravel driveways and well-tended lawns1 the place had the air of a luxurious country club4 ,the administrative offices were located in an ,l-shaped building1 a modern adaptation of the familiar ,bavarian provincial style4 ,the surrounding buildings--barracks and small houses--had been designed in the same style4 ,we were received by ,captain ,putman1 the ,chief of ,staff's adjutant1 a brisk young man1 who promised to provide us with the necessary escort vehicles4 8,cocky fellow1 wasn't he80 said ,steve as we left the office4 8,yes1 but ,i have a feeling we'll get our jeeps on schedule10 ,i said4 ,my hunch was right4 ,only once during the entire ,berchtesgaden operation did the escort vehicles fail to report for duty at the appointed hour4 ,that one time was when ,captain ,putman had a day off4 ,by noon the next day our first convoy of four trucks was ready for the road4 ,two of the trucks were filled with books1 twenty-seven cases of them4 ,the other two contained twenty-five cases1 but not cases of books3 four were filled with glassware 7#cjh pieces72 seven contained porcelain 7#aace pieces72 eight contained gold and silver plate 7#dae pieces72 and the remaining six were packed with rugs4 ,these were from ,karinhall1 near ,berlin1 the largest of ,gring's seven households4 ,as soon as we had dispatched the convoy1 ,lamont and four members of the work party resumed the sorting and stacking of the numbered paintings4 ,sergeant ,peck and ,i1 with two helpers to shift the larger canvases1 proceeded with the numbering4 ,steve took off for ,alt ,aussee to pick up ,kress1 the photographer1 and his paraphernalia4 ,that night ,lamont decided we should improve our quarters4 ,this involved moving from the room we occupied at the front of the building to a much larger one at the back4 ,the new room had several advantages which the old one lacked4 ,it had been the reading room of the rest house in the days of the ,luftwaffe occupancy and was attractively paneled in natural oak with built-in bookshelves4 ,it was thirty feet long and fifteen wide1 nearly twice the size of our former room1 and opened onto a broad porch4 ,there were ,french doors and two large windows which afforded a spectacular view of the mountain range to the east4 ,the ,eagle's ,nest crowned the highest of the peaks4 ,at one end of the room was an alcove1 with a built-in desk and couch4 ,with a little fixing up1 it could be turned into a comfortable sitting room4 ,before we could transfer our belongings to this spacious apartment1 we had to clear out a few of the ,reichsmarschall's--half a dozen pieces of sculpture and three large altarpieces4 ,the outstanding piece of sculpture was a life-size statue of the ,magdalene which ,gring had acquired from the ,louvre4 ,similarly1 the most important of the three altarpieces was a big triptych which also had come from the ,louvre4 ,gring did not remove these objects by force4 ,he obtained them by exchange after prolonged negotiations with the officials of the museum4 ,according to the information given me1 both parties were well pleased with the trade4 ,as ,i recall1 the ,louvre received six objects from the ,reichsmarschall's collection in return for the triptych and the statue4 ,i was told that one of the six pieces was a painting by ,coypel1 the eighteenth century ,french artist1 which had belonged to one of the ,paris ,rothschilds4 ,it was because they were of ,german workmanship that ,gring particularly coveted the pieces which he obtained from the ,louvre4 ,it is presumed that this did not prejudice the ,louvre in their favor4 ,the statue1 portraying the ,magdalene clothed only in her long blonde tresses1 was known as 8la belle allemande10 the beautiful ,german4 ,it was an exceptionally fine example1 in polychromed wood1 of the work of ,gregor ,erhardt1 a ,swabian sculptor of the first quarter of the sixteenth century4 ,i fancied that ,gring detected a resemblance between the statue and his wife4 ,lamont and ,i carried the statue down to the first floor of the rest house and placed it at the foot of the stairs4 ,it was one of the last objects we packed for shipment and1 during our stay at ,berchtesgaden1 ,i had the uncomfortable feeling that ,i had caught ,frau ,gring on her way to the bath4 ,i was not the only one with that idea4 ,one evening ,i found the ,,gi guard draping a raincoat about the ,magdalene's shoulders4 ,i had given strict orders that the guards were to touch nothing in the collection1 so ,i stopped to have a word with him on the subject4 ,he said with a sheepish look1 8,i didn't mean to break the rules1 sir1 but ,i thought ,emmy looked cold40 ,the altarpiece which ,gring acquired from the ,louvre was a sumptuous affair consisting of three panels painted with nearly life-size figures against a gold background4 ,it was by the ,master of the ,holy ,kinship1 an artist of the ,cologne ,school of the fifteenth century4 ,the large center panel represented the ,presentation in the ,temple2 the right-hand panel1 the ,adoration of the ,magi2 the left-hand panel1 ,christ ,appearing to ,mary4 ,during its recent peregrinations the central panel had cracked from top to bottom4 ,but fortunately the cleavage1 which ran through the center of the middle panel1 fell in an area devoid of figures4 ,an adroit restorer could easily repair the damage4 ,we shifted the altarpiece to an adjoining room4 ,the two remaining altarpieces were works of the fifteenth century ,french school4 ,one represented the ,crucifixion2 the other1 the ,passion of ,christ4 ,the ,crucifixion had belonged to the ,paris dealer ,seligmann1 whose collection had been confiscated by the ,nazis4 ,the inventory did not show the name of the former owner of the other panel4 ,a highly imaginative composition with nocturnal illumination1 it was attributed to the rare ,french master1 ,jean ,bellegambe4 ,as we carried the altarpieces into the room in which we had placed the one from the ,louvre1 ,i remarked to ,lamont that for a godless fellow ,gring seemed to have had a nice taste for religious subjects4 ,the pieces of sculpture1 which we added to the collection in the lower hallway1 were also of devotional character3 two ,gothic statues of ,st4 ,george and the ,dragon1 one of ,st4 ,barbara1 and two of the ,madonna and ,child4 ,we brought three large wardrobes from our old room1 placed two of them at right angles to the walls to form a partition1 and set the third in a corner of the new room4 ,the beds came next4 ,in another hour we had the furniture arranged to our satisfaction4 ,by the time we had added a silver lamp1 borrowed temporarily from the ,gring collection1 and tacked up a few of our photographs1 the place looked as though we had been living there for weeks4 ,without ,steve the loading went more slowly1 but we managed to finish three trucks by two o'clock the next day4 ,the driver of one of the escort jeeps had brought us a message from ,munich that it would simplify the work at the ,central ,collecting ,point if we dispatched the trucks in groups of three or four instead of waiting until we had six loaded4 ,at the ,alt ,aussee mine we hadn't been able to work on such a schedule because we lacked sufficient escort vehicles4 ,we didn't have that problem at ,berchtesgaden because the shorter distance made possible a one day turnaround4 ,the jeeps could easily make the round trip in half a day4 ,accordingly1 we sent off our second convoy that afternoon4 ,the trucks contained the rest of the books--forty-three cases in all--sixty-five paintings and fifteen of the larger pieces of sculpture4 ,in anticipation of ,kress' arrival1 we spent the next morning assembling all the paintings that appeared to have suffered recent damage of any kind4 ,his first job would be to make a photographic record which we would include in our final report on the evacuation of the collection4 ,we found thirty-four pictures in this category4 ,only two had sustained serious injury4 ,these were the side panels of a large triptych by the sixteenth century ,italian artist1 ,raffaellino del ,garbo4 ,they had been badly splintered by machine-gun fire while the collection was still aboard the special train which had brought it to ,berchtesgaden4 ,three other panels bore the marks of stray bullets1 but the harm done was relatively slight4 ,in general1 the damage consisted of minor nicks and scratches and water spots4 ,considering the hazards to which the collection had been exposed1 the pictures had come through remarkably well4 ,i was reminded of what ,george ,stout had said1 8,there's a lot of nonsense talked about the fragility of the #8old masters4' ,by and large1 they are a hardy lot4 ,otherwise they wouldn't have lasted this long40 ,we had worked our crew all day ,sunday1 so we told them to knock off as soon as we had finished selecting and segregating the damaged pictures4 ,with the afternoon to ourselves1 we turned our attention to the miscellaneous assortment of objects in the 8,gold ,room40 ,this was the name given the small room on the ground floor in which ,sergeant ,peck had stored the things of great intrinsic value4 ,there were seventy-five pieces in all3 gold chalices studded with precious stones2 silver tankards2 reliquaries of gold and enamel work2 boxes of jade and malachite2 candelabra1 clocks and lamps of marble and gold2 precious plaques of carved ivory2 and sets of gold table ornaments4 ,they presented a specialized packing job which ,lamont and ,i could handle better alone than with inexperienced helpers4 ,our first problem was to find some small packing cases4 ,we searched the rest house without success4 ,then ,lamont remembered seeing a pile of individual wooden file cabinets in the little chapel where most of the furniture was stored4 ,these were admirably suited to our purpose4 ,they were rectangular boxes about six feet long and two feet high4 ,each was divided into three compartments4 ,there were thirty of them--more than enough for the job4 ,we had a supply of flannel cloths which we had borrowed from a packing firm in ,munich4 ,after wrapping each piece1 we placed it in one of the compartments of the file cabinet4 ,we stuffed the compartments with excelsior so that the objects could not move about4 ,a few of the items were equipped with special leather cases4 ,among these were two swords3 one1 with a beautifully etched blade of ,toledo steel1 had been presented to ,gring by the ,spanish air force2 the other1 with a jewel-studded gold handle1 had been a gift from ,mussolini4 ,there was also a gold baton encrusted with precious stones1 a present from the ,reichsmarschall's own air force4 ,of all these objects1 perhaps twenty were of modern workmanship4 ,in contrast to the older things1 they were ornate without being beautiful4 ,ugliest of the lot was a standing lamp4 ,the stalk1 eight inches in diameter1 was a shaft of beaten gold4 ,the shade1 with a filigree design1 was also of gold1 as were the pull cords4 ,rivaling it in costly vulgarity was a set of gold table ornaments4 ,the large centerpiece consisted of an elliptical framework4 ,at each end and in the center of the two sides stood ,egyptian maidens1 fashioned of gold1 four feet high4 ,the ,german slang word for such stuff is 8kitsch40 ,i think the closest ,english equivalent is 8corny40 ,toward the end of the afternoon we were waited on by a delegation of three officers from the #ajast ,airborne ,division4 ,they had come to inquire if we would consider turning over to them the gold sword which ,mussolini had given to ,gring4 ,they wanted it as a trophy for a club of #ajast ,airborne officers which they were organizing4 ,they planned to set up a clubroom when they got back home and have annual reunions4 ,the sword1 they said1 would be such an appropriate souvenir4 ,i told them that ,i had been directed to ship everything to ,munich and did not have authority to make any other disposition of objects in the collection4 ,but1 since the sword could not be regarded as a 8cultural object0--a fact which ,i called to their attention--,i suggested that they take the matter up with ,third ,army ,headquarters in ,munich4 ,i refrained from informing them that1 for all of me1 they could have their pick of the modern objects in the 8,gold ,room40 ,we made an interesting discovery that afternoon4 ,rummaging in a closet off the 8,gold ,room0 we found a stack of photograph albums4 ,at the bottom of the heap lay an enormous portfolio4 ,it contained architect's drawings for the proposed expansion of ,karinhall4 ,the estate1 greatly enlarged1 was to have become a public museum4 ,we had heard that ,gring intended to present his art collection to the ,reich on his sixtieth birthday4 ,here was concrete proof of those intentions4 ,each drawing bore the date 8,january #aide40 ,steve returned in triumph at noon the next day4 ,with him in the command car was ,kress1 looking more timid than ever4 ,steve said that ,kress had had a bad time after we left ,alt ,aussee2 the boys at ,house #ga had clapped him in jail and left him there for two days before interrogating him4 ,steve had been 8burned up0 about it and had given them a piece of his mind4 ,he said contemptuously that he had known all along they didn't have anything on ,kress4 ,but he was content to let bygones be bygones4 ,steve had his man ,friday back again4 ,he pointed happily to the six-by-six which had pulled up behind the command car4 ,all of ,kress' photographic equipment was packed up inside it4 ,there was a tremendous lot of stuff3 three large cameras1 a metal table for drying prints1 reflectors1 a sink1 pipes of various sizes1 boxes of film and paper1 and a couple of large cabinets4 ,steve planned to get everything installed at once4 ,kress was to sleep in one of the rooms of the rest house4 ,an adjoining room was to be set up as a darkroom4 ,we showed ,steve our new quarters and suggested that ,kress take over our old room4 ,the one next door would make a good darkroom4 ,i asked ,steve how he was going to get all the stuff installed4 ,he'd have to have a plumber4 ,that didn't bother ,steve4 ,he asked me to tell the mess sergeant that ,kress was to have his meals with the civilian help in the kitchen4 ,he'd take care of everything else4 ,steve was as good as his word4 ,he found a plumber and by the end of the day ,kress was ready to start work4 ,notwithstanding these interruptions1 ,lamont and ,i managed to load and dispatch a convoy of three trucks4 ,this third convoy contained two hundred paintings1 thirty tapestries1 fifteen more pieces of large sculpture and a dozen pieces of ,italian ,renaissance furniture4 ,at odd moments during our first days at ,berchtesgaden1 we had worried about the sculpture4 ,in the first three convoys we had disposed of only thirty of the two hundred and fifty pieces4 ,most of those remaining were just under life size4 ,we had no materials with which to build crates4 ,and even if we had had the lumber1 the labor of building them would have greatly delayed the evacuation4 ,that evening we found the solution of the problem4 ,the three of us were standing on the open porch outside our room after supper4 ,two of the trucks were parked by the loading platform directly below4 ,why not make a checkerboard pattern of ropes1 strung waist high across the truck bed8 ,the floor of the truck could be padded with excelsior4 ,we could set a statue in each of the squares4 ,the ropes would hold each piece in place4 ,if we stuffed quantities of excelsior between the statues1 they wouldn't rub4 ,perhaps it was a crazy idea4 ,on the other hand1 it might work4 ,the following morning ,steve and two of the men prepared the truck while ,lamont and ,i selected the statues for the trial load4 ,we chose thirty of the largest pieces4 ,we figured on seven or eight rows1 with four statues in each row4 ,kress set up his camera on the porch and photographed the progress of the operation4 ,one by one the long row of madonnas1 saints and angels was set in place4 ,we hadn't been far off in our calculations4 ,there were twenty-nine in all4 ,the truck looked like a tumbrel of the ,french ,revolution filled with victims for the guillotine4 ,it was a new technique in the packing of sculpture4 ,steve said we'd have to send ,george ,stout a photograph4 8,and we'll have to send for more excelsior1 too10 ,lamont said4 ,he was quite right4 ,we had used up the last shred4 ,that afternoon ,steve combed the countryside for a fresh supply of excelsior1 returning just before supper with three new bales4 ,in the meantime1 ,lamont went over1 with ,kress1 the paintings to be photographed4 ,sergeant ,peck and ,i completed numbering the last of the pictures4 ,the next day we loaded three more trucks4 ,with ,steve on hand to crack the whip over the men1 the loading went fast1 so fast in fact that ,sergeant ,peck had a hard time checking off the paintings as they were hoisted onto the trucks4 ,we packed four hundred pictures1 the cases containing the gold and silver objects which ,lamont and ,i had finished the day before1 and another dozen pieces of furniture4 ,the convoy--our fourth--got off in the early afternoon4 ,we placed a special guard on the truck with the sculpture to make sure that the driver didn't smoke on the way4 ,we finished one more truck and stopped for a cigarette4 ,it was a hot day and we didn't feel like doing any more work4 ,steve had gone up to the darkroom to see ,kress4 ,lamont said1 8,let's go up to ,munich40 8,that suits me1 but what excuse have we got80 ,i asked4 8,if we must have an excuse1 ,i can think of at least four10 he said thoughtfully4 8,we're out of cigarettes and candy4 ,we ought to be on hand when they unpack the sculpture at the ,collecting ,point4 ,we've worked for a week without taking a day off4 ,and perhaps there'll be some mail for us at ,posey's office40 8,what about the little brown bear8 ,do you think he'll mind our taking off80 ,i asked4 ,this was ,lamont's name for ,steve1 but it was never used when he was within earshot4 8,steve's had his trip for this week10 said ,lamont1 meaning ,steve's trip to ,alt ,aussee4 ,sergeant ,peck1 who had overheard part of our conversation1 asked if he might join us4 ,we told him to be ready in ten minutes and went off to notify ,steve of our plans and to pack up our musette bags4 ,steve was so busy helping ,kress with his developing that he scarcely paid any attention to us4 ,after leaving him a final injunction to have at least three trucks loaded before we got back the next evening1 we called for the command car4 ,the driver1 a restless redhead named ,freedberg1 who hated the monotonous routine at ,berchtesgaden1 was delighted with the idea of going to ,munich4 ,sergeant ,peck appeared and we set off4 ,we chose the shorter road through the mountains and overtook the convoy on the ,autobahn1 halfway to ,munich4 ,the front escort jeep was holding the speed down to thirty-five miles an hour1 in accordance with my instructions4 ,the driver waved envyingly as we passed them doing fifty4 ,twenty miles from ,munich1 ,freedberg turned west off the ,autobahn and took the back road from ,bad ,tlz1 a short cut which brought us directly to ,third ,army ,headquarters4 ,we arrived at ,captain ,posey's office just as ,lincoln ,kirstein was leaving for chow4 ,he told us that the captain had gone to ,pilsen the middle of the week but was due back that evening4 8,there's quite a lot of mail for both of you10 ,lincoln said4 ,he handed us each a thick batch of letters4 ,it was the first mail ,i had received from home in six weeks4 ,there were forty-two letters6 8,i told you there'd be mail for us10 said ,lamont with a satisfied smile4 ,we had supper with ,craig ,smyth and ,ham ,coulter at the ,detachment that evening4 ,craig said that the convoy had not arrived before he left the ,collecting ,point1 but two of his ,german workmen were to be on duty the next morning1 even though it was ,sunday4 ,we arranged to meet him at his office and supervise the unloading4 ,lincoln had said that ,posey would not be back before ten1 so we spent the evening with ,craig and ,ham at their apartment4 ,just before we returned to ,third ,army ,headquarters1 ,ham gave us a small paper-bound volume4 ,it was entitled ,the ,ludwigs of ,bavaria4 ,the author was ,henry ,channon4 8,this is one of the most fascinating books ,i've ever read10 ,ham said4 8,you might take it along with you40 ,i thanked him1 and stuck it in my musette bag4 ,before our operations in ,bavaria ended two months later1 that little book had come to mean a great deal to the members of the evacuation team4 ,we called it our 8,bavarian bible40 ,so alluring were ,channon's descriptions of the 8,seven ,wonders of ,bavaria0 that whenever we had a free day--or even a few hours to ourselves--we made excursions to these architectural fantasies3 the swirling1 baroque churches of ,wies1 ,weltenburg1 ,ottobeuren and ,vierzehnheiligen2 the ,amalienburg and the palace of ,herrenchiemsee4 ,the ,residenz at ,wrzburg1 which we had seen1 was one of the seven4 ,unofficially we added an eighth to the list3 ,schloss ,linderhof1 ,ludwig ,,ii's opulent little palace near ,oberammergau--ornate and vulgar1 yet fascinating in its lonely mountain setting4 ,but these were extracurricular activities1 falling outside the orbit of our official work4 ,we found ,captain ,posey at his office when we got there a few minutes before ten that evening4 ,he asked us for a complete account of our operations at ,berchtesgaden4 ,we reported that we had sent a total of fourteen truckloads up to ,munich the first week2 that we had cleaned out half the pictures1 but that we had just begun on the sculpture4 ,we estimated that it would take us another ten days to finish2 we would probably fill seventeen or eighteen more trucks4 ,we asked him what plans he would have for us when we completed the job4 ,he said he might send us to the ,castle of ,neuschwanstein4 ,the place was full of things looted from ,paris4 ,in fact1 it was one of the major repositories of the ,einsatzstab ,rosenberg4 ,the ,french were clamoring to have it evacuated4 ,then there was another big repository in a ,carthusian monastery at ,buxheim4 ,that too contained loot from ,paris4 ,perhaps we could take a run down to both places and size up the jobs after we had finished with the ,gring things4 ,the captain was tired after his long trip1 so we didn't go into details about either of the two prospective assignments4 ,he offered us a billet for the night and the three of us turned in shortly after eleven4 ,it was none too soon for me3 ,i still had forty-two unopened letters from home in the pocket of my jacket4 ,when we arrived at the ,collecting ,point the next morning1 the two ,german workmen who had been with me at ,hohenfurth were starting to unpack the truck with the sculpture4 ,lamont and ,i examined each statue as it was lifted from its nest of excelsior4 ,all twenty-nine had come through without a scratch4 ,our experiment was a success4 ,we would be able to use the same technique with the rest of the sculpture4 ,i instructed the workmen to leave all of the excelsior in the truck1 as we had none to spare4 ,i persuaded ,craig to drive back to ,berchtesgaden with us for the night4 ,he looked tired and ,i thought the change would do him good4 ,his responsibilities at the ,collecting ,point--the 8,bau10 as we called it 7our abbreviation for ,verwaltungsbau7--were heavy2 and he never took a day off4 ,on the return trip he told us his latest troubles4 ,only three days ago a small bomb had exploded in the basement of the 8,bau40 ,it had blown one of the young ,german workmen to bits4 ,craig gave all the grisly details1 which included discovering one of the poor fellow's arms in a heap of debris fifty feet from the scene of the explosion4 ,the tragedy had had one beneficial result4 ,for weeks ,craig had been harping on the subject of additional guards for the ,collecting ,point4 ,his words had fallen on deaf ears--until the bomb episode4 ,he said that a general and three colonels arrived at the building within half an hour4 ,since then everyone had been so 8security-conscious0 that he had had no further difficulty in obtaining the desired number of guards4 ,the ,bomb ,disposal ,unit inspected the premises and some pointed comments were made about the thoroughness of the original survey4 ,in our absence ,steve had loaded three trucks4 ,as a reward for his labors1 ,i suggested that he take ,craig up to the ,eagle's ,nest the following morning4 ,while they were gone1 ,lamont and ,i finished three more loads4 ,we had the convoy of six lined up by noon4 ,craig returned to ,munich in one of the escort jeeps4 ,this fifth convoy contained one hundred and sixty-seven paintings1 one hundred and six pieces of sculpture1 twenty-five tapestries1 sixty-eight cases filled with bibelots1 and fifty-three pieces of furniture4 ,it was our largest convoy out of ,berchtesgaden thus far4 ,it was also the first one to break down4 ,late in the afternoon1 the rear escort jeep arrived at the rest house with word that two of the trucks had broken down fifteen miles out of ,berchtesgaden4 ,steve and ,i drove to ,berchtesgaden to arrange to have them towed in for reloading4 ,i also wanted to do a little investigating4 ,there could be little excuse for breakdowns on the ,munich road if the trucks had been in good mechanical condition when they started out4 ,on the way into town1 ,steve said1 8,tom1 ,i think ,i know what caused the trouble4 ,i didn't think of it till just now4 ,but the other day on the road back from ,alt ,aussee1 two six-by-sixes passed me at a hell of a clip4 ,i thought ,i recognized the drivers as two of ours40 ,i questioned the lieutenant in charge of the drivers4 ,he professed ignorance of any unauthorized junkets back to ,alt ,aussee4 8,i am going to have a word with ,tiny10 said ,steve as we left the lieutenant's room4 ,tiny was the head mechanic and the only one of the entire crew who was always on the job4 ,steve wanted to talk to him alone1 so ,i waited in the car4 ,a few minutes later he came back with a satisfied grin on his face4 8,i got the whole story10 he said4 8,the drivers have been racing back and forth to ,alt ,aussee all the time we've been here4 ,they were crazy about it up at the mine4 ,tiny says they hate it here at ,berchtesgaden40 8,well1 we'll fix that10 ,i said4 ,i went back to see the lieutenant4 8,how many drivers have you got and how many trucks80 ,i asked4 8,sixteen drivers and thirteen trucks10 he said4 8,send eight of the drivers and five of the trucks up to ,munich first thing in the morning and have them report to the trucking company4 ,we can finish the job here without them40 ,steve always sang when he was in a particularly happy frame of mind4 ,that evening1 on the way back to the rest house1 he was in exceptionally good voice4 ,five days later we completed the evacuation of the ,gring collection4 ,the last two convoys1 of four and seven trucks respectively1 contained the larger pictures1 one hundred and seventy-seven of them2 sixty pieces of sculpture1 twenty miscellaneous cases1 sixty-seven pieces of furniture and two hundred empty picture frames4 ,we had heavy rain that last week and the mud was ankle-deep around the loading platform4 ,although it was early ,august1 the nights were cold and the rest house1 emptied of its treasures1 was a cheerless place4 ,we were glad to see the last of the trucks pull out of the drive4 ,it had been a strenuous operation--thirty-one truckloads in thirteen days4 ,in the early afternoon we would collect our personal belongings and return to ,munich4 7#h7 ,,looters' ,,castle3 ,,schloss ,,neuschwanstein ,a telephone call from ,brigade ,headquarters changed our plans4 ,it was ,major ,luther ,miller of ,g-#b4 ,he had just made an inspection of a house belonging to one of ,gring's henchmen and there was a lot of 8art stuff0 in it4 ,he had reported the find to ,third ,army ,headquarters and ,captain ,posey had told him to get in touch with me4 ,could ,i go up to the house with him that afternoon8 ,major ,miller picked me up after lunch4 ,he was a handsome fellow1 tall and sparely built4 ,he had an easy1 pleasant manner4 ,as we drove along he gave me further details about the house to which we were going4 ,it had been occupied until the day before by ,fritz ,grnnert and his wife4 ,grnnert had been the social secretary and close confidant of ,gring4 ,the ,grnnerts had been living on the second and third floors4 ,they shared the house with a man named ,angerer1 who had the first floor4 ,both ,grnnert and ,angerer had been apprehended and were now in jail4 ,major ,miller had found a suspiciously large number of tapestries and other art objects on the premises4 ,he thought they might be loot4 ,the house was an unpretentious villa hidden among pine trees high up in the hills above the town4 ,the place was under guard4 ,on the ground floor we examined the contents of a small store-room4 ,there were several cases bearing ,angerer's name and three or four large crates containing ,italian furniture4 ,a similar store-room on the second floor contained a dozen tapestries1 a pile of ,oriental rugs1 a large collection of church vestments and nearly a hundred rare textiles mounted on cardboard4 ,i noticed that the tapestries1 vestments and textiles were individually tagged and that the markings were in ,french4 ,concealed beneath the tapestries were ten cases1 each one about two feet square and a foot high4 ,major ,miller hadn't seen these before4 ,on each one was stenciled in ,gothic letters3 8,reichsmarschall ,hermann ,gring40 ,they contained a magnificent collection of ,oriental weapons4 ,in a room which ,grnnert had apparently used for a study we found six handsome leather portfolios filled with ,old ,master drawings4 ,the drawings were by ,dutch and ,french artists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries4 ,there was a possibility that all of these things1 with the exception of the weapon collection1 which ,gring had probably entrusted to ,grnnert1 were the legitimate property of the tenants4 ,it was equally possible that they had been illegally acquired4 ,in the circumstances1 ,major ,miller wished me to take charge of them4 ,i said that ,i could take them to the ,central ,collecting ,point at ,munich where they would be held in safekeeping until ownership had been determined4 ,the house had been thoroughly ransacked4 ,drawers had been pulled out and their contents disarranged4 ,closet doors stood open and the clothing on the hangers had been gone over4 ,the beds were rumpled1 for even the mattresses had been searched4 ,despite the topsy-turvy look of things1 there was no evidence of wanton destruction4 ,the search had been thorough and methodical4 ,i asked the major what his men had been looking for1 but his answer was noncommittal4 ,he did say1 though1 that the discovery of documents hidden in a false partition in the living room had prompted the search4 ,the following morning ,steve1 ,lamont and ,i went to the ,grnnert house in the command car4 ,it would have been difficult to take a large truck up the narrow winding road4 ,in any case1 ,i thought we could probably load all of the stuff in the command car4 ,major ,miller had sent one of his officers ahead with the key4 ,the house had been searched again4 ,this time it looked as though a cyclone had struck it4 ,pillows had been ripped open2 drawers had been emptied on the floor2 clothes were scattered all over the bedrooms4 ,i was relieved to find that the things which we had come to take away had not been tampered with4 ,i asked the lieutenant with the key what had been going on in the house1 and he muttered something about 8those ,,cic boys40 ,i seemed to have touched on a sore subject1 so ,i didn't pursue the matter4 ,lamont1 who knew the ways of the ,army far better than ,i1 said that probably there had been a 8jurisdictional dispute0 over who had the right to search the place and that perhaps two different outfits had taken a crack at it4 ,i was glad that ,major ,miller's emissary was there to bear witness to our behavior4 ,we bundled up the rugs1 tapestries and textiles and got out as quickly as possible4 ,they completely filled the command car4 ,lamont and ,steve sat in front with the driver4 ,i wedged myself in between the top of the pile and the canvas top of the car4 ,there was no room for the ten cases of weapons1 so ,i sent a message to ,major ,miller to have one of his men deliver them to us later in the day4 ,when we got back to the rest house1 ,kress had dismantled his darkroom and after lunch we loaded the photographic equipment onto the one truck we had held over for that purpose4 ,there was ample space for the things from the ,grnnert house4 ,before packing them we had to make a complete list of the items4 ,there were two hundred and thirteen church vestments1 eighty-one mounted textiles1 twenty rugs and eleven tapestries4 ,it was suppertime when we finished4 ,as the ten cases of weapons hadn't arrived1 we decided to wait till morning and load everything at once4 ,that evening ,major ,anderson of the #ajast ,airborne came over with the official receipt which ,i was to sign4 ,it was an elaborate document comprising ,sergeant ,peck's seventy-page inventory and a covering letter from the ,c4,o4 of the #ajast ,airborne ,division to the ,commanding ,general of the ,third ,army stating that ,i had received from ,major ,anderson the entire ,gring collection for delivery to the ,central ,collecting ,point at ,munich4 ,having discharged his responsibility1 the major was free to go home to the ,u4,s4,a4 ,that called for a celebration and he had brought a bottle of cognac4 ,it was sixty years old4 ,he said that it came from ,hitler's private stock at the ,berghof4 ,even ,steve1 who had harbored a slight grudge toward ,anderson since the night of our arrival in ,berchtesgaden1 relented and the four of us toasted the successful evacuation of the ,gring treasures4 ,the major had another surprise for us3 he had engaged a room at the ,berchtesgadener ,hof4 ,he insisted that the three of us move over from the rest house4 ,the next day was ,sunday4 ,what would be the point of going up to ,munich8 ,we had been working hard for two weeks4 ,why not take life easy for a day or two8 ,the ,berchtesgadener ,hof was a luxurious resort hotel4 ,its appointments were modern and lavish4 ,in the days of the ,nazi regime1 it had been patronized by all visiting dignitaries1 save the chosen few who had been invited to stay at the ,berghof or the small hotel at ,obersalzberg4 ,it was now being used by the ,army as a 8leave hotel40 ,we had an enormous double room with twin beds and a couch4 ,we had our own private terrace4 ,the room faced south with a wonderful view of the mountains4 ,we even had a telephone which worked4 ,i hadn't seen such magnificence since the ,royal ,monceau in ,paris4 ,there was a room for our driver on the top floor4 ,the final de luxe touch was the schedule of meal hours2 breakfast wasn't even served until eight-thirty4 ,it was hard to believe that we were in ,germany4 ,we were awakened early by a call from ,major ,miller4 ,he had another job for me--two1 in fact4 ,they had been interrogating ,grnnert and he had told them that several pieces of valuable sculpture had been buried in the grounds of his house4 ,the major had located the spot and the things were to be excavated before noon4 ,also he wanted me to go with him to inspect a cache of pictures reported hidden in a forester's house not far from ,berchtesgaden4 ,i said ,i'd be ready in an hour4 ,the phone rang again4 ,this time it was ,captain ,posey4 ,had we remembered to pick up the pictures at ,st4 ,agatha8 ,the ones ,mussolini had given to ,hitler8 ,no1 we hadn't4 ,we were to be sure to attend to that before we returned to ,munich4 ,steve was cursing these early callers and ,lamont was shaking his head sadly4 ,our life of ease was getting off to a hell of a poor start4 ,when ,major ,miller and ,i reached the ,grnnert place1 the ,sergeant of the ,guard and one of his men were standing beside a hole in the ground some twenty yards behind the house4 ,the hole was about six feet square and four feet deep4 ,four bundles wrapped in discolored newspaper lay on the ground at the edge of the excavation4 ,the first bundle ,i opened contained a wood statue of the ,madonna and ,child1 about eighteen inches high4 ,it had been an attractive example of the fifteenth century ,french school1 but moisture had seriously damaged the original polychromy and the wood beneath was soft and pulpy4 ,the next two bundles contained pieces of similar workmanship1 but they were not polychromed4 ,one was a ,madonna and ,child2 the other a figure of ,st4 ,barbara4 ,although they were damp1 the wood had not disintegrated4 ,the fourth package contained the prize of the lot1 an ivory figure of the ,madonna and ,child4 ,it was a fine piece from the hand of a ,french sculptor of the late fourteenth century4 ,the ivory was discolored but otherwise in good condition4 ,i wrapped the statues in fresh paper and put them in the car4 ,our next objective was the little village of ,hintersee1 a few kilometers west of ,berchtesgaden4 ,the forester's house1 a large chalet with overhanging eaves1 stood at the edge of a meadow several hundred yards from the road4 ,i explained the purpose of our visit to the young woman in peasant dress who answered our knock4 ,she took us to a room on the second floor which was filled with unframed canvases stacked in neat rows along the walls4 ,they were the work of contemporary ,german painters and1 according to the young woman1 had been the property of the local ,nazi organization4 ,from my point of view1 the trip had been a waste of time4 ,there wasn't a looted picture in the lot4 ,while ,i looked at the paintings1 ,major ,miller thumbed through a pile of books on a big table in one corner of the room4 ,among them he found a volume called ,die ,polnische ,grausamkeit--,the ,polish ,atrocity4 ,a characteristic sample of ,german propaganda1 it was a compilation of 8horror photographs0 illustrating the alleged inhuman treatment of ,germans by the ,poles4 ,it added a gruesome touch to our visit4 ,illustration3 ,removal of treasures from the castle of ,neuschwanstein was completed by ,captain ,adams and ,captain de ,brye4 ,illustration3 ,neuschwanstein--,ludwig ,,ii's fantastic castle in which the ,nazis stored looted art treasures from ,france4 ,illustration3 ,neuschwanstein4 ,packing looted furniture for return to ,france4 ,the carpentry shop was set up in the castle kitchen4 7,note the large range in the foreground47 ,illustration3 ,neuschwanstein4 ,typical storage room in the castle4 ,in adjoining room ,lieutenants ,howe1 ,moore and ,kovalyak packed #b1jjj pieces of gold and silver looted from ,m4 ,david-,weill4 ,when ,i got back to the hotel at noon ,i found messages from ,steve and ,lamont4 ,steve had gone over to ,unterstein to see about the repairs on his ,steyr truck1 the one he and ,kress had spent so much time on--fitting it up as a mobile photographic unit4 ,there was also some work to be done on the ,mercedes-,benz1 which had been standing idle1 concealed behind a clump of bushes by the rest house1 during our evacuation of the ,gring collection4 ,steve had been right about the car2 ,colonel ,davitt at ,alt ,aussee had not pressed his claim to it4 ,lamont had taken off for ,st4 ,agatha in a truck borrowed from ,brigade ,headquarters to pick up the ,hitler-,mussolini pictures4 ,there was also a message brought down by courier from ,captain ,posey's office4 ,it contained a list of three places in the vicinity of ,berchtesgaden which should be inspected on the chance that they contained items from the ,gring collection4 ,one of them was the forester's hut at ,hintersee which ,i had just seen4 ,the other two were castles in the neighborhood3 ,schloss ,stauffeneck-,tiereck and ,schloss ,marzoll4 ,i asked ,major ,anderson at lunch what he knew about them4 ,he had nothing to contribute on the subject and said ,i'd probably draw a blank on all three4 ,after removing the ,gring things from the train1 he had taken the precaution of publishing a notice to all residents of the area instructing them to declare all art works in their possession4 ,he had done this as a means of recovering objects which might have been sequestered by ,gring's agents and objects which might have been surreptitiously removed from the train while it stood on the siding4 ,the results had been disappointing4 ,only about thirty pictures had been turned in and none of them was in any way connected with ,gring4 ,the major's prediction was correct4 ,lamont1 ,steve and ,i visited the two castles the next day4 ,in addition to their own furnishings1 ,schloss ,stauffeneck-,tiereck and ,schloss ,marzoll contained only books from the ,university of ,munich4 ,these fruitless researches took all day4 ,it was after five when we left ,berchtesgaden4 ,it was raining when we reached ,munich three hours later4 ,kress had no place to stay and it took us an hour to locate a civilian agency which provided billets for transients4 ,the only thing they had to offer was a room for one night in a ruined nunnery on the ,mathilde-,strasse4 ,it was a gloomy place4 ,there was no light and the windows were without glass4 ,one of the ,sisters1 candle in hand1 led us along a dark corridor to a small single room at the back4 ,we followed with our flashlights4 ,we gave ,kress a box of ,k rations and told him we'd come back for him in the morning4 ,steve was of two minds about the place3 on the one hand it wasn't good enough for ,kress2 on the other he was impressed by the compassion of the ,sisters in offering refuge to strangers4 ,he wanted me to point out to ,kress the anomaly of his being given sanctuary by the ,church4 ,i convinced him that my ,german wasn't fluent enough4 ,we thanked the ,sister and went off to find ourselves a billet4 ,we decided on the ,excelsior1 the hotel for transient officers4 ,we were several miles from ,third ,army ,headquarters1 whereas the hotel was only a few blocks away4 ,i didn't like driving the ,mercedes-,benz around ,munich1 even though ,i had got away with it so far4 ,the ,third ,army regulation forbidding officers to drive was strictly enforced4 ,perhaps my uniform baffled the ,m,ps4 ,it consisted of a ,navy cap with blue cover1 a ,british battle jacket with ,navy shoulder boards1 khaki trousers and black riding boots4 ,it was my personal opinion that the ,m,ps mistook the shoulder bars for the insignia of a ,polish officer4 ,the ,poles1 and the other liaison officers as well1 were allowed to drive their own cars4 ,steve used to pooh-pooh my apprehensions about the ,m,ps4 8,they're a bunch of dumbheads10 he would say4 8,i ought to know4 ,i used to be one40 ,all the same1 he didn't do much daytime driving around town4 ,captain ,posey had our next job lined up for us4 ,we were to evacuate the records of the ,einsatzstab ,rosenberg--the ,german art-looting organization--from ,neuschwanstein ,castle4 ,the job would include the removal of part of the stolen art treasures also4 ,the captain told us that the castle contained a great quantity of uncrated objects1 mostly gold and silver4 ,they presented a serious security problem and it wasn't safe to leave them there indefinitely4 ,even though the ,french were anxious to get everything back from ,neuschwanstein1 for the present they would have to be content with the gold and the silver objects and as many of the smaller cases as we could handle4 ,it would be more practicable to ship the larger things--furniture1 sculpture and pictures--direct to ,france by rail4 ,this possibility was being investigated4 ,it would save moving the things twice--first from ,neuschwanstein to ,munich1 and then from ,munich to ,paris4 ,but the records were badly needed at the ,collecting ,point in connection with the identification of the plunder stored there4 ,so we were to concentrate on them and on the objects of great intrinsic value4 ,it was going to take three or four days to line up the trucks necessary for this operation4 ,there was a critical shortage of transportation at the moment because all available vehicles were being used to haul firewood4 ,this was popularly known as 8,patton's pet project40 ,for some weeks it had first priority after foodstuffs4 ,we welcomed the delay1 for it gave us time to make a trip to ,frankfurt4 ,all three of us had urgent business to attend to there4 ,lamont's and ,steve's records had to be straightened out4 ,both of them had been working in the field for so long that the headquarters to which they were technically assigned had lost track of them4 ,and ,i wanted to find out what had happened to the personal belongings ,i had left in ,frankfurt months ago4 ,when ,i left ,i had expected to be gone ten days4 ,in the back of our minds1 too1 lurked the hope of becoming 8incorporated0 as a ,special ,evacuation ,team4 ,that's what we were in fact1 but we wanted to be recognized as such in name4 ,the three of us worked well together and did not want to be separated4 ,the decision would rest with ,major ,la ,farge and ,lieutenant ,kuhn4 ,we wheedled a command car out of the sergeant at the motor pool and took off late in the afternoon4 ,lamont1 ,steve and ,i rode in the ,mercedes-,benz1 the command car following4 ,i had little confidence in our rakish convertible4 ,the car had been behaving well enough mechanically1 but the tires were paper-thin4 ,they were an odd size and we had not been able to get any replacements4 ,it was reassuring to know that the sturdy command car was trailing along behind4 ,we arrived at ,ulm in time for supper4 ,long before we reached the city1 we could see the soaring single spire of the cathedral silhouetted against the sky4 ,there was literally nothing left of the old city4 ,all the medieval houses which1 with the cathedral1 had made it one of the most picturesque cities in ,germany1 lay in ruins4 ,but the cathedral was undamaged4 ,we stopped for gas just outside ,ulm4 ,to our surprise1 the ,army attendant filled our tanks4 ,this was ,seventh ,army territory4 ,in ,third ,army area the maximum was five gallons4 ,i mentioned this to the attendant4 ,he said1 8,there's no gas shortage here4 ,general ,patton must be building up one hell of a big stockpile40 ,we spent the night in ,stuttgart4 ,as the main transient hotel was full1 we were assigned rooms at a small inn on the outskirts of the battered city4 ,it took us an hour to find the place1 so it was past midnight when we turned in4 ,the next morning we detoured a few kilometers in order to visit the castle at ,ludwigsburg4 ,the little town was laid out in the ,french manner1 and its atmosphere was that of a miniature ,versailles4 ,the caretaker told us that the kings of ,wrttemberg had lived at the castle until #aiah4 ,our visit to it was the one pleasant experience of the day1 which happened to be my birthday4 ,we had our first flat tire in the castle courtyard1 a second one an hour later1 and a third between ,mannheim and ,darmstadt4 ,it was ,sunday and we had a devilish time finding places where we could get the inner tubes repaired4 ,it was ten ,p4,m4 when we pulled into ,frankfurt4 ,the trip from ,stuttgart had taken eleven hours instead of the usual four4 ,we had spent seven hours on tire repairs4 ,my old room with the pink brocaded furniture was vacant1 so ,i moved in for the night4 ,in my absence it had been successively occupied by three lieutenant colonels4 ,all of my belongings had been boxed and stored away in the closet4 ,lamont and ,steve put up at the house next door4 ,we called on ,bancel ,la ,farge and ,charlie ,kuhn at ,,usfet ,headquarters the next morning4 ,we were lucky to find them together4 ,their office at that time was a kind of house divided against itself4 ,thanks to the organizational whim of a colonel1 ,bancel and ,charlie had to spend part of the day in the office at the big ,farben building--where we found them--and part at their office in ,hchst4 ,hchst was about six miles away4 ,the remnant of the ,u4 ,s4 ,group ,control ,council1 which had not yet moved up to ,berlin1 was located there--in another vast complex of ,i4 ,g4 ,farben buildings4 ,it was an exhausting arrangement4 ,bancel and ,charlie looked tired--and worried too4 ,they seemed glad to see us1 but they were preoccupied and upset about something4 ,presently ,charlie showed us a document which had just reached his desk a few days earlier4 ,it was unsigned and undated4 ,it bore the letterhead 8,headquarters ,u4 ,s4 ,group ,control ,council40 ,the subject was 8,art ,objects in the ,u4 ,s4 ,zone40#b ,in the first paragraph reference was made to the great number and value of the art objects stored in emergency repositories throughout the ,u4 ,s4 ,zone4 ,farther on1 the art objects were divided into three classes1 according to ownership4 ,those in 8,class ,c0 were defined as 8works of art1 placed in the ,u4 ,s4 ,zone by ,germany for safekeeping1 which are the bona fide property of the ,german nation40 ,concerning the disposition of the works of art thus described1 the letter had this to say3 8,it is not believed that the ,u4 ,s4 would desire the works of art in ,class ,c to be made available for reparations and to be divided among a number of nations4 ,even if this is to be done1 these works of art might well be returned to the ,u4 ,s4 to be inventoried1 and cared for by our leading museums40 ,the next1 and last1 sentence contained this extraordinary proposal3 8,they could be held in trusteeship for return1 many years from now1 to the ,german people if and when the ,german nation had earned the right to their return40 ,clipped to the document was a notation1 dated ,july #bi1 #aide1 bearing the signature of the ,chief of ,staff of ,general ,lucius ,d4 ,clay1 ,deputy ,military ,governor4 ,it read1 in part1 8,general ,clay states that this paper has been approved by the ,president for implementation after the close of the current ,big #c ,conference40 ,we were dumfounded4 ,no wonder ,bancel and ,charlie were worried4 ,it had never occurred to any of us that ,german national art treasures would be removed to the ,united ,states4 ,after speculating on the possible consequences attendant on an implementation of the document1 we dropped the subject4 ,momentarily there was nothing to do but wait--and hope that the whole matter would be dropped4 ,by comparison1 our personal problems seemed insignificant4 ,but ,charlie and ,bancel heard us out4 ,they approved our idea of remaining together as a team working out of ,,usfet4 ,i was already permanently assigned to ,,usfet and there were two vacancies on their ,t4,o4 7,table of ,organization7 to which ,lamont and ,steve could be appointed4 ,the necessary 8paper work0 took up most of the day and involved a trip to ,,ecad headquarters at ,bad ,homburg4 ,at five o'clock we had our new orders4 ,steve suggested that we drive up to ,marburg to see ,captain ,hancock1 the ,monuments officer in charge of the two great art repositories which had been established there4 ,they were the prototype of the ,central ,collecting ,point at ,munich4 ,however1 they differed in an important respect from the one at ,munich3 they contained practically no loot4 ,virtually everything in them belonged to ,german museums and had been recovered by our ,monuments officers from the mines in which the ,germans had placed them for safekeeping during the war4 ,marburg1 some fifty miles north of ,frankfurt1 lay in the ,regierungsbezirk1 or government district1 of ,kassel1 which was in turn a subdivision of the ,province of ,hesse4 ,it was a two-hour drive1 but we stopped en route for supper with a ,quartermaster outfit at ,giessen1 so it was nearly eight o'clock when we arrived4 ,we found ,walker ,hancock in his office in the ,staatsarchiv building4 ,he was a man in the middle forties1 and of medium height4 ,his face broke into a smile and his fine dark eyes lighted up with an expression of genuine pleasure at the sight of ,lamont and ,steve4 ,this was the first time they had seen one another since the close of the war when they had been working together in ,weimar4 ,i had never met ,walker ,hancock1 but ,i had heard more about him than about any other ,american ,monuments officer4 ,i knew that he had had a distinguished career as a sculptor before the war and that he had been the first of our ,monuments officers to reach ,france4 ,he had been attached to the ,first ,army until the end of hostilities4 ,lamont was devoted to ,walker1 and ,steve's regard for him bordered on worship4 ,while the three of them reminisced1 ,i found myself responding to his warmth and sincerity4 ,he wouldn't hear of our returning to ,frankfurt that night4 ,he wanted to show us the things in his two depots and we wouldn't be able to see more than a fraction of them before morning4 ,the few that we did see whetted our appetite for more4 ,in the galleries on the second floor we saw some of the finest pictures from the museums of the ,rhineland3 there were three wonderful ,van ,goghs4 ,one was the portrait of ,armand ,rollin1 the young man with a mustache and slouch hat4 ,it belonged to the ,volkwang ,museum at ,essen4 ,color reproductions of this portrait had1 in recent years1 rivaled those of ,whistler's ,mother in popularity4 ,walker said that it had been covered with mold when he found it in the ,siegen mine with the rest of the ,essen pictures4 ,his assistant1 ,sheldon ,keck1 formerly the restorer of the ,brooklyn ,museum1 had successfully removed the mold before it had done any serious damage4 ,the second ,van ,gogh was the famous large still life entitled ,white ,roses4 ,the third was a brilliant late landscape4 ,there were other magnificent nineteenth century canvases3 the bewitching portrait of ,m4 and ,mme4 ,sisley by ,renoir1 a full-length ,manet1 and a great ,daumier4 ,walker climaxed the display with the celebrated ,rembrandt ,self-,portrait from the ,wallraf-,richartz ,museum of ,cologne4 ,this was the last and most famous of the portraits the artist painted of himself4 ,we spent the night at the ,gasthaus ,sonne1 a seventeenth century inn facing the old market place4 ,the proprietor reluctantly assigned us two rooms on the second floor4 ,they were normally reserved for the top brass4 ,judging from the austerity of the furnishings and the simplicity of the plumbing1 ,i thought it unlikely that we would be routed from our beds by any late-arriving generals4 ,walker met us for breakfast the next morning with word that the war with ,japan had ended4 ,announcements in ,german had already been posted in several of the shop windows4 ,though thrilling to us1 the news seemed to make very little impression on the citizens of the sleepy university town4 ,the people in the streets were as unsmiling as ever4 ,if anything1 some of them looked a little grimmer than usual4 ,we drove to the ,staatsarchiv building with ,walker4 ,he took us to a room containing a fabulous collection of medieval art objects4 ,there were crosses and croziers1 coffers and chalices1 wrought in precious metals and studded with jewels--masterpieces of the tenth1 eleventh and twelfth centuries4 ,the most arresting individual piece was the golden ,madonna1 an archaic seated figure two feet high1 dating from the tenth century4 ,these marvelous relics of the ,middle ,ages belonged to the ,cathedral of ,metz4 ,it was one of the greatest collections of its kind in the entire world4 ,its intrinsic value was enormous2 its historic value incalculable4 ,walker said that arrangements were being made for its early return to the cathedral4 ,the ,french were planning an elaborate ceremony in honor of the event4 ,it was a five-minute drive to the other depot under ,captain ,hancock's direction4 ,this was the ,jubilumsbau1 or ,jubilee ,building1 a handsome structure of pre-,nazi1 modern design4 ,it was the headquarters of the archaeological institute headed by ,professor ,richard ,hamann1 the internationally famous medieval scholar4 ,it also housed the archives of 8,photo ,marburg10 the stupendous library of art photographs founded and directed by the professor4 ,walker was putting the resources of ,photo ,marburg to good use1 compiling a complete photographic record of the objects in his care4 ,among the treasures stored in the ,jubilumsbau were some of the choicest masterpieces from the ,berlin state museums4 ,perhaps the most famous were the twin canvases by ,watteau entitled ,gersaint's ,signboard4 ,regarded by many as the supreme work of the greatest painter of the ,french ,rococo period1 the two pictures had been the prized possessions of ,frederick the ,great4 ,painted to hang side by side forming a continuous composition1 they represented the shop of ,m4 ,gersaint1 dealer in works of art4 ,it is said that the paintings were finished in eight days4 ,they were painted in the year #agcb when the artist was at the height of his career4 ,i was told that1 during the early years of the war1 ,gring made overtures to the ,louvre for one of its finest ,watteaus4 ,according to the story1 the negotiations ended abruptly when the museum signified its willingness to part with the painting in exchange for ,gersaint's ,signboard4 ,the brilliant ,french school of the eighteenth century was further represented at the ,jubilumsbau by a superb ,boucher--the subject1 ,mercury and ,venus--and two exquisite ,chardins3 ,the ,cook1 one of his most enchanting scenes of everyday life1 and the ,portrait of a ,lady ,sealing a ,letter1 an unusually large composition for this unpretentious painter whose canvases are today worth a king's ransom4 ,there were masterpieces of the ,german school2 the great series of ,cranachs which had belonged to the ,hohenzollerns filled one entire room4 ,excellent examples of ,rubens and ,van ,dyck represented the ,flemish school2 ,ruysdael and ,van ,goyen1 the ,dutch4 ,the high quality of every picture attested to the taste and connoisseurship of ,german collectors4 ,walker said that he hoped to arrange a public exhibition of the pictures4 ,marburg had been neglected by our bombers4 ,only one or two bombs had fallen in the city and the resulting damage had been slight4 ,concussion had blasted the windows of the ,staatsarchiv1 but the ,jubilumsbau was untouched4 ,perhaps he would put on a series of small exhibitions1 say fifty pictures at a time4 ,the members of his local ,german committee were enthusiastic about the project4 ,it would be an important first step in the rehabilitation of ,german cultural institutions which was an avowed part of the ,american ,fine ,arts program4 ,thanks to the hesitancy of an officer at higher headquarters who was exasperatingly 8security-conscious10 ,walker did not realize his ambition until three months later1 on the eve of his departure for the ,united ,states4 ,we celebrated ,,vj-,day on our return to ,frankfurt that evening4 ,the big ,casino1 behind ,,usfet headquarters1 was the scene of the principal festivities4 ,drinks were on the house until the bar closed at ten4 ,it was a warm summer night and the broad terrace over the main entrance was crowded4 ,an ,army band blared noisily inside4 ,civilian attendants skulked in the background1 avidly collecting cigarette butts from the ash trays and the terrace floor4 ,they reaped a rich harvest that night4 ,the ,mercedes-,benz presented a problem4 ,its status was a dubious one4 ,since it was still registered with an ,,mg ,detachment in ,austria1 ,i felt uncomfortable about driving it around ,germany4 ,at ,charlie ,kuhn's suggestion we filed a request with the ,naval headquarters in ,frankfurt for assignment of the vehicle to our ,special ,evacuation ,team4 ,the request was couched in impressive legal language which ,charlie thought would do the trick4 ,armed with a copy of this request1 ,i felt confident that we would not be molested by inquisitive ,m,ps on our trip back to ,munich4 ,we didn't get started until late afternoon1 having wasted two hours dickering with the ,transportation ,officer at the ,frankfurt ,,mg ,detachment for a spare tire4 ,we returned by way of ,wrzburg and ,nrnberg4 ,it was dark when we reached ,nrnberg1 but the light of the full moon was sufficient to reveal the ruined walls and towers of the old1 inner city4 ,as we struck south of the city to the ,autobahn1 we could see the outlines of the vast unfinished stadium1 designed to seat one hundred and forty thousand people4 ,we had to proceed cautiously since many of the bridges had been destroyed and detours were frequent4 ,as a result it was midnight when we reached ,munich4 ,the transient hotel was full1 so we had to be content with makeshift quarters at the ,central ,collecting ,point4 ,in our absence the transportation situation had eased up a little4 ,captain ,posey told us the next morning that six trucks would be available in the early afternoon4 ,we decided to keep the command car for the trip to ,neuschwanstein and leave the ,mercedes-,benz in ,munich to be painted4 ,in anticipation of registration papers from the ,navy1 we thought it would be appropriate to have the car painted battleship gray and stenciled with white letters reading 8,u4 ,s4 ,navy40 ,one of the mechanics in the garage at the ,central ,collecting ,point agreed to do this for us in exchange for a bottle of rum and half a bottle of ,scotch4 ,officers at ,third ,army ,headquarters had bar privileges plus a liquor ration1 but the enlisted men didn't fare so well4 ,our base of operations for the evacuation of the ,castle of ,neuschwanstein was the picturesque little town of ,fssen1 some eighty miles south of ,munich1 in the heart of the 8,swan country40 ,this region of southern ,bavaria1 celebrated for its association with the name of ,richard ,wagner1 is one of the most beautiful in all ,germany4 ,the mountains rise sharply from the floor of the level green valley4 ,the turreted castle1 perched on top of one of the lower peaks1 at an elevation of a thousand feet1 is visible for miles4 ,built in the eighteen-seventies by ,ludwig ,,ii1 the 8,mad ,king0 of ,bavaria1 it was the most fantastic creation of that exotic monarch whose passion for building nearly bankrupted his kingdom4 ,when we saw the castle rising majestically from its pine-covered mountaintop1 we were struck by the incongruity of our six-truck convoy lumbering through the romantic countryside4 ,we presented our credentials to a swarthy major who was the commanding officer of the small ,,mg ,detachment at ,fssen4 ,he arranged for our billets at the ,alte ,post1 the hotel where officers of the ,detachment were quartered1 and1 after we had deposited our gear in a room on the fourth floor1 conducted us to the ,schloss4 ,the steep road to the lower courtyard of the castle wound for more than a mile up the side of the mountain4 ,at the castle entrance1 the major identified us to the guard and our six trucks filed into the courtyard4 ,in the upper courtyard1 reached by a broad flight of stone steps1 we found the caretaker who had the keys to the main section of the castle4 ,he did not1 however1 have access to the wing in which the records of the ,einsatzstab ,rosenberg were stored4 ,the only door to that part of the building had been locked and sealed by ,lieutenant ,james ,rorimer1 the ,monuments officer of the ,seventh ,army1 when the castle had first fallen into ,american hands4 ,we had brought the key with us from ,third ,army ,headquarters4 ,before examining those rooms1 we made a tour of the four main floors of the castle4 ,the hallways and vaulted kitchens on the first floor were filled to overflowing with enormous packing cases and uncrated furniture1 all taken from ,french collections4 ,three smaller storage rooms resembling the stock rooms of ,tiffany's and a porcelain factory combined1 were jammed with gold and silver and rare china4 ,most of the loot had been concentrated on the first floor1 but the unfinished rooms of the second had been fitted with racks for the storage of paintings4 ,in addition to the looted pictures1 there were several galleries of stacked paintings from the museums of ,munich4 ,the living apartments on the third floor1 divested of their furnishings1 were filled with stolen furniture1 ,louis ,quinze chairs1 table and sofas and ornate ,italian cabinets lined the walls of rooms and corridors4 ,they contrasted strangely with scenes from the ,wagner operas which ,king ,ludwig had chosen as the theme for the mural decorations4 ,only the gold-walled ,throne ,room and1 on the floor above1 the lofty ,fest-,saal1 were devoid of loot4 ,we proceeded to the wing of the castle which contained the records4 ,having broken the seals and unlocked the door1 we entered a hallway about thirty feet long4 ,the doors opening onto this hallway were also locked and sealed4 ,behind them lay the offices of the ,einsatzstab ,rosenberg4 ,they were crowded with bookshelves and filing cabinets4 ,in one room stood a huge show-case filled with fragile ,roman glass4 ,the rooms of the second floor were full of ,french furniture and dozens of small packing cases4 ,these cases were made of carefully finished quarter-sawed oak4 ,we had seen similar ones in the ,gring collection4 ,they had been the traveling cases for precious objects belonging to the ,rothschilds4 ,these too contained ,rothschild treasures--exquisite bibelots of jade1 agate1 onyx and jasper1 and innumerable pieces of ,oriental and ,european porcelain4 ,at one end of the hallway were two rooms which had been used as a photographic laboratory4 ,we had brought ,kress with us4 ,steve went off to make arrangements to install his equipment1 while ,lamont and ,i calculated the number of men we would need for the evacuation work the next morning4 ,we asked the major for twenty--two shifts of ten4 ,the ,neuschwanstein operation lasted eight days4 ,we worked nights as well1 because there were thousands of small objects--many of them fragile and extremely valuable--which we could not trust to the inexpert hands of our work party4 ,there was no electricity in the small storage rooms1 so we had to work by candlelight4 ,it took us one evening to pack the ,roman glass and the four succeeding evenings1 working till midnight1 to pack the two thousand pieces of gold and silver in the ,david-,weill collection4 ,the ,nazi looters had thoughtfully saved the well-made cases in which they had carted off this magnificent collection from ,m4 ,david-,weill's house in ,paris4 ,there were candelabra1 dishes1 knives1 forks1 spoons1 snuffboxes--the rarest examples of the art of the ,french goldsmiths of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries4 ,this unique collection had created a sensation when it was exhibited in ,paris a few years before the war4 ,the fact that the incomparable assemblage would probably one day be left to the ,louvre by the eminent connoisseur1 who had spent a lifetime collecting it1 had not deterred the ,nazi robbers4 ,he was a ,jew4 ,that justified its confiscation4 ,aside from the pleasure it gave me to handle the beautiful objects1 ,i relished the idea of helping to recover the property of a fellow ,californian3 ,m4 ,david-,weill had been born in ,san ,francisco4 ,the ,nazis had been methodical as usual4 ,every piece was to have been systematically recatalogued while the collection was at ,neuschwanstein4 ,on some of the shelves we found slips of paper stating that this or that object had not yet been photographed--8noch nicht fotografiert40 ,the tedious manual labor involved in packing small objects and the great distance which the packed cases had to be carried when ready for loading were the chief difficulties at ,neuschwanstein4 ,not only did the cases have to be carried several hundred feet from the storage rooms to the door of the castle2 but from the door to the trucks was a long trek1 down two flights of steps and across a wide courtyard4 ,in this respect the operation resembled the evacuation of the monastery at ,hohenfurth4 ,three months after our partial evacuation of the castle1 a team composed of ,captain ,edward ,adams1 ,lieutenant 7jg7 ,charles ,parkhurst1 ,,usnr1 and ,captain ,hubert de ,brye1 a ,french officer1 completed the removal of the loot4 ,this gigantic undertaking required eight weeks4 ,if ,i remember the figures correctly1 more than twelve thousand objects were boxed and carted away4 ,the cases were built in a carpenter shop set up in the castle kitchens4 ,one hundred and fifty truckloads were delivered to the railroad siding at ,fssen and thence transported to ,paris4 ,it was an extraordinary achievement1 carried out despite heavy snowfall4 ,the only operation which rivaled it was the evacuation of the salt mine at ,alt ,aussee4 ,the last morning of our stay at ,fssen1 ,lamont and ,i had a special mission to perform4 ,a ,german art dealer named ,gustav ,rochlitz was living at ,gipsmhle1 a five-minute drive from ,hohenschwangau1 the small village below the castle4 ,for a number of years ,rochlitz had had a gallery in ,paris4 ,his dealings with the ,nazis1 in particular his trafficking in confiscated pictures1 had been the subject of special investigation by ,lieutenants ,plaut and ,rousseau1 our ,,oss friends4 ,they were the two ,american naval officers who were preparing an exhaustive report on the activities of the infamous ,einsatzstab ,rosenberg4 ,they had interrogated ,rochlitz and placed him under house arrest4 ,in his possession were twenty-two modern ,french paintings1 including works by ,drain1 ,matisse and ,picasso1 formerly belonging to well known ,jewish collections4 ,he had obtained them from ,gring and other leading ,nazis in exchange for old master paintings4 ,we were to relieve ,herr ,rochlitz of these canvases4 ,at the farmhouse in which ,rochlitz and his wife were living1 the maid of all work who answered our knock said that no one was at home4 ,herr ,rochlitz would not be back before noon4 ,lamont and ,i returned to our jeep and started back across the fields to the highway4 ,we had driven about a hundred yards when we saw a heavy-set sullen-faced man of about fifty walking toward us4 8,i'll bet that's ,rochlitz10 ,i said to ,lamont4 ,stopping the car1 ,i called out to him1 8,herr ,rochlitz80 ,after a moment's hesitation1 he nodded4 8,hop in1 we want to have a talk with you10 ,i said4 ,we returned to the farmhouse and followed our truculent host up the stairs to a sitting room on the second floor4 ,there we were joined by his wife1 a timid young woman who1 like her husband1 spoke fluent ,english4 ,i said that we had come for the pictures4 ,rochlitz made no protest4 ,he brusquely directed his wife to bring them in4 ,as she left the room1 ,i thought it odd that he hadn't gone along to help her4 ,but she returned almost immediately with the paintings in her arms4 ,all twenty-two were rolled around a long mailing tube4 ,together they spread the canvases about the room1 on the table1 on the chairs and on the floor4 ,they were1 without exception1 works of excellent quality4 ,one large early ,picasso1 the portrait of a woman and child1 was alone worth a small fortune4 ,i was wondering what ,rochlitz had given in exchange for the lot1 when he began to explain how the pictures had come into his possession4 ,he must have taken us for credulous fools1 because the story he told made him out a victim of tragic circumstance4 ,he said that ,gring had made an offer on several of his pictures4 ,rochlitz had accepted but insisted on being paid in cash4 ,gring had agreed to the terms and the pictures were delivered4 ,then1 instead of paying in cash1 ,gring had forced him to accept these modern paintings4 ,he had protested1 but to no avail4 ,of course these pictures were all right in their way1 he said deprecatingly1 but he was not a dealer in modern art4 ,naturally he did not know that they had been confiscated4 ,it was all a dreadful mistake1 but what could he do8 ,i said that ,i realized how badly he must have felt and that ,i knew he would be relieved to learn that the pictures were now going back to their rightful owners4 ,the pictures were carefully rerolled and we got up to leave4 ,at the door1 ,rochlitz told us that he had lost his entire stock4 ,he had stored all of his paintings at ,baden-,baden1 in the ,french ,zone4 ,did we think he would be able to recover them8 ,we assured him that justice would be done and1 leaving him to interpret that remark as he saw fit1 drove off with the twenty-two pictures4 7#i7 ,,hidden ,,treasures ,,at ,n,,rnberg ,on our return to ,munich that evening1 ,craig told us that preparations were being made for the immediate restitution of several important masterpieces recovered in the ,american ,zone4 ,general ,eisenhower had approved a proposal to return at once to each of the countries overrun by the ,germans at least one outstanding work of art4 ,this was to be done in his name1 as a gesture of 8token restitution0 symbolizing ,american policy with regard to ultimate restitution of all stolen art treasures to the rightful owner nations4 ,it was felt that the gracious gesture on the part of the ,commanding ,general of ,united ,states ,forces in ,europe would serve to reaffirm our intentions to right the wrongs of ,nazi oppression4 ,in view of the vast amount of art which had thus far been recovered1 it would be months before it could all be restored to the plundered countries4 ,meanwhile these 8token restitutions0 would be an earnest of ,american good will4 ,they would be sent back from ,germany at the expense of the ,united ,states ,government4 ,thereafter1 representatives of the various countries would be invited to come to our ,collecting ,points to select1 assemble and1 in transportation of their own providing1 remove those objects which the ,germans had stolen4 ,belgium was to receive the first token restitution4 ,the great van ,eyck altarpiece--,the ,adoration of the ,mystic ,lamb--was the obvious choice among the stolen ,belgian treasures4 ,the famous panels had been reposing in the ,central ,collecting ,point at ,munich since we had removed them from the salt mine at ,alt ,aussee4 ,a special plane had been chartered to fly them to ,brussels4 ,the ,belgian ,government had signified approval of air transportation4 ,direct rail communication between ,munich and ,brussels had not been resumed1 and the highways were not in the best of condition4 ,by truck1 it would be a rough two-day trip2 by air1 a matter of three hours4 ,bancel ,la ,farge had already flown from ,frankfurt to ,brussels1 where plans had been made for an appropriate ceremony on the arrival of the altarpiece4 ,the ,american ,ambassador was to present the panels to the ,prince ,regent on behalf of ,general ,eisenhower4 ,it was to be an historic occasion4 ,i went out to the airport to confirm the arrangements for the ,c-#ed4 ,it was only a fifteen-minute drive from the ,knigsplatz to the field4 ,i was also to check on the condition of the streets3 they were in good shape all the way4 ,the plane was to take off at noon4 ,lamont1 ,steve and ,i supervised the loading of the ten precious cases4 ,we led off in a jeep4 ,the truck followed with the panels4 ,four of the civilian packers went along to load the cases onto the plane4 ,captain ,posey was to escort the altarpiece to ,brussels4 ,when we got to the airport we learned that the plane had not arrived4 ,there would be a two-hour delay4 ,at the end of two hours1 we were informed that there was bad weather south of ,brussels4 ,all flights had been canceled for the day4 ,we drove back to the ,collecting ,point at the ,knigsplatz and had just finished unloading the panels when a message came from the field4 ,the weather had cleared4 ,the plane would be taking off in half an hour4 ,i caught ,captain ,posey as he was leaving the building for his office at ,third ,army ,headquarters4 ,the cases were reloaded and we were on our way to the field in fifteen minutes4 ,the truck was driven onto the field where the big ,c-#ed stood waiting4 ,in another quarter of an hour the panels were aboard and lashed securely to metal supports in the forepart of the passenger compartment4 ,captain ,posey1 the only passenger1 waved jauntily as the doors swung shut4 ,enviously we watched the giant plane roll down the field1 lift waveringly from the airstrip and swing off to the northwest4 ,the altarpiece was on the last lap of an extraordinary journey4 ,we wished ,george ,stout could have been in on this4 ,the plane reached ,brussels without mishap4 ,the return of the great national treasure was celebrated throughout the country4 ,encouraged by the success of this first 8token restitution10 ,major ,la ,farge directed that a similar gesture be made to ,france4 ,at the ,collecting ,point ,craig selected seventy-one masterpieces looted from ,french private collections4 ,the group included ,fragonard1 ,chardin1 ,lancret1 ,rubens1 ,van ,dyck1 ,hals1 and a large number of seventeenth century ,dutch masters4 ,only examples of the highest quality were chosen4 ,ham ,coulter1 the naval officer who worked with ,craig at the 8,bau10 was the emissary appointed to accompany the paintings to ,paris4 ,it was decided to return them by truck1 inasmuch as it would have been impracticable to attempt shipping uncrated pictures by air4 ,the convoy consisted of two trucks--one for the pictures1 the other for extra gasoline4 ,it was a hard two-day trip from ,munich to ,paris4 ,ham got through safely1 but reported on his return that the roads had been extremely rough a good part of the way4 ,he had delivered the pictures in ,paris to the ,muse du ,jeu de ,paume1 the little museum which the ,germans had used during the ,occupation as the clearinghouse for their methodical plundering of the ,jewish collections4 ,his expedition had been marred by only one minor incident4 ,when the paintings were being unloaded at the museum1 one of the women attendants watching the operation noticed that some of the canvases were unframed4 ,she had asked1 8,and where are the frames80 ,this was too much for ,coulter4 ,in perfect ,french1 the courteous lieutenant told her precisely what she could do about the frames4 ,shortly after the return of the ,ghent altarpiece1 ,captain ,posey was demobilized4 ,his duties as ,,mfa,a ,officer at ,third ,army ,headquarters in ,munich were assumed by ,captain ,edwin ,rae4 ,i had not seen ,rae since the early summer when he and ,lieutenant ,edith ,standen had been assigned to assist me in inventorying the collections of the ,berlin museums in the vaults of the ,reichsbank at ,frankfurt4 ,edwin was a meticulous fellow1 gentle but determined4 ,although by no means lacking in a sense of humor1 he resented joking references to a fancied resemblance to ,houdon's well known portrait of ,voltaire1 and ,i didn't blame him4 ,he took on his new responsibilities with quiet assurance and in a short time won the complete confidence of his superiors at ,third ,army ,headquarters4 ,throughout his long tenure of office1 he maintained an unruffled calm in the face of obstacles which would have exhausted a less patient man4 ,he was responsible for all matters pertaining to the ,fine ,arts in the ,eastern ,military ,district of the ,american ,zone--that is1 ,bavaria--an area more than twice the size of the two provinces ,greater ,hesse and ,wrttemberg-,baden comprising the ,western ,military ,district of our ,zone4 ,during the early days of ,captain ,rae's regime1 ,charlie ,kuhn paid a brief visit to ,munich4 ,he had just completed the transfer of the ,berlin ,museum collections from ,frankfurt to the ,landesmuseum at ,wiesbaden4 ,the university buildings in ,frankfurt--which ,i had requisitioned for a ,collecting ,point--had proved unsuitable4 ,the repairs1 he said1 would have taken months4 ,on the other hand1 the ,wiesbaden ,museum1 though damaged1 was ideal for the purpose4 ,of course there hadn't been a glass left in any of the windows1 and the roof had had to be repaired4 ,but thanks to the energy and ingenuity of ,walter ,farmer1 the building had been rehabilitated in two months4 ,captain ,farmer was the director of the new ,collecting ,point4 ,when ,i asked where ,farmer had got the glass1 ,charlie was evasive4 ,all he would say was that ,captain ,farmer was 8wise in the ways of the ,army40 ,charlie was headed for ,vienna to confer with ,lieutenant ,colonel ,ernest ,dewald1 ,chief of the ,,mfa,a ,section at ,,usfa ,headquarters 7,united ,states ,forces1 ,austria74 ,colonel ,dewald wanted to complete the evacuation of the mine at ,alt ,aussee1 which was now under his jurisdiction4 ,for this project he hoped to obtain the services of the officers who had worked there when the mine had been ,third ,army's responsibility4 ,captain ,rae was reluctant to lend the ,special ,evacuation ,team1 because there was still so much work to be done in ,bavaria4 ,but he agreed1 provided that ,charlie could sell the idea to the ,chief of ,staff at ,third ,army4 ,this ,charlie succeeded in doing1 and departed for ,vienna a day later4 ,steve was crazy to see ,vienna--,i think his parents had been born there--so ,charlie took him along4 ,after they had left1 ,captain ,rae requested ,lamont and me to make an inspection trip to northern ,bavaria4 ,our first stop was ,bamberg4 ,there we examined the ,neue ,residenz1 which ,rae contemplated establishing as an auxiliary ,collecting ,point to house the contents of various repositories in ,upper ,franconia4 ,reports reaching his office indicated that storage conditions in that area were unsatisfactory4 ,either the repositories were not weatherproof1 or they were not being adequately guarded4 ,it was also rumored that ,,unrra was planning to fill the ,neue ,residenz with ,d,ps--,displaced ,persons4 ,captain ,rae was determined to put a stop to that1 because the building1 a fine example of late seventeenth century architecture1 was on the ,,shaef ,list of ,protected ,monuments4 ,this fact should have guaranteed its immunity from such a hazard4 ,even during combat1 the ,,shaef list had been a great protection to monuments of historic and artistic importance4 ,now that no 8doctrine of military necessity0 could be invoked to justify improper use of the building1 ,rae did not propose to countenance its occupancy by ,d,ps4 ,the ,neue ,residenz contained dozens of empty1 brocaded rooms--but no plumbing4 ,we decided that it would do for a ,collecting ,point and agreed with ,rae that the ,d,ps should be housed elsewhere if possible4 ,the officer from the local ,,mg ,detachment1 who was showing us around1 confirmed the report that ,,unrra intended to move in4 ,he didn't think they would relinquish the building without a protest4 ,the influx of refugees from the ,russian ,zone had doubled the town's normal population of sixty thousand4 ,it was a disappointment to find that the superb sculpture in the cathedral across the square was still bricked up4 ,the shelters had proved a needless precaution1 for ,bamberg had not been bombed4 ,only the bridge over the ,regnitz had been blown up1 and the ,germans had done that themselves4 ,from ,bamberg we drove north to ,coburg1 where we had a twofold mission4 ,first we were to obtain specific information about ten cases which contained a collection of art objects belonging to a prince of ,hesse4 ,the cases were said to be stored in ,feste ,coburg1 the walled castle above the town4 ,if they were the property of ,philip of ,hesse1 then they would probably be taken into custody by the ,american authorities4 ,we had been told that he was in prison4 ,his art dealings during the past few years were being reviewed by the ,,oss officers charged with the special investigation of ,nazi art-looting activities4 ,philip was the son of the ,landgrfin of ,hesse4 ,it was in the flower-filled ,waffenraum of her castle near ,frankfurt that ,i had seen the family tombs months before4 ,if1 on the other hand1 the cases belonged to a different prince of ,hesse--one whose political record was clean--and storage conditions were satisfactory1 we would simply leave them where they were for the time being4 ,our second objective was ,schloss ,tambach1 a few kilometers from ,coburg4 ,paintings stolen by ,frank1 the ,nazi ,governor of ,poland1 from the palace at ,warsaw were stored there4 ,schloss ,tambach also contained pictures from the ,stettin ,museum4 ,stettin was now in the ,russian ,zone of ,occupied ,germany4 ,on our arrival in ,coburg1 ,lamont and ,i drove to the headquarters of the local ,,mg ,detachment1 which were located in the ,palais ,edinburgh4 ,this unpretentious building was once the residence of ,queen ,victoria's son1 the ,duke of ,edinburgh4 ,there we arranged with ,lieutenant ,milton ,a4 ,pelz1 the ,monuments officer of the ,coburg ,detachment1 to inspect the storage rooms at the castle4 ,pelz was a big fellow who spoke ,german fluently4 ,he welcomed us hospitably and took us up to the castle where we met ,dr4 ,grundmann1 who had the keys to the storage rooms4 ,this silent1 sour-faced ,german was curator of the ,prince's collections4 ,he said that his employer was ,prince ,ludwig of ,hesse1 a cousin of ,philip4 ,the cases contained paintings and objets d'art which had been in the possession of the family for years4 ,grundmann had personally removed them from ,ludwig's estate in ,silesia the day before the ,russians occupied the area4 ,ludwig's most important treasure was the world-famous painting by ,holbein known as the ,madonna of ,brgermeister ,meyer4 ,painted in #aebf1 it had hung for years in the palace at ,darmstadt4 ,the ,dresden ,gallery owned a seventeenth century replica4 ,early in the war1 ,prince ,ludwig had sent the original to his ,silesian castle for safekeeping4 ,grundmann had brought it back to ,bavaria along with the ten cases now at ,coburg4 ,from ,coburg he had taken the ,holbein to ,schloss ,banz1 a castle not far from ,bamberg4 ,he said that the ,prince was living at ,wolfsgarten1 a small country place near ,darmstadt4 ,ludwig was eager to regain possession of the painting4 ,did we think that could be arranged8 ,we told him he would have to obtain an authorization from ,captain ,rae at ,munich4 ,schloss ,tambach was a ten-minute drive from ,coburg4 ,this great country house1 built around three sides of a courtyard1 belonged to the ,countess of ,ortenburg4 ,she occupied the center section4 ,a detachment of troops was billeted in one wing4 ,the other was filled with the ,stettin and ,warsaw pictures4 ,there were over two hundred from the ,stettin ,museum4 ,nineteenth century ,german paintings predominated1 but ,i noticed two fine ,hals portraits and a ,van ,gogh landscape among them4 ,the civilian custodian1 answerable to the ,,mg authorities at ,coburg1 was ,dr4 ,wilhelm ,eggebrecht4 ,he had been curator of the ,stettin ,museum until thrown out by the ,nazis because his wife was one-quarter ,jewish4 ,he was a mousy little fellow with a bald head and gold-rimmed spectacles4 ,he asked apprehensively if we intended to send the paintings back to ,russian-held ,stettin4 ,we said that we had come only to check on the physical security of the present storage place4 ,so far as we knew1 the paintings would remain where they were for the present4 ,this inconclusive piece of information seemed to reassure him4 ,the paintings looted from ,warsaw were the pices de rsistance of the treasures at ,schloss ,tambach--especially the nine great canvases by ,bellotto1 the eighteenth century ,venetian master4 ,governor ,frank had ruthlessly removed the pictures from their stretchers and rolled them up for shipment4 ,as a result of this rough handling1 the paint had flaked off in places1 but the damage was not serious4 ,when we examined the pictures1 they were spread out on the floor4 ,they filled two rooms1 forty feet square4 ,later they were taken to the ,munich ,collecting ,point and mounted on new stretchers1 in preparation for their return to ,warsaw4 ,when we got back to ,munich1 ,steve had returned from ,vienna4 ,he had news for us4 ,charlie ,kuhn had already left for ,frankfurt4 ,colonel ,dewald was coming to ,munich in a few days to talk to ,colonel ,roy ,dalferes1 ,rae's ,chief of ,staff at ,third ,army1 about reopening the ,alt ,aussee mine4 ,either ,charlie or ,bancel would come down from ,,usfet ,headquarters when ,dewald arrived4 ,a new man had joined the ,,mfa,a ,section at ,,usfa--,andrew ,ritchie1 director of the ,buffalo ,museum4 ,he had come over as a civilian4 ,steve thought that ,ritchie would be the ,,usfa representative at ,munich4 ,there was a lot of stuff at the ,collecting ,point which would eventually go back to ,austria4 ,it would have to be checked with the records there4 ,that would be ,ritchie's job4 ,steve told us also that ,lincoln ,kirstein had gone home4 ,his mother was seriously ill and ,lincoln had left on emergency orders4 ,the three of us went to ,captain ,rae's office4 ,lamont and ,i had to make a report on our trip to ,coburg4 ,rae had a new assignment for us4 ,he had just received orders from ,,usfet ,headquarters to prepare the ,cracow altarpiece for shipment4 ,it was to be sent back to ,poland as a token restitution4 ,this was the colossal carved altarpiece by ,veit ,stoss which the ,nazis had stolen from the ,church of ,st4 ,mary at ,cracow4 ,veit ,stoss had been commissioned by the ,king of ,poland in #adgg to carve the great work4 ,it had taken him ten years4 ,after the invasion of ,poland in #aici1 the ,nazis had carted it off1 lock1 stock and barrel1 to ,nrnberg4 ,they contended that1 since ,veit ,stoss had been a native of ,nrnberg1 it belonged in the city of his birth4 ,the missing altarpiece was the first of her looted treasures for which ,poland had registered a claim with the ,american authorities at the close of the war4 ,after months of diligent investigation1 it was found by ,american officers in an underground bunker across the street from the ,albrecht ,drer house in ,nrnberg4 ,in addition to the dismantled figures of the central panel--painted and gilded figures of hollow wood ten feet high--the twelve ornate side panels1 together with the statues and pinnacles surmounting the framework1 had been crowded into the bunker4 ,the same bunker contained another priceless looted treasure--the coronation regalia of the ,holy ,roman ,empire4 ,among these venerable objects were the jeweled crown of the ,emperor ,conrad--commonly called the 8,crown of ,charlemagne0--dating from the eleventh century1 a shield1 two swords and the orb4 ,since #ahjd they had been preserved in the ,schatzkammer1 the ,imperial ,treasure ,room1 at ,vienna4 ,in #aich1 the ,nazis removed them to ,nrnberg1 basing their claim to possession on a fifteenth century decree of the ,emperor ,sigismund that they were to be kept in that city4 ,on the eve of the ,german collapse1 two high officials of the city had spirited away these five pieces4 ,the credit for recovering the treasures goes to an ,american officer of ,german birth1 ,lieutenant ,walter ,horn1 professor of art at the ,university of ,california4 ,the two officials at first disclaimed any knowledge of their whereabouts4 ,after hours of relentless grilling by ,lieutenant ,horn1 the men finally admitted their guilt4 ,they were promptly tried1 heavily fined and sent to prison4 ,three months later1 at the request of the ,austrian ,government1 the imperial treasures were flown back to ,vienna4 ,this historic shipment contained other relics which the ,nazis had taken from the ,schatzkammer--relics of the greatest religious significance4 ,they included an alleged fragment of the ,true ,cross1 a section of the tablecloth said to have been used at the ,last ,supper1 a lance venerated as the one which had touched the wounds of ,christ1 and links from the chains traditionally believed to have bound ,st4 ,peter1 ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,john4 ,on ,captain ,rae's instructions1 ,steve and ,i went to ,nrnberg to pack the ,stoss altarpiece4 7,at that time the coronation regalia was still in the bunker1 where1 on the afternoon of our arrival1 we had an opportunity to examine it47 ,we found that the heavy framework which supported the altar panels was not stored in the bunker4 ,because of its size--the upright pieces were thirty feet high--it had been taken to ,schloss ,wiesenthau1 an old castle outside ,forchheim1 thirty miles away4 ,leaving ,steve to start packing the smaller figures and pinnacles1 ,i got hold of a semitrailer1 the only vehicle long enough to accommodate a load of such length4 ,it was an hour's drive to the castle4 ,with a crew of twenty ,p,ws1 ,i finished loading the framework in two hours and returned to ,nrnberg in time for supper4 ,that evening ,steve and ,i figured out the number of trucks we would need for the altarpiece4 ,lamont had remained in ,munich to make tentative arrangements1 pending word from us4 ,he was going to ask for ten trucks and we came to the conclusion that this would be about the right number--in addition1 of course1 to the semitrailer for the supporting framework4 ,we got out our maps and studied our probable route to ,cracow4 ,one road would take us through ,dresden and ,breslau2 another by way of ,pilsen and ,prague4 ,perhaps we could go one way and return the other4 ,in either case we would have to pass through ,russian-occupied territory4 ,it would probably take some time to obtain the necessary clearances4 ,we figured on taking enough gas for the round trip1 since we doubted if there would be any to spare in ,poland4 ,altogether it promised to be a complicated expedition1 but already we had visions of a triumphal entry into ,cracow4 ,our ambitious plans collapsed the following morning4 ,while ,steve and ,i were at breakfast1 ,i was called to the telephone4 ,the corporal in ,captain ,rae's office was on the wire4 ,i was to return to ,munich at once4 ,major ,la ,farge was arriving from ,frankfurt and wanted to see me that night4 ,plans for the trip to ,cracow were indefinitely postponed4 ,internal conditions in ,poland were too unsettled to risk returning the altarpiece4 ,our plans had miscarried before1 but this was our first major disappointment4 ,we had begun to look on the ,polish venture as the fitting climax of our work as a ,special ,evacuation ,team4 ,on the way back to ,munich1 ,steve said he had a feeling that the team was going to be split up4 ,steve's misgivings were prophetic4 ,at ,craig's apartment after dinner1 ,bancel ,la ,farge outlined the plans he had for us4 ,colonel ,dalferes had acceded to ,colonel ,dewald's request4 ,lamont1 ,steve and a third officer--new to ,,mfa,a work--were to resume the evacuation of the salt mine at ,alt ,aussee4 ,if the snows held off1 it would be possible to carry on operations there for another month or six weeks4 ,i was to return to ,,usfet ,headquarters at ,frankfurt as ,deputy ,chief of the ,,mfa,a ,section1 replacing ,charlie ,kuhn who had just received his orders to go home4 ,i knew that ,charlie would soon be eligible for release from active duty1 but had no idea that his departure was so imminent4 ,we didn't have much to say to one another on the way to our quarters that night4 ,steve had already made up his mind that he wasn't going to like the new man4 ,lamont said that he thought it was going to be an awful anticlimax to reopen the mine4 ,and for me1 the prospect of routine administrative work at ,,usfet was uninviting4 ,after three months of strenuous and exciting field work1 it wouldn't be easy to settle down in an office4 ,all three of us felt that the great days were over4 ,during our last week together in ,munich we had little time to feel sorry for ourselves4 ,everyone was preoccupied with the restitution program4 ,we had our full share of the work4 ,another important shipment was to be made to ,belgium4 ,it was to include the ,michelangelo ,madonna1 the eleven paintings stolen from the church in ,bruges when the statue was taken1 and the four panels by ,dirk ,bouts from the famous altarpiece in the church of ,st4 ,pierre at ,louvain4 ,these panels1 which formed the wings of the altarpiece1 had been removed by the ,germans in ,august #aidb4 ,before the first ,world ,war one wing had been in the ,berlin ,gallery1 the other in the ,alte ,pinakothek at ,munich4 ,as in the case of the ,ghent altarpiece1 they had been restored--unjustly1 according to the ,germans--to ,belgium by the ,versailles ,treaty4 ,this shipment to ,belgium represented the first practical application of the 8come and get it0 theory of restitution1 evolved by ,major ,la ,farge4 ,belgium had already received the ,ghent altarpiece as token restitution4 ,now it was up to the ,belgians to carry on at their own expense4 ,the special representatives who came down from ,brussels to supervise this initial shipment were ,dr4 ,paul ,coremans1 a great technical expert1 and ,lieutenant ,pierre ,longuy of the ,ministry of ,fine ,arts4 ,they had their own truck but had been unable to bring suitable packing materials4 ,we had an ample supply of pads and blankets which we had stored at the ,collecting ,point after our evacuation of the ,gring collection4 ,we placed them at the disposal of the ,belgians4 ,but it was ,saturday and no civilian packers were available4 ,dr4 ,coremans gratefully accepted the offer of our services4 ,steve1 ,lamont and ,i loaded the truck4 ,it was the last operation of the ,special ,evacuation ,team4 ,the ,belgians had no sooner departed than the ,french and ,dutch representatives arrived4 ,captain ,hubert de ,brye for ,france looked more like a sportsman than a scholar2 but he was a man of wide cultivation and had a sense of humor which endeared him to his associates in ,munich4 ,he and ,ham ,coulter were kindred spirits and became great friends4 ,ham1 who had been responsible for the rehabilitation of both the ,collecting ,point and the ,fhrerbau1 now had two assistants--,captain ,george ,lacy and ,dietrich ,sattler1 the latter a ,german architect4 ,through this division of the work1 ,ham found time for new duties3 he took the foreign representatives in tow1 arranged for their billets1 their mess cards1 their ,,px rations and so on4 ,it was an irritating but not a thankless job1 for the recipients of his attentions were devoted to their 8wet nurse40 ,illustration3 ,the ,albrecht ,drer house at ,nrnberg--before and after the ,german collapse4 ,in an underground bunker across the street were stored the crown jewels of the ,holy ,roman ,empire and the famous ,veit ,stoss altarpiece4 ,illustration3 ,the ,veit ,stoss altarpiece from the ,church of ,our ,lady in ,cracow1 which was carried off by the ,nazis at the beginning of the war1 has been returned to ,poland4 ,left1 open2 right1 closed4 ,the ,dutch representative was ,lieutenant ,colonel ,alphonse ,vorenkamp4 ,he was a little man with gray hair1 shrewd gray eyes and steel-rimmed spectacles4 ,an eminent authority on ,dutch painting1 he had been for several years a member of the faculty at ,smith ,college4 ,he enjoyed the unusual distinction of having served in both the ,american and ,dutch ,armies during the present war4 ,i had met him in ,san ,francisco in #aidd1 shortly after his discharge from the service4 ,he had been a buck private2 and ,i gathered from the story of his experiences that our ,army had released him in self-defense4 ,he told me that he often had difficulty in understanding the drill sergeant4 ,once1 without thinking he had stepped out of formation and asked politely1 8,sergeant1 would you mind repeating that last order60 ,vorenkamp said that he had paid dearly for his indiscretion1 so dearly in fact that he had seriously considered changing his name from ,alphonse to ,latrinus4 ,alphonse1 he said1 was a ridiculous name for a ,dutchman anyway4 ,he preferred to be called ,phonse4 ,released from the ,army1 he had gone back to his teaching4 ,then1 only a few months ago1 the ,dutch ,government had requested his services in connection with the restitution of looted art4 ,they had offered him a lieutenant-colonelcy and he had accepted4 ,the ,dutch1 as well as the ,british and ,french1 had made a practice of conferring upon qualified civilians ranks consistent with the responsibilities of given jobs4 ,our government's failure to do likewise--so far as the art program was concerned--resulted in a disparity in rank which frequently placed ,american ,,mfa,a personnel at a great disadvantage4 ,of all the foreign representatives1 none served his country more zealously than ,phonse ,vorenkamp4 ,throughout the fall and winter months1 his convoys shuttled back and forth between ,munich and ,amsterdam4 ,when ,i last heard from him--in the late spring--he had restored to ,holland more than nine hundred paintings1 upward of two thousand pieces of sculpture1 porcelain and glass1 along with truckloads of tapestries1 rugs and furniture4 ,i left ,munich on a rainy morning at the end of ,september4 ,lamont and ,steve were planning to depart for ,alt ,aussee at the same time4 ,the three of us had agreed to meet in front of the ,collecting ,point at eight-thirty4 ,i was a few minutes late and when ,i got there the guard at the entrance said they had already gone4 ,i hadn't felt so forlorn since the day ,craig and ,i had parted in ,bad ,homburg months before4 ,as ,i started down the steps to the command car1 ,phonse ,vorenkamp called from the doorway4 ,he had come to work a little earlier than usual1 just to see me off4 ,he was full of waspish good humor1 joked about the magnificence of my new job in ,frankfurt1 and promised to look me up when he came through with his first convoy4 ,the driver stepped on the starter and1 as we rounded the corner into the ,brienner-,strasse1 ,phonse waved us on our way4 7#aj7 ,,mission ,,to ,,amsterdam2 ,,the ,,wiesbaden ,,manifesto ,i reported to ,major ,la ,farge upon arrival4 ,since my visit to ,frankfurt with ,lamont and ,steve six weeks before1 there had been several changes in the ,,mfa,a ,section4 ,with the removal to ,berlin of the ,monuments officers attached to the ,u4 ,s4 ,group ,control ,council1 our office at ,,usfet ,headquarters in ,frankfurt had been transferred to ,hchst4 ,the move was logical enough because we were part of the ,restitution ,control ,branch of the ,economics ,division1 which was located there4 ,for all practical purposes1 however1 we would have been better off in ,frankfurt1 since our work involved daily contacts with other divisions--all located at the main headquarters4 ,the ,hchst office was a barnlike room1 some thirty feet square1 on the second floor of the ,exposition ,building4 ,it required considerable ingenuity to find the room1 for it was tucked in behind a row of laboratories occupied by white-coated ,german civilians1 former employees of ,i4 ,g4 ,farben1 who were now working for the ,american ,military ,government4 ,at one end of the room were desks for the ,chief and ,deputy ,chief4 ,the rest of the furniture consisted of four long work tables and two small file cabinets4 ,the staff was equally meager--,major ,la ,farge1 ,lieutenant ,edith ,standen1 ,corporal ,james ,reeds and a ,german civilian stenographer4 ,the first few days were a period of intensive indoctrination4 ,the morning ,i arrived1 ,bancel defined the relationship between our office and the one at ,berlin2 and between us and the two districts of the ,american ,zone--the ,eastern ,district1 which was under ,third ,army1 and the ,western ,district1 under ,seventh ,army4 ,he described the ,berlin office as the final authority in determining policy4 ,in theory1 if not always in fact1 a given policy was adopted only after an exchange of views between the ,frankfurt-,hchst office and the one in ,berlin4 ,the activation of policy was our function4 ,,usfet--that is1 our office--was an operational headquarters4 ,berlin was not4 ,and how did we activate policy8 ,by means of directives4 ,directives to whom8 ,to ,third ,army at ,munich and ,seventh ,army at ,heidelberg4 ,that sounded simple enough1 until ,bancel explained that a directive was not exactly an imperial decree4 ,just as it was our prerogative to activate policies approved by ,berlin1 so it was the prerogative of the ,armies to implement our directives as they deemed expedient4 ,he reminded me that the two ,armies were independent and autonomous within their respective areas4 ,in other words1 we could tell them what to do1 but not how to do it4 ,bancel was an old hand at writing directives1 knowing how to give each phrase just the right emphasis4 ,at first the longer ones seemed stilted and occasionally ambiguous4 ,but ,i was not accustomed to military jargon4 ,later ,i came to realize that ,army communications always sounded stilted2 and what ,i had mistaken for ambiguity was often deliberate circumlocution1 calculated to soften the force of an unpalatable order4 ,bancel said there were more important things to worry about than the composition of directives4 ,one was the problem of token restitutions4 ,he was sorry to postpone the one to ,poland1 but that couldn't be helped4 ,now that ,france and ,belgium had received theirs1 ,holland was next on the list4 ,the ceremony in ,brussels had made a great hit4 ,he thought a similar affair might be arranged at ,the ,hague4 ,vorenkamp was selecting a group of pictures at the ,collecting ,point4 ,we would provide a plane to fly them to ,amsterdam4 ,captain ,rae was to notify our office as soon as ,vorenkamp was ready to leave--probably within the next two days4 ,in the meantime ,bancel was having orders cut for me to go to ,holland4 ,i was to see the ,american ambassador1 explain the idea of these token restitutions1 and sound him out on the subject of planning a ceremony similar to the one our ambassador had arranged in ,brussels4 ,colonel ,anthony ,biddle1 ,chief of the ,allied ,contacts ,section at ,,usfet ,headquarters1 had promised ,bancel to write a letter of introduction for me to take to ,the ,hague4 ,bancel suggested that ,i make tentative arrangements with the motor pool for a car and driver4 ,it was almost noon and ,bancel had an appointment in ,frankfurt at twelve-thirty4 ,he just had time to catch the bus4 ,after he left1 ,reeds and the stenographer went out to lunch1 so ,edith ,standen and ,i had the office to ourselves4 ,we had a lot to talk over1 as ,i had not seen her since ,june when we worked together on the inventory of the ,berlin ,museum collections at the ,reichsbank4 ,in the meantime1 she had been stationed at ,hchst4 ,when the ,group ,,cc outfit--to which she was officially attached--moved to ,berlin1 she had preferred to remain with the ,,usfet office4 ,on the ,organizational ,chart of the ,,mfa,a ,section1 ,edith was listed as the 8,officer in ,charge of ,technical ,files40 ,actually she was in charge of a great many other things as well4 ,when the ,chief and ,deputy ,chief were away from headquarters at the same time--and they often were--,edith took over the affairs of the ,section4 ,she must have been born with these remarkable administrative gifts1 for she could have had little opportunity to develop them as the cloistered curator of the ,widener ,collection where1 as she said herself1 she was 8accustomed to the silent padding of butlers and the spontaneous appearance of orchids and gardenias among the ,rembrandts and the ,raphaels40 ,i asked her if there had been any new developments regarding the proposed removal of ,german-owned art to the ,united ,states4 ,yes1 there had been4 ,but nothing conclusive4 ,there was a cable from ,general ,clay to the ,war ,department early in ,september4#c ,the cable spoke of 8holding ,german objects of art in trust for eventual return to the ,german people40 ,but it didn't contain the clause 8if and when the ,german nation had earned the right to their return0 which had appeared in the original document4 ,besides the cable1 there had been a communication from ,berlin asking for an estimate of the cubic footage in art repositories of the ,american ,zone4 ,it was a question impossible to answer accurately4 ,but ,bancel and ,charlie had figured out a reply1 citing the approximate size of one of the repositories and leaving it up to ,berlin to multiply the figures by the total number in the entire zone4 ,now that ,john ,nicholas ,brown and ,charlie ,kuhn were back in the ,united ,states1 they might be able to discourage the projected removal4 ,i had only one piece of information to contribute on the subject3 a letter from ,george ,stout saying that he had been asked by the ,roberts ,commission to give an opinion1 based on purely technical grounds1 of the risk involved in sending paintings to ,america4 ,he did so1 stating that to remove them would cube the risk of leaving them in ,germany4 ,when ,corporal ,reeds returned to the office1 ,edith and ,i went across the street to the ,officers' ,mess4 ,while we were at lunch1 she told me that ,jim ,reeds had been a discovery of ,george's4 ,he had been with ,george and ,bancel at their office in ,wiesbaden4 ,jim was a tall1 serious fellow with sandy hair and a turned-up nose4 ,edith said that he had been a medical student before the war and that he came from ,missouri4 ,there was so much paper work to do in the office that he never got caught up4 ,the ,german typist was slow and inaccurate4 ,jim had to do over nearly half the letters he gave her to copy4 ,but his patience was inexhaustible and he never complained4 ,bancel didn't get back from ,frankfurt until late in the afternoon4 ,the return of the ,veit ,stoss altarpiece had come up again and he had had a long talk about it with the ,polish liaison officer at ,,usfet1 who was a nephew of the ,archbishop of ,cracow4 ,after that he had had a session with ,colonel ,a4 ,j4 de la ,bretesche1 the ,french liaison officer4 ,and1 for good measure1 he had to take up the problem of clearance for the two ,czech representatives who would be arriving in a few days4 ,he said wearily that practically all of his days were like that1 now that restitution was going full speed ahead4 ,i told him that ,i had had an uneventful but profitable afternoon1 going through the correspondence which had accumulated on his desk4 ,there had been several telephone calls1 among them one from ,colonel ,walter ,kluss4 ,bancel said he would answer that one in person1 as he wanted to introduce me to the colonel1 who was chief of the ,restitution ,control ,branch4 ,restitution involved settling the claims of the occupied countries for everything the ,germans had taken from them4 ,these claims covered every conceivable kind of property--factory equipment1 vehicles1 barges1 machinery1 racehorses1 livestock1 household furniture1 etc4 ,the colonel's office was at the end of the corridor4 ,on our way down the hall1 ,bancel said that the ,army could do with a few more officers like ,colonel ,kluss4 ,this observation didn't give me a very clear picture of the colonel1 but when ,i met him ,i knew what ,bancel meant4 ,there was an unassuming friendliness and simplicity about him that ,i didn't usually associate with full colonels4 ,his interest in the activities of the ,,mfa,a ,section was genuine and personal4 ,he was particularly fond of ,bancel and ,edith and1 during our visit with him that afternoon1 spoke admiringly of the work which they and ,charlie ,kuhn had done4 ,while other sections of the ,restitution ,control ,branch were still generalizing about restitution1 the ,,mfa,a ,section had tackled the problem realistically4 ,it wasn't a question of mapping out a program which might work4 ,the program did work4 ,the wisdom and foresight of ,bancel's planning appealed to the practical side of ,colonel ,kluss' nature and1 throughout the months of our association with him1 he was never too busy to help us when we went to him with our troubles4 ,bancel and ,i took the seven o'clock bus over to ,frankfurt that evening4 ,we had dinner at the ,officers' ,mess in the ,casino behind ,,usfet ,headquarters4 ,we were joined there by ,lieutenant ,william ,lovegrove1 the officer whom ,bancel had selected as our representative at ,paris in connection with the restitution of looted art works to the ,french4 ,with the arrival of the ,french representative in ,munich1 regular shipments would soon be departing for ,france4 ,their destination in ,paris was to be the ,muse du ,jeu de ,paume1 which was now the headquarters of the ,commission de ,rcupration ,artistique1 the commission composed of officials from the ,french museums charged with the task of sorting and distributing the plundered treasures4 ,among the officials selected to assist in this work was ,captain ,rose ,valland1 the courageous ,frenchwoman who1 as ,i mentioned earlier1 had spied on the ,nazi thieves in that same museum during the ,occupation4 ,we had roughly estimated that it would require from three to six months to send back the main bulk of the ,french loot from ,germany4 ,mass evacuation1 as ,i have mentioned before1 had the advantage of accelerating restitution4 ,it had the disadvantage of rendering difficult our procedure of evaluating and photographing objects before they were returned4 ,it was our intention that ,lieutenant ,lovegrove should obtain the desired photographs and appraisals4 ,american military establishments in ,france were being drastically reduced1 but we planned to attach him to the ,,usfet ,mission to ,france4 ,we had been told that the ,mission would be withdrawn in the early spring4 ,if ,lovegrove's work weren't finished by that time1 ,bancel thought it might be possible to attach him to our ,paris ,embassy when the ,mission folded4 ,when ,bancel introduced me to ,lovegrove that evening at the ,casino1 ,i thought he would be very much at home in an embassy4 ,he was of medium height1 bald1 had a pink and white complexion and wore a small mustache4 ,he was self-possessed without being blas4 ,lovegrove was a sculptor and had lived in ,paris for many years before the war4 ,bancel said that he spoke a more perfect ,french than most ,frenchmen4 ,subsequent developments proved the wisdom of ,bancel's choice4 ,lovegrove was exceedingly popular with his ,french associates at the ,muse du ,jeu de ,paume4 ,his extraordinary tact and his capacity for hard work were equally remarkable4 ,i particularly remember our last meeting4 ,it was in ,february1 when ,i was stopping briefly in ,paris on my way home from ,germany4 ,by that time hundreds of carloads of stolen art had been received at the ,jeu de ,paume4 ,there were one or two final matters which ,i wished to take up with ,m4 ,henraux and ,m4 ,dreyfus1 members of the ,commission de ,rcupration ,artistique4 ,when ,lovegrove and ,i arrived at the museum1 we found these two charming1 elderly gentlemen in their office4 ,with them was ,m4 ,david-,weill4 ,he was examining a fine gold snuffbox4 ,the office was littered with gold and silver objects4 ,they were part of the fabulous collection which ,lamont1 ,steve and ,i had packed by candlelight in the ,castle of ,neuschwanstein six months before4 ,during the second week of ,october1 ,i left for ,amsterdam4 ,it was a three-hundred-mile drive from ,frankfurt4 ,cassidy1 the driver of the jeep1 was a ,new ,jersey farm boy who1 unlike most drivers1 preferred long trips to short local runs4 ,the foothills of the ,taunus ,mountains were bright with fall coloring along the back road to ,limburg4 ,from there we turned west to the ,rhine4 ,then1 skirting the east bank of the river1 we crossed over into the ,british ,zone at ,cologne4 ,from ,cologne--where we lunched at a ,british mess--our road led through ,duisburg1 ,wesel and the skeleton of ,emerich4 ,we crossed the ,dutch frontier at five and continued through battered ,arnhem to ,utrecht4 ,utrecht was full of exuberant ,canadians4 ,i stopped at the headquarters of the local ,town ,major to inquire about a mess for transient officers4 ,a friendly lieutenant1 a blonde ,dutch girl on his arm1 was on his way to supper and suggested that ,i join them4 ,he said that ,cassidy could eat at a ,red ,cross ,club4 ,the dining room in the officers' hotel was noisy and crowded4 ,most of the officers1 the lieutenant explained1 were going home in a few days4 ,it was good to be in a city which1 superficially at least1 showed no scars of battle4 ,we reached ,amsterdam about nine-thirty4 ,at night the canals were confusing4 ,cassidy and ,i looked in vain for the ,town ,major4 ,finally we found a ,canadian 8leave hotel40 ,the enlisted man on duty at the desk dispensed with the formality of the billet permit ,i should have obtained from the ,town ,major1 and assigned us rooms on the same floor4 ,cassidy decided that the ,canadians were a democratic outfit4 ,bancel had instructed me to inform the ,dutch ,restitution ,commission1 known as the 8,c4,g4,r410 that ,lieutenant ,colonel ,vorenkamp was scheduled to reach ,amsterdam at noon on the day following my arrival1 so the next morning ,i went to the headquarters of the commission to deliver ,major ,la ,farge's message4 ,the commission occupied the stately old ,goudstikker house on the ,heerengracht4 ,before the war1 ,goudstikker had been a great ,dutch art dealer4 ,in the galleries of this house had been held many fine exhibitions of ,dutch painting4 ,during the ,german ,occupation of the ,netherlands1 an unscrupulous ,nazi named ,miedl had 8acquired0 the entire ,goudstikker stock from the dealer's widow4 ,we had found many of the ,goudstikker pictures at ,alt ,aussee and in the ,gring collection4 ,bancel had told me to ask for ,captain ,robert de ,vries4 ,i was informed that the captain was in ,london4 ,in his stead ,nicolaes ,vroom1 his scholarly young deputy1 received me4 ,he had had no word of ,colonel ,vorenkamp's impending arrival4 ,vroom transmitted the message immediately to ,jonkheer ,roel1 director of the ,rijksmuseum4 ,twenty minutes later1 this distinguished gentleman appeared in ,vroom's office4 ,with him were ,lieutenant ,colonel ,h4 ,polis and ,captain ter ,meer1 both of whom were attached to the ,c4,g4,r4 ,they were delighted to know about the plane which ,i told them was due at ,schiphol ,airport4 ,telephonic connections with ,munich had not yet been re-established4 ,they had to depend on the ,,usfet ,mission at ,the ,hague for transmission of all messages from the ,american ,zone4 ,it often took days for a telegram to get through4 ,there was barely time enough to telephone for a truck to meet the plane4 ,also ,mr4 van ,haagen1 ,permanent ,secretary of ,education and ,science1 must be notified at once4 ,i was told that he would accompany us to the airport4 ,in another hour we were all on our way to ,schiphol4 ,we waited two hours at the field and still no sign of the plane from ,munich4 ,the weather was fine at the airport1 but there were reports of heavy fog to the south4 ,at two o'clock we returned to ,amsterdam and lunched at the ,dutch officers' mess4 ,my hosts apologized for the food4 ,they said that they no longer received ,british ,army rations4 ,the menu was prepared from civilian supplies4 ,it was a ,spartan diet--cheese1 bread and jam1 and weak coffee4 ,but they shared it so hospitably that only a graceless guest would have complained of the lack of variety4 ,captain ter ,meer said that it was more palatable than the tulip bulbs he had lived on the winter before4 ,after lunch1 ,cassidy and ,i drove to the ,,usfet ,mission at ,the ,hague4 ,colonel ,ira ,w4 ,black1 ,chief of the ,mission1 arranged for me to see the ,american ambassador4 ,the temporary offices of our embassy were located in a tall brick building on the edge of the city4 ,i presented ,colonel ,biddle's letter to ,mr4 ,stanley ,hornbeck1 the ambassador1 who looked more like a successful businessman than a diplomat4 ,he frowned as he read1 and when he had finished1 said gruffly1 8,commander1 ,tony ,biddle is a charming fellow and ,i am very fond of him4 ,i'd like to be obliging1 but we've had too damn many celebrations and ceremonies in this country already4 ,we need more hard work instead of more holidays4 ,it's very nice about the pictures coming back1 but steel mills and machinery would be a lot more welcome40 ,i hadn't expected this reaction and1 having had little experience with ambassadors--irascible or otherwise--,i hardly knew what to say4 ,after an embarrassing pause1 ,i ventured the remark that a very simple ceremony would be enough4 ,after his first outburst1 the ambassador relented to the extent of saying he'd think it over4 ,as ,i left his office1 he called after me1 8,my bark's worse than my bite40 ,on my way back to ,amsterdam1 ,i concluded unhappily that as a diplomatic errand boy ,i was a washout4 ,i'd better go back to loading trucks4 ,when ,i reached the hotel ,i found a message that the plane with ,vorenkamp and the pictures had arrived4 ,i met ,phonse the following morning at the ,goudstikker house4 ,he introduced me to ,lieutenant ,hans ,jaff1 a ,dutch ,monuments officer1 who bore a striking resemblance to ,robert ,louis ,stevenson4 ,several weeks later ,jaff was chosen as the ,dutch representative for the ,western ,district of the ,american ,zone4 ,his work at ,seventh ,army ,headquarters in ,heidelberg was comparable to that of ,vorenkamp's in ,munich4 ,he was intelligent and industrious4 ,during the next few months he was as successful in his investigations of looted ,dutch art works as ,phonse was in ,bavaria4 ,jaff didn't reap so rich a harvest1 but that was only because there was less loot in his territory4 ,he and ,phonse took me to the ,rijksmuseum where the twenty-six paintings from ,munich were being unpacked4 ,they were a hand-picked group consisting mainly of seventeenth century ,dutch masters1 which included four ,rembrandts4 ,one of the ,rembrandts was the ,still ,life with ,dead ,peacocks which ,lamont and ,i had taken out of the mine at ,alt ,aussee4 ,there was a twenty-seventh picture3 it was the fraudulent ,vermeer of the ,gring collection4 ,phonse had brought it back to be used as evidence against its author1 the notorious ,van ,meegeren4 ,the ,rijksmuseum was holding a magnificent exhibition1 appropriately entitled 8,the ,return of the ,old ,masters40 ,among the one hundred and forty masterpieces1 which had been stored in underground shelters for the past five years1 were six ,vermeers1 nine paintings by ,frans ,hals1 and seventeen ,rembrandts1 including the famous ,night ,watch4 ,that evening ,phonse took ,cassidy and me to the country place occupied by the officers of the ,c4,g4,r4 ,it was called 8,oud ,bussum0 and was near ,naarden1 about fifteen miles from ,amsterdam4 ,the luxurious house had been the property of a well known ,dutch collaborator4 ,many high-ranking ,nazis had been entertained there4 ,as a mark of special favor ,i was given the suite which had been used by ,gring4 ,at dinner ,i sat between ,colonel ,w4 ,c4 ,posthumus-,meyjes1 ,chief of the ,restitution ,commission1 and ,phonse ,vorenkamp4 ,the colonel1 to the regret of his associates1 was soon to relinquish his duties in order to accept an important diplomatic post in ,canada4 ,toward the end of the meal1 ,phonse asked me how ,i had made out with the ambassador4 ,i gave a noncommittal reply4 ,he looked at me shrewdly through his steel-rimmed spectacles and said1 8,we would not expect your ambassador to arrange a ceremony4 ,that is for us to do4 ,it is for us to express our gratitude to ,general ,eisenhower40 7,phonse was as good as his word4 ,a few weeks later1 officials of the ,netherlands ,government arranged a luncheon in one of the rooms of the ,rijksmuseum4 ,it was the first affair of its kind in the history of the museum4 ,only the simplest food was served1 but the table was set with rare old silver1 porcelain and glass4 ,colonel ,kluss and ,bancel represented ,,usfet ,headquarters4 ,i was told that no one enjoyed himself more than the ,american ambassador47 ,the next morning ,phonse suggested that ,i return with him in the plane4 ,he had it entirely to himself except for the empty packing cases which he was taking back to ,munich4 ,he said that the slight detour to ,frankfurt could be easily arranged4 ,so ,i sent ,cassidy back in the jeep and at noon ,phonse and ,i--sole occupants of the ,c-#dg which had been chartered in the name of ,general ,eisenhower--took off from ,schiphol ,airport4 ,an hour and twenty minutes later we landed at ,frankfurt4 ,before the end of ,october1 a token restitution was made to ,czechoslovakia4 ,the objects chosen were the famous fourteenth century ,hohenfurth altarpiece and the collections of the ,army ,museum at ,prague4 ,both had been stolen by the ,nazis4 ,the altarpiece1 evacuated from the ,alt ,aussee mine1 was now at the ,central ,collecting ,point in ,munich4 ,the ,army ,museum collections were stored at ,schloss ,banz1 near ,bamberg4 ,lieutenant ,colonel ,frantiek ,vreko and ,captain ,egon ,suk1 as representatives of the ,czech ,government1 were invited to ,,usfet ,headquarters4 ,we arranged for them to proceed from there to ,schloss ,banz1 where they were met by ,lieutenant ,walter ,horn4 ,i have mentioned ,horn before as the ,monuments officer whose remarkable sleuthing resulted in recovery of the five pieces of the coronation regalia at ,nrnberg4 ,while the ,czech officers were en route1 we directed ,captain ,rae at ,third ,army to arrange for the delivery of the ,hohenfurth panels to ,schloss ,banz4 ,captain ,rae1 in turn1 designated ,lieutenant ,commander ,coulter to transport them from ,munich4 7,both ,ham ,coulter and ,i had received our additional half-stripe earlier in the month47 ,this joint operation was carried out successfully and1 in succeeding months1 restitution to ,czechoslovakia became a matter of routine shipments at regular intervals4 ,also before the end of ,october1 we became involved again in the complicated problem of the ,veit ,stoss altarpiece4 ,major ,charles ,estreicher was selected as the ,polish representative4 ,the major spent several days at our office in ,hchst studying our files for additional data on ,polish loot in the ,american ,zone before continuing to ,munich and ,nrnberg4 ,because of the condition of the roads1 the actual return of the altarpiece as a token restitution to ,poland was delayed until the early spring4 ,while we were in the midst of these negotiations ,bancel conferred with ,colonel ,hayden ,smith at ,,usfet headquarters in ,frankfurt on the subject of the proposed removal of ,german-owned works of art to the ,united ,states4 ,colonel ,smith was ,chief of ,staff to ,major ,general ,c4 ,l4 ,adcock1 ,deputy ,director of the office of military government1 ,u4 ,s4 ,zone4 ,bancel impressed upon the colonel the practical difficulties involved and stressed the technical1 not the moral objections to shipping valuable works of art to ,america4 ,as a result of this conference the colonel asked ,bancel to prepare a memorandum on the subject for submission to his chief4 ,the finished memorandum which ,edith and ,i helped ,bancel prepare followed the general pattern of a staff study--a statement of the 8problem0 with specific suggestions relating to its solution4 ,it contained an eloquent plea for the importation of additional ,,mfa,a personnel to assume responsibility for the project and called attention to acute shortages in packing materials and transportation facilities4 ,it also pointed out that the advisability of moving fragile objects across the ocean would be balanced against the advantages of leaving them in the ,central ,collecting ,points1 all three of which had been made weatherproof months before and were now provided with sufficient coal to prevent deterioration of the objects during the winter months4 ,nothing came of our recommendations4 ,within two weeks1 ,colonel ,harry ,mc,bride1 administrator of the ,national ,gallery in ,washington1 arrived in ,berlin to expedite the first shipment4 ,he flew down to ,frankfurt two days later to discuss ways and means with ,major ,la ,farge4 ,we learned from him that ,general ,clay's recommendation for immediate removal had been approved by the highest national authority4 ,the ,general was now in ,washington4 ,the futility of protest was obvious4 ,bancel told the colonel that our ,monuments officers were strongly opposed to the project4 ,he said that some of them might request transfer rather than comply with the order4 ,the colonel replied that such requests would1 in all probability1 be refused4 ,the only other alternative--open defiance of the order--could have but one consequence1 a court-martial4 ,and1 assuming that our officers elected to face court-martial1 what would be gained8 ,nothing1 according to the colonel2 the order would still be carried out4 ,if trained ,,mfa,a personnel were not available1 then the work would have to be done by such officers and men as might be obtainable1 experienced or not4 ,bancel realized that his primary duty was the 8protection and salvage0 of art works4 ,if he deliberately left them at the mercy of whatever troops might be available to do the packing1 then he would be guilty of dereliction of duty4 ,this interpretation afforded him some consolation4 ,as ,bancel had predicted1 our ,monuments officers lost no time in registering their disapproval4 ,they expressed their sentiments as follows3 ,u4 ,s4 ,,forces1 ,,european ,,theater#d ,,germany #g ,november #aide #a4 ,we1 the undersigned ,monuments1 ,fine ,arts and ,archives ,specialist ,officers of the ,armed ,forces of the ,united ,states1 wish to make known our convictions regarding the transportation to the ,united ,states of works of art1 the property of ,german institutions or nationals1 for purposes of protective custody4 #b4 a4 ,we are unanimously agreed that the transportation of those works of art1 undertaken by the ,united ,states ,army1 upon direction from the highest national authority1 establishes a precedent which is neither morally tenable nor trustworthy4 b4 ,since the beginning of ,united ,states participation in the war1 it has been the declared policy of the ,allied ,forces1 so far as military necessity would permit1 to protect and preserve from deterioration consequent upon the processes of war1 all monuments1 documents1 or other objects of historic1 artistic1 cultural1 or archaeological value4 ,the war is at an end and no doctrine of 8military necessity0 can now be invoked for the further protection of the objects to be moved1 for the reason that depots and personnel1 both fully competent for their protection1 have been inaugurated and are functioning4 c4 ,the ,allied nations are at present preparing to prosecute individuals for the crime of sequestering1 under pretext of 8protective custody10 the cultural treasures of ,german-occupied countries4 ,a major part of the indictment follows upon the reasoning that even though these individuals were acting under military orders1 the dictates of a higher ethical law made it incumbent upon them to refuse to take part in1 or countenance1 the fulfillment of these orders4 ,we1 the undersigned1 feel it our duty to point out that1 though as members of the armed forces1 we will carry out the orders we receive1 we are thus put before any candid eyes as no less culpable than those whose prosecution we affect to sanction4 #c4 ,we wish to state that from our own knowledge1 no historical grievance will rankle so long1 or be the cause of so much justified bitterness1 as the removal1 for any reason1 of a part of the heritage of any nation1 even if that heritage be interpreted as a prize of war4 ,and though this removal may be done with every intention of altruism1 we are none the less convinced that it is our duty1 individually and collectively1 to protest against it1 and that though our obligations are to the nation to which we owe allegiance1 there are yet further obligations to common justice1 decency1 and the establishment of the power of right1 not might1 among civilized nations4 ,this document was drafted and signed by a small group of ,monuments officers at the ,central ,collecting ,point in ,wiesbaden4 ,before being submitted to ,major ,la ,farge for whatever action he deemed appropriate1 it was signed by twenty-four of the thirty-two ,monuments officers in the ,american ,zone4 ,the remaining eight chose either to submit individual letters expressing similar views1 or orally to express like sentiments4 ,the document came to be known as the 8,wiesbaden ,manifesto40 ,army regulations forbade the publication of such a statement2 hence its submission to ,major ,la ,farge as ,chief of the ,,mfa,a ,section4 ,further protests against the policy which prompted the ,wiesbaden ,manifesto appeared in the ,united ,states a few months later4 ,the action of our ,government was sharply criticized and vigorously defended in the press4 ,letters to and from the ,state ,department and a petition submitted to the ,president concerning the issue appear in the ,appendix to this book4 ,preparations for the shipment--appropriately nicknamed 8,westward ,ho0--took precedence over all other activities of the ,,mfa,a office during the next three weeks4 ,its size was determined soon after ,colonel ,mc,bride's arrival4 ,general ,clay cabled from ,washington requesting this information and the shipping date4 ,after hastily consulting us1 our ,berlin office replied that two hundred paintings could be made ready for removal within ten days4 ,the next problem was to decide how the selection was to be made4 ,should the pictures be chosen from the three ,central ,collecting ,points--,munich1 ,wiesbaden and ,marburg8 ,time was short4 ,it would be preferable to take them from one depot4 ,wiesbaden was decided upon4 ,quality had been stressed4 ,the best of the ,kaiser ,friedrich ,museum pictures were at ,wiesbaden4 ,the decision to confine the selection to the one ,central ,collecting ,point had the additional advantage of avoiding the disruption of ,,mfa,a work at the other two depots1 ,munich and ,marburg4 ,craig ,smyth had long been apprehensive about 8,westward ,ho10 feeling that any incursion on the ,bavarian ,state ,collections would be disastrous to his organization at the ,munich ,collecting ,point4 ,he said that his entire staff of non-,nazi museum specialists would walk out4 ,this would seriously impede the restitution program in the ,eastern ,military ,district4 ,so far as ,marburg was concerned1 ,i had been in the office the day ,bancel told ,walker ,hancock of the decision to take ,german-owned works of art to ,america4 ,walker looked at ,bancel as though he hadn't understood him4 ,then he said simply1 8,in that case ,i can't go back to ,marburg4 ,everything that we were able to accomplish was possible because ,i had the confidence of certain people4 ,i can't go back and tell them that ,i have betrayed them40 ,and he hadn't gone back to ,marburg4 ,instead he went to ,heidelberg for two days without telling anyone where he was going4 ,when he finally returned1 it was only to close up his work at ,marburg1 in the course of which he undertook to explain as best he could to ,professor ,hamann1 the distinguished old ,german scholar with whom he had been associated1 the decision concerning the removal of the pictures4 8,i quoted the official statement10 ,walker said1 8about the paintings being held in trust for the ,german people and added that there was no reason to doubt it4 ,very slowly he said1 #8,if they take our old art1 we must try to create a fine new art4' ,then1 after a long pause1 he added1',i never thought they would take them4'0 ,once it had been decided to limit selection of the paintings to the ,wiesbaden ,collecting ,point1 there arose the question of appointing an officer properly qualified to handle the job4 ,it called for speed1 discrimination and an expert knowledge of packing4 ,there was a ten-day deadline to be met4 ,two hundred pictures had to be chosen4 ,and the packing would have to be done with meticulous care4 ,we considered the possibilities4 ,captain ,walter ,farmer couldn't be spared from his duties as director of the ,collecting ,point4 ,lieutenant ,samuel ,ratensky1 ,monuments officer for ,greater ,hesse1 was an architect1 not a museum man4 ,captain ,joseph ,kelleher was one of our ablest officers2 but he was just out of the hospital where he had been laid up for three months with a broken hip4 ,the doctor had released him on condition that he be given easy assignments for the next few weeks4 ,at this critical juncture1 ,lamont ,moore telephoned from ,munich4 ,he and ,steve had just completed the evacuation of the mine at ,alt ,aussee4 ,lamont said that they were coming up to ,frankfurt4 ,steve had enough points to go home--enough and to spare4 ,lamont thought he'd take some leave4 ,bancel signaled from the opposite desk4 ,i told ,lamont to forget about the leave2 that we had a job for him4 ,bancel sighed with relief4 ,lamont's was a different kind of sigh4 ,lamont's arrival was providential4 ,aside from his obvious qualifications for the ,wiesbaden assignment1 he and ,colonel ,mc,bride were old friends from the ,national ,gallery where1 as ,i have mentioned before1 ,lamont had been director of the educational program4 ,the colonel was content to leave everything in his hands4 ,lamont and ,i spent an evening together studying a list of the pictures stored at ,wiesbaden4 ,he typed out a tentative selection4 ,the next day he and the colonel went over to the ,collecting ,point for a preliminary inspection4 ,steve was momentarily tempted by the prospect of having a part in the undertaking4 ,but when ,i told him there was a chance of his being included in a draft of officers scheduled for immediate redeployment1 he decided that he'd had his share of packing4 ,maybe he'd come back in the spring1 if there was work still to be done4 ,his parting gift was the ,mercedes-,benz1 a temporary legacy1 as it turned out3 two weeks later the car was stolen from the motor pool where ,i had left it for minor repairs4 ,steve didn't like the idea of having to wait at a processing center before proceeding to his port of embarkation4 ,he cheered up when he learned that he was headed for one near ,marburg4 ,he went off in high spirits at the prospect of seeing his old friend ,walker ,hancock again4 ,under ,lamont's skillful supervision1 preparations for the shipment proceeded according to schedule4 ,lamont chose ,captain ,kelleher as his assistant4 ,together they located the cases from ,captain ,farmer's records4 ,only a few of the ,kaiser ,friedrich pictures had been taken out of the cases in which they had been originally packed for removal from ,berlin to the ,merkers mine4 ,the larger cases contained as many as a dozen pictures4 ,it was slow work opening the cases and withdrawing a particular canvas for repacking4 ,seldom were any two of the specified two hundred paintings in a single case4 ,when they were all finally assembled1 each one was photographed4 ,in the midst of the proceedings1 the supply of film and paper ran out4 ,the nearest replacements were at ,mannheim4 ,a day was lost in obtaining the necessary authorization to requisition fresh supplies4 ,it took the better part of another day to make the trip to ,mannheim and back4 ,thanks to ,lamont's careful calculations1 maximum use was made of the original cases in repacking the two hundred paintings after a photographic record had been made of their condition4 ,while these operations were in progress1 detailed plans for the actual shipment of the paintings had to be worked out4 ,colonel ,mc,bride and ,bancel took up the matter of shipping space with ,general ,ross1 ,chief of ,transportation4 ,sailing schedules were consulted4 ,an ,army transport1 the ,james ,parker1 was selected4 ,as an alternative1 temporary consideration was given to the idea of trucking the pictures to ,bremen and sending them by a ,naval vessel from there4 ,but the ,bremen sailing schedules were unsatisfactory4 ,a special metal car was requisitioned to transport the cases from ,frankfurt1 by way of ,paris1 to ,le ,havre4 ,a twenty-four-hour guard detail was appointed to accompany the car from ,frankfurt to the ship4 ,trucks and escort vehicles were procured for the twenty-five-mile trip from ,wiesbaden to the ,frankfurt rail yards4 ,it was decided that ,lamont should be responsible for delivering the pictures to the ,national ,gallery in ,washington where they were to be placed in storage4 ,bancel drafted the orders4 ,he worked on them a full day4 ,it took two more days to have them cut4 ,they were unique in one respect3 ,lamont1 a second lieutenant1 was appointed officer-in-charge4 ,his designated assistant was a commander in the ,navy4 ,this was ,commander ,keith ,merrill1 an old friend of ,colonel ,mc,bride's1 who happened to be in ,frankfurt4 ,he offered his services to the colonel and subsequently crossed on the ,james ,parker with ,lamont and the pictures4 ,lamont and ,joe ,kelleher finished the packing one day ahead of schedule4 ,the forty-five cases1 lined with waterproof paper1 were delivered to the ,frankfurt rail yards and loaded onto the car4 ,from there the car was switched to the station and attached to the night train for ,paris4 ,bancel and ,i returned to the office to take up where we had left off4 ,as usual1 ,edith ,standen had taken care of everything while we had been preoccupied with the 8,westward ,ho0 shipment4 ,there had been no major crises4 ,judging from the weekly field reports1 restitution to the ,dutch and the ,french was proceeding without interruption4 ,edith produced a stack of miscellaneous notations3 ,the ,belgian representative had arrived in ,munich4 ,the ,stockholm ,museum had offered a supply of lumber to be used in repairing war-damaged ,german buildings of cultural importance4 ,there had been two inquiries concerning a modification of ,law #eb 7the ,military ,government regulation which forbade trafficking in works of art74 ,a report from ,wrzburg indicated that emergency repairs to the roof of the ,residenz were nearing completion4 ,lieutenant ,rorimer had called from ,heidelberg about the books at ,offenbach4 ,of all the problems which confronted the ,,mfa,a ,section1 none was more baffling than that of the books at ,offenbach4 ,there were more than two million of them4 ,they had been assembled from ,jewish libraries throughout ,europe by the ,institut zur ,erforschung der ,judenfrage--,institute for the ,investigation of the ,jewish ,question--at ,frankfurt4 ,at the close of the war1 a small part of the collection was found in a large private house in ,frankfurt4 ,the rest was discovered in a repository to the north of the city1 at ,hungen4 ,the house in ,frankfurt had been bombed1 leaving undamaged only the books stored in the cellar4 ,one hundred and twenty thousand volumes were removed from the damp cellar to the ,rothschild ,library1 which1 though damaged1 was still intact4 ,examination of this portion of the collection revealed that it contained more than sixty libraries looted from occupied countries4 ,subsequently1 the rest of the collection was transferred from ,hungen to an enormous warehouse at ,offenbach1 across the river from ,frankfurt4 ,the ultimate disposition of this library--probably the greatest of its kind in the world--was the subject of heated discussions1 both written and oral4 ,several leading ,jewish scholars had expressed the hope that it could be kept together and eventually established in some center of international study4 ,our immediate responsibility was the care of the books in their two present locations4 ,that alone was exceedingly difficult4 ,it would take months1 perhaps years1 to make an inventory4 ,judge ,samuel ,rifkind1 ,general ,clay's ,adviser on ,jewish ,affairs1 had requested that twenty-five thousand volumes be made available for distribution among the ,,dp camps4 ,i referred the request to the two archivists who had recently joined our staff1 ,paul ,vanderbilt and ,edgar ,breitenbach4 ,while ,i sympathized with the tragic plight of the ,jewish ,d,ps1 there were the unidentified legal owners of the books to be taken into account4 ,one of our archivists felt that we should accede to the judge's request2 the other disagreed4 ,the matter was referred to ,berlin for a decision4 ,after several weeks1 we received word from ,berlin that no books were to be released4 ,the judge persisted4 ,ten days later1 ,berlin reconsidered4 ,the books could be released--that is1 twenty-five thousand of them--on condition that no rare or irreplaceable volumes were included in the selection4 ,also1 the volumes chosen were to be listed on a custody receipt4 ,up to the time of my departure from ,frankfurt1 no books had been released4 ,during the latter part of ,november1 we concentrated on future personnel requirements for the ,,mfa,a program in the ,american ,zone4 ,current directives indicated that drastic reductions in ,military ,government installations throughout the ,zone could be expected in the course of the next six or eight months4 ,already we had begun to feel the impact of the ,army's accelerated redeployment program4 ,bancel and ,i took stock of our present resources4 ,we had lost four officers and three enlisted men since the first of the month4 ,to offset them1 we had gained two civilians2 but they were archivists1 urgently needed in a specialized field of our work4 ,we couldn't count on them as replacements4 ,we drew up a chart showing the principal ,,mfa,a offices and depots in each of the three ,lnder4 ,in ,bavaria1 for example1 there were at ,munich the ,land office and the ,central ,collecting ,point2 a newly-established ,archival ,collecting ,point at ,oberammergau and the auxiliary collecting point at ,bamberg2 and two secondary offices1 one in ,upper ,bavaria1 another in ,lower ,bavaria4 ,in ,greater ,hesse1 there were the ,land office and the ,central ,collecting ,point at ,wiesbaden2 the offices at ,frankfurt and ,kassel2 and the ,collecting ,points at ,offenbach and ,marburg4 ,in ,wrttemberg-,baden1 the smallest of the three ,lnder1 the ,land office was at ,stuttgart4 ,there was a secondary one at ,karlsruhe4 ,the principal repositories1 requiring ,,mfa,a supervision1 were the great mines at ,heilbronn and ,kochendorf4 ,we hoped that certain of these establishments could be closed out in a few months2 others would continue to operate for an indefinite period4 ,we regarded the ,land offices as permanent2 likewise the ,collecting ,points1 with the exception of ,marburg4 ,and ,marburg would have to be maintained until it had been thoroughly sifted for loot1 or until we received authorization to effect interzonal transfers4 ,most of the ,rhineland museums were in the ,british ,zone1 but the collections were at ,marburg4 ,the ,british had requested their return4 ,until our ,berlin office approved the request1 we could do nothing4 ,it was impossible to make an accurate forecast of our personnel needs4 ,nevertheless we entered on the chart tentative reductions with accompanying dates4 ,the chart would serve as a basic guide in the allocation of civilian positions when the conversion program got seriously under way4 ,a number of our officers had already signified their intentions of converting to civilian status1 if the promised program ever materialized4 ,early in ,december1 ,bancel went home on thirty-days' leave4 ,allowing two weeks for transportation each way1 he would be gone about two months4 ,in his absence1 ,i was ,acting ,chief of the ,section4 ,under the ,navy's new point system1 ,i had been eligible for release on the first of ,november1 but had requested an extension of active duty in anticipation of ,bancel's departure4 ,i was not looking forward with enthusiasm to the period of his absence1 because of the personnel problems which lay ahead4 ,my apprehensions were justified4 ,our chart1 based on a realistic concept of the work yet to be done1 was rejected by the ,personnel ,section4 ,i was told that each ,land would draw up its own ,t4,o4 7,table of ,organization74 ,perhaps there could be some co-ordination at a later date4 ,even the ,t4,o4 of our own office at ,,usfet was thrown back at us with the discouraging comment that the proposed civil service ratings would have to be downgraded4 ,during the next eight weeks there must have been a dozen personnel conferences between the top brass of ,,usfet and the ,military ,governors of the three ,lnder1 and between them and the moguls of the ,group ,control ,council4 ,not once1 to my knowledge1 was the ,,mfa,a ,section consulted4 ,for a while ,i exhorted applicants for civilian ,,mfa,a jobs to be patient2 but as the weeks went by and the job allocations failed to materialize1 applications were withdrawn4 ,stars and ,stripes contributed to my discomfort with glittering forecasts of ,military ,government jobs paying from seven to ten thousand dollars a year4 ,there were positions which paid such salaries1 but ,stars and ,stripes might have stressed the fact that there were many more which paid less4 ,i remember one mousy little sergeant who applied for a job with us4 ,in civilian life he had received a salary of twelve hundred dollars a year4 ,on his application blank he stipulated1 as the minimum he would accept1 the sum of six thousand dollars4 ,fortunately there were diversions from these endless personnel problems4 ,edith and ,i fell into the habit of going over to ,wiesbaden on ,saturday afternoons4 ,it was a relief to escape from the impersonal life at our headquarters to the friendly country atmosphere of the ,land and ,city ,detachments4 ,we were particularly fond of our ,monuments officers there4 ,they were a dissimilar trio--,captain ,farmer1 ,lieutenant ,ratensky and ,captain ,kelleher4 ,walter ,farmer presided over the ,collecting ,point4 ,walter seldom relaxed4 ,he was an intense fellow1 jumpy in his movements1 and unconsciously brusque in conversation4 ,he was an excellent host1 loved showing us about the ,collecting ,point--particularly his 8,treasure ,room0 with its wonderful medieval objects--and1 at the end of a tour1 invariably produced a bottle of ,tokay in his office4 ,sam ,ratensky1 ,,mfa,a officer for the ,land1 was short1 slender and had red hair4 ,in civilian life he had been associated with ,frank ,lloyd ,wright and was deeply interested in city-planning4 ,sam usually looked harassed1 but his patience and understanding were inexhaustible4 ,he was accurate in his appraisals of people and had a quiet sense of humor4 ,joe ,kelleher1 ,sam's deputy1 was a 8black ,irishman40 ,the war had temporarily interrupted his brilliant career in the ,fine ,arts department at ,princeton4 ,at twenty-eight1 ,joe had the poise1 balance and tolerance of a man twice that age4 ,with wit and charm added to these soberer qualities1 he was a dangerously persuasive character4 ,on one occasion1 during ,bancel's absence1 he all but succeeded in hypnotizing our office into assigning a disproportionate number of our best officers to the ,,mfa,a activities of ,greater ,hesse4 ,when ,sam ,ratensky went home in ,february1 ,joe succeeded him as ,,mfa,a officer for the ,land4 ,he held this post until his own release several months later4 ,his intelligent supervision of the work was a significant contribution to the success of the ,american fine arts program in ,germany4 ,another ,monuments officer whose visits to ,wiesbaden rivaled ,edith's and mine in frequency was ,captain ,everett ,parker ,lesley1 ,jr4 ,he disliked his given name and preferred to be called 8,bill40 ,lesley had been in ,europe since the invasion4 ,he was known as the 8stormy petrel0 of ,,mfa,a4 ,and with good reason4 ,he was brilliant and unpredictable4 ,a master of oral and written invective1 he was terrible in his denunciation of stupidity and incompetence4 ,during the fall months1 ,bill was attached to the ,fifteenth ,army with headquarters at ,bad ,nauheim4 ,this was the 8paper0 army1 so called because its function was the compilation of a history of the war4 ,bill was writing a report of ,,mfa,a activities during combat4 ,he was a virtuoso of the limerick4 ,i was proud of my own repertoire1 but ,bill knew all of mine and fifty more of his own composing4 ,he usually telephoned me at the office when he had turned out a particularly good one4 ,upon the completion of his report for ,fifteenth ,army1 ,lesley was appointed ,,mfa,a ,officer at ,frankfurt4 ,as a part of his duties1 he assumed responsibility for the two million books at ,offenbach and the ,rothschild ,library4 ,within a week he had submitted a report on the two depots and drafted practical plans for their effective reorganization4 ,while ,walter ,farmer was on leave in ,england before ,christmas1 ,joe ,kelleher took charge of the ,wiesbaden ,collecting ,point4 ,the ,dutch and ,french restitution representatives had gone home for the holidays4 ,joe had the spare time to examine some of the unopened cases4 ,he asked ,edith and me to come over one evening4 ,he said that he might have a surprise for us4 ,i said we'd come and asked if ,i might bring ,colonel ,kluss1 ,chief of the ,restitution ,control ,branch4 ,the colonel had never seen the ,collecting ,point4 ,we drove over in the colonel's car4 ,after early dinner with ,joe at the ,city ,detachment1 we went down to the ,collecting ,point4 ,joe unlocked the 8,treasure ,room0 and switched on the lights4 ,the colonel whistled when he looked around the room4 8,those are the ,polish church treasures which the ,nazis swiped10 said ,joe1 pointing casually to the gold and silver objects stacked on shelves and tables4 8,there's something a lot more exciting in that box40 ,he walked over to a packing case about five feet square which stood in the center of the room4 ,the lid had been unscrewed but was still in place4 ,it was marked in black letters3 8,kiste #bh1 ,aegypt4 ,abteilung--,bunte ,knigin--,tel-el-,amarna--,,nicht ,,kippen60--,case #bh1 ,egyptian ,department--,painted ,queen--,tel-el-,amarna--,,don',t ,,tilt6 ,joe grinned with satisfaction as ,i read the markings4 ,the ,painted ,queen--,queen ,nefertete4 ,this celebrated head1 the most beautiful piece of ,egyptian sculpture in the world1 had been one of the great treasures of the ,berlin ,museum4 ,it was a momentous occasion4 ,there was every reason to believe that the ,german museum authorities had packed the head with proper care4 ,even so1 the case had been moved around a good deal in the meantime1 first from the ,merkers mine to the vaults of the ,reichsbank in ,frankfurt1 and then from ,frankfurt to ,wiesbaden4 ,there was not much point in speculating about that now4 ,we'd know the worst in a few minutes4 ,joe and ,i laid the lid aside4 ,the box was filled with a white packing material4 ,at first ,i thought it was cotton1 but it wasn't4 ,it was glass wool4 ,in the very center of the box lay the head1 swathed in silk paper4 ,gingerly we lifted her from the case and placed her on a table4 ,we unwound the silk paper4 ,nefertete was unharmed1 and as bewitching as ever4 ,she was well named3 8,the beautiful one is here40 ,while we studied her from every angle1 ,joe recounted the story of the ,nefertete1 her discovery and subsequent abduction to ,berlin4 ,she was the wife of ,akhnaton1 enlightened ,pharaoh of the fourteenth century ,b4,c4 ,this portrait of her was excavated in the winter of #aiab by ,dr4 ,ludwig ,borchardt1 famous ,german ,egyptologist1 on the site of ,tel-el-,amarna1 ,akhnaton's capital4 ,in compliance with the regulations of the ,egyptian ,government1 ,borchardt submitted a list of his finds at ,tel-el-,amarna to ,m4 ,maspero of the ,cairo ,museum4 ,according to the story1 ,maspero merely glanced at the list1 to make certain that a fifty-fifty division had been made1 and did not actually examine the items4 ,the head was taken to ,berlin and placed in storage until after the first ,world ,war4 ,when it was placed on exhibition in #aibj1 the ,egyptian ,government protested loudly that ,dr4 ,borchardt had deceived the authorities of the ,cairo ,museum and demanded the immediate return of the head4 7,the ,egyptian ,government was again pressing its claim in ,march #aidf47 ,after replacing ,nefertete in her case1 ,joe showed the colonel the collection of rare medieval treasures1 including those of the ,guelph ,family--patens1 chalices and reliquaries of exquisite workmanship dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries4 ,with a fine sense of showmanship he saved the most spectacular piece till the last3 the famous ,crown of ,st4 ,stephen1 the first ,christian king of ,hungary1 crowned by the ,pope in the year #ajjj4 ,it was adorned with enamel plaques1 bordered with pearls and studded with great uncut gems4 ,joe said there was a difference of opinion among scholars as to the exact date and provenance of the enamels4 ,the crown was surmounted by a bent gold cross4 ,according to ,joe1 the cross had been bent for four hundred years and would never be straightened4 ,during the sixteenth century1 the safety of the crown was endangered4 ,it was entrusted to the care of a ,hungarian noblewoman1 who concealed it in a compartment under the seat of her carriage4 ,the space was small and when the lid was closed and weighted down by the occupant of the carriage1 the cross got bent4 ,the ,hungarian coronation regalia included three other pieces3 a sword1 an orb1 and a scepter4 ,the scepter was extremely beautiful4 ,the stalk was of rich gold filigree and terminated in a spherical ornament of carved rock crystal4 ,the regalia was kept in a specially constructed iron trunk with three locks1 the keys to which were entrusted to three different nobles4 ,at the close of the present war1 ,american troops apprehended a ,hungarian officer with the trunk4 ,perhaps he was trying to safeguard the regalia as his predecessor in the sixteenth century had done4 ,in any case1 the ,american authorities thought they'd better relieve him of that grave responsibility4 ,illustration3 ,the ,hungarian ,crown ,jewels4 ,left1 the scepter4 ,center1 the celebrated ,crown of ,st4 ,stephen4 ,right1 the sword4 ,these priceless treasures fell into the hands of the ,american authorities in ,germany at the war's close4 ,illustration3 ,view of the ,treasure ,room at the ,central ,collecting ,point1 ,wiesbaden1 showing treasures stolen from ,polish churches4 ,illustration3 ,the celebrated ,egyptian sculpture1 ,queen ,nefertete1 formerly in the ,berlin ,museum1 discovered in the ,merkers salt mine4 ,a few days after our visit to ,wiesbaden with ,colonel ,kluss1 ,i received a letter from home enclosing a clipping from the ,december #g edition of the ,new ,york ,times4 ,the clipping read as follows3 #hj1jjj1jjj ,,paintings ,,arrive ,,from ,,europe ,,on ,,army ,,transport ,a valuable store of art1 said to consist entirely of paintings worth upward of #hj1jjj1jjj1 arrived here last night from ,europe in the holds of the ,army transport ,james ,parker4 ,where the paintings came from and where they are going was a mystery1 and no ,army officer on the pier at ,forty-fourth ,street and ,north ,river1 where the ,parker docked with #b1dhc service passengers1 would discuss the shipment1 or even admit it was on board4 ,it was learned elsewhere that a special detail of ,army officers was on the ship during the night to take charge of the consignment1 which will be unloaded today4 ,unusual precautions were taken to keep the arrival of the paintings secret4 ,the canvases were included in more than forty crates and were left untouched during the night under lock and key4 ,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 countries4 ,the ,white ,house announced in ,washington two months ago that shipments of art would be brought here for safekeeping1 to be kept in 8trust0 for the rightful owners1 and the ,national ,gallery of ,art1 through its chairman1 ,chief ,justice ,harlan ,fiske ,stone1 was asked to provide storage and protection for the works while they are in this country4 ,the gallery is equipped with controlled ventilation and expert personnel for the storage and handling of such works4 ,the ,white ,house announcement gave no listing of the paintings1 but it is known that among the vast stores seized1 including caches in ,italy as well as ,germany1 and ,hermann ,goering's famous #bjj1jjj1jjj art collection1 were included many of the world's art treasures and works of the masters4 ,by coincidence1 ,i received that same day a copy of the ,new ,york ,times ,overseas ,weekly edition of ,december #i1 which carried substantially the same story1 except for the fact that it stated unequivocally that the paintings shipped to ,america were ,nazi loot4 ,edith and ,i were gravely disturbed by the inaccuracy of the statements in these articles4 ,our concern was increased by the fact that the articles had appeared in so reliable a publication as the ,times4 ,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 sail8#e ,and why all the mystery8 ,i reread the ,december #g clipping4 ,to me there was the implication that we were shipping loot in wholesale lots to the ,united ,states4 ,that would be alarming news to the countries whose stolen art works we were already returning as rapidly as possible4 ,the ,times story most emphatically called for a correction4 ,but if a statement from our office were sent through channels1 it probably wouldn't reach ,new ,york before ,easter4 ,edith looked up from her work4 ,there was a glint in her eye4 ,she asked1 8,will you do me a favor8 ,i'd like to write the letter of correction40 ,i told her to go ahead4 ,ten minutes later she showed me the rough draft4 ,it covered all the points4 ,i reworked a phrase here and there but made no important changes and1 as soon as it was typed and cleared1 ,i signed and mailed it4 ,as published in the ,new ,york ,times two weeks later1 on ,january #b1 #aidf1 the letter read as follows3 ,,to ,,the ,,editor ,,of ,,the ,,new ,,york ,,times ,on ,dec4 #g ,the ,times printed a report to the effect that #hj1jjj1jjj worth of paintings1 presumably from the stores of art objects stolen by the ,nazis1 had arrived from ,europe in the ,army transport ,james ,parker4 ,your ,overseas ,weekly edition of ,dec4 #i repeated this information but stated categorically that the paintings were ,nazi loot4 ,it is true that the ,james ,parker brought to ,america some #bjj paintings of inestimable value1 but none of them is loot or of dubious ownership4 ,they are the property of the ,kaiser ,friedrich ,museum in ,berlin4 ,a press release from the ,office of ,military ,government for ,germany 7,u4,s471 dated ,nov4 #bd1 states that these 8priceless ,german-owned paintings1 which might suffer irreparable damage if left in ,germany through the winter1 have been selected for temporary storage in the ,united ,states4 ,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 ,germany4 ,the ,united ,states ,government has promised their return to the ,german people40 ,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 speed4 ,since the restitution in ,august of the famous van ,eyck altarpiece1 8,the ,mystic ,lamb10 to ,belgium1 a steady stream of paintings1 sculpture1 fine furniture and other art objects has poured from the highly organized collecting points of the ,united ,states ,zone to the liberated countries4 ,few1 if any1 looted works of art of any importance are of unknown origin2 and though1 among the vast masses of material taken from the ,jews and other 8enemies of the state0 for what was always described as 8safekeeping0 there will undoubtedly be many pieces whose ownership will be difficult to determine1 it appears unlikely that these will be found to be of great value4 ,the shipment of ,german-owned paintings to the ,united ,states is thus a project entirely separate from the main objectives of the ,monuments1 ,fine ,arts and ,archives ,section of the ,office of ,military ,government--namely1 the restitution of loot and the re-establishment of the ,german museums and other cultural organizations4 ,to confuse this shipment1 which was directed by the highest national authority1 with what is now the routine work of preservation1 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 ,americans4 ,thomas ,c4 ,howe ,jr4 ,lieut4 ,comdr41 ,,usnr1 ,deputy ,chief2 ,director on ,leave1 ,california ,palace of the ,legion of ,honor1 ,san ,francisco4 ,european ,theatre1 ,dec4 #ah1 #aide4 ,the main objectives of the ,monuments1 ,fine ,arts and ,archives ,section of ,american ,military ,government in ,germany were defined in my letter to the ,new ,york ,times as 8the restitution of loot and the re-establishment of the ,german museums and other cultural institutions40 ,honorable and constructive objectives4 ,and1 as expressed in that letter1 unequivocal and reassuring both to the liberated countries of ,europe and to the ,germans4 ,yet how difficult of attainment6 ,how difficult even to keep those objectives clearly in mind when confronted simultaneously--as our officers often were--with a dozen problems of equal urgency6 ,at close range it was impossible to look objectively at the overall record of our accomplishments4 ,but homeward bound in ,february ,i had that opportunity4 ,the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together and the picture took shape4 ,it was possible to determine to what extent we have realized our objectives4 ,so far as restitution is concerned1 the record has been a success4 ,during the summer months our energies were devoted to obvious preliminary preparations4 ,they included the establishment of ,central ,collecting ,points at ,munich1 ,marburg and ,wiesbaden4 ,immediately thereafter1 the contents of art repositories in the ,american ,zone were removed to those central depots4 ,the ,central ,collecting ,points1 organized and directed by ,monuments officers with museum experience1 were staffed with trained personnel from ,german museums4 ,the one at ,munich was primarily reserved for looted art1 since the majority of the cultural booty was found in ,bavaria4 ,the ,collecting ,points at ,wiesbaden and ,marburg1 on the other hand1 housed ,german-owned collections brought from repositories in which storage conditions were unsatisfactory4 ,the process of actual restitution was inaugurated by token restitutions in the name of ,general ,eisenhower to ,belgium1 ,holland1 ,france and ,czechoslovakia4 ,circumstances beyond our control postponed similar gestures of good will to ,poland and ,greece4 ,representatives of the liberated countries were invited to the ,american ,zone to identify and remove the loot from the collecting points4 ,according to late reports1 the restitution of loot was continuing without interruption4 ,shortly after my return1 there were disquieting rumors of drastic reductions in ,american personnel connected with cultural restitution in ,germany4 ,i earnestly hope that these rumors are without foundation4 ,such reductions would be disastrous to the completion of a program which has reflected so creditably on our government4 ,the re-establishment of ,german museums and other cultural institutions--our second main objective--has been1 to a large extent1 sacrificed in the interests of restitution4 ,this brings up again the urgent need for the immediate replenishment of our dwindling ,fine ,arts personnel in ,germany4 ,our moral responsibility for the continuation of this phase of the ,,mfa,a program is a grave one4 ,it was understandably neglected during the first six months of our occupation in ,germany4 ,and it would be unfair to argue that the ,british have far outdistanced us in this field4 ,that they have done so is undeniably true4 ,however1 the ,british found but little loot in their zone4 ,consequently1 they have been able to make rapid strides in the reconstitution of ,german collections and cultural institutions1 while we have been preoccupied with restitution4 ,notwithstanding that preoccupation1 our ,monuments officers were instrumental in arranging a series of impressive exhibitions of ,german-owned masterpieces4 ,the first of these was held at ,marburg in ,november #aide4 ,a second and more ambitious show1 which included many of the finest treasures of the ,bavarian ,state ,galleries1 opened at ,munich in ,january #aidf4 ,a third1 comprising paintings and sculptures from the museums of ,berlin and ,frankfurt1 was presented at ,wiesbaden in ,february4 ,all these exhibitions were accompanied by catalogues with ,german and ,english texts4 ,those of ,munich and ,wiesbaden were lavishly illustrated4 ,the ,munich catalogue contained several plates showing the rooms in which the exhibition was held--lofty1 spacious galleries recalling the marble halls of our own ,national ,gallery at ,washington4 ,at the time of my departure from ,germany1 little was known of ,french and ,russian procedures with regard to cultural rehabilitation in their respective zones of occupation4 ,their ,military ,governments have made provisions for personnel capable of carrying on work similar to ours and that of the ,british4 ,the caliber of the men drawn into the project from all branches of our ,armed ,forces has been cited as an important factor in the success of the ,monuments1 ,fine ,arts and ,archives program4 ,i would like to cite another factor which ,i consider equally important3 ,there was no arbitrary drafting of personnel2 participation was voluntary4 ,the resulting spontaneity and its value to the spirit of the work cannot be exaggerated4 ,,appendix ,,appendix ,the following is the complete list of the paintings transferred from ,germany and now stored at the ,national ,gallery1 according to its ,news ,release of ,december #ad1 #aide3 ,albrecht ,altdorfer3 ,rest on the ,flight into ,egypt ,albrecht ,altdorfer3 ,landscape with ,satyr ,family ,albrecht ,altdorfer3 ,nativity ,albrecht ,altdorfer3 ,christ's ,farewell to ,his ,apostles ,christoph ,amberger3 ,cosmographer ,sebastian ,mnster ,jacopo ,amigioni3 ,lady as ,diana ,fra ,angelico3 ,last ,judgment ,austrian ,master 7ca4 #adjj73 ,christ1 ,madonna1 ,st4 ,john ,austrian ,master 7ca4 #adaj73 ,crucifixion ,hans ,baldung ,grien3 ,altar of ,halle ,hans ,baldung ,grien3 ,graf von ,lwenstein ,hans ,baldung ,grien3 ,piet ,hans ,baldung ,grien3 ,pyramus and ,thisbe ,giovanni ,bellini3 ,the ,resurrection ,bohemian 7ca4 #acej73 ,glatyer ,madonna ,hieronymus ,bosch3 ,st4 ,john on ,patmos ,botticelli3 ,giuliano de ,medici1 and frame ,botticelli3 ,madonna of the ,lilies ,botticelli3 ,st4 ,sebastian ,botticelli3 ,simonetta ,vespucci ,botticelli3 ,venus ,dirk ,bouts3 ,madonna and ,child ,dirk ,bouts3 ,virgin in ,adoration ,peter ,breughel3 ,dutch ,proverbs ,peter ,breughel3 ,two ,monkeys ,angelo ,bronzino3 ,portrait of a ,young ,man ,angelo ,bronzino3 ,portrait of a ,young ,man ,angelo ,bronzino3 ,ugolino ,martelli ,hans ,burgkmair3 ,holy ,family ,giovanni ,battista ,caracciolo3 ,cosmos and ,damian ,caravaggio3 ,cupid as ,victor ,vittore ,carpaccio3 ,entombment of ,christ ,andrea del ,castagno3 ,assumption of the ,virgin ,chardin3 ,the ,draughtsman ,chardin3 ,still ,life ,petrus ,christus3 ,portrait of a ,girl ,petrus ,christus3 ,st4 ,barbara and a ,carthusian ,monk ,joos van ,cleve3 ,young ,man ,cologne ,master 7ca4 #adjj73 ,life of ,christ ,cologne ,master 7ca4 #acej73 ,madonna ,enthroned1 ,crucifixion ,correggio3 ,leda and the ,swan ,francesco ,cossa3 ,allegory of ,autumn ,lucas ,cranach1 the ,elder3 ,frau ,reuss ,lucas ,cranach1 the ,elder3 ,lucretia ,lucas ,cranach1 the ,elder3 ,rest on the ,flight into ,egypt ,daumier3 ,don ,quixote ,piero di ,cosimo3 ,mars1 ,venus and ,cupid ,lorenzo di ,credi3 ,young ,girl ,albrecht ,drer3 ,madonna ,albrecht ,drer3 ,madonna with the ,goldfinch ,albrecht ,drer3 ,young ,woman ,albrecht ,drer3 ,hieronymus ,holzschuher ,albrecht ,drer3 ,cover for ,portrait of ,hieronymus ,holzschuher ,adam ,elsheimer3 ,the ,drunkenness of ,noah ,adam ,elsheimer3 ,holy ,family ,adam ,elsheimer3 ,landscape with the ,weeping ,magdalene ,adam ,elsheimer3 ,st4 ,christopher ,jean ,fouquet3 ,etienne ,chevalier with ,st4 ,stephen ,french 7ca4 #adjj73 ,coronation of the ,virgin ,french ,master 7ca4 #adjj73 ,triptych ,geertgen tot ,sint ,jans3 ,john the ,baptist ,geertgen tot ,sint ,jans3 ,madonna ,giorgione3 ,portrait of a ,young ,man ,giotto3 ,death of the ,virgin ,jan ,gossaert3 ,baudouin de ,bourbon ,jan ,gossaert3 ,christ on the ,mount of ,olives ,francesco ,guardi3 ,the ,balloon ,ascension ,francesco ,guardi3 ,st4 ,mark's ,piazza in ,venice ,francesco ,guardi3 ,piazzetta in ,venice ,frans ,hals3 ,hille ,bobbe ,frans ,hals3 ,nurse and ,child ,frans ,hals3 ,portrait of a ,young ,man ,frans ,hals3 ,portrait of a ,young ,woman ,frans ,hals3 ,singing ,boy ,frans ,hals3 ,tyman ,oosdorp ,meindert ,hobbema3 ,landscape ,hans ,holbein3 ,george ,giesze ,hans ,holbein3 ,old ,man ,hans ,holbein3 ,portrait of a ,man ,pieter de ,hooch3 ,the ,mother ,pieter de ,hooch3 ,party of ,officers and ,ladies ,willem ,kalf3 ,still ,life ,willem ,kalf3 ,still ,life ,philips ,konninck3 ,dutch ,landscape ,georges de la ,tour3 ,st4 ,sebastian ,filippino ,lippi3 ,allegory of ,music ,fra ,filippo ,lippi3 ,adoration of the ,child ,pietro ,lorenzetti3 ,st4 ,humilitas ,raises a ,nun ,pietro ,lorenzetti3 ,death of ,st4 ,humilitas ,claude ,lorrain3 ,italian ,coast ,scene ,lorenzo ,lotto3 ,christ's ,farewell to ,his ,mother ,bastiano ,mainardi3 ,portrait of a ,man ,manet3 ,in the ,winter ,garden ,andrea ,mantegna3 ,cardinal ,mezzarota ,andrea ,mantegna3 ,presentation in the ,temple ,simon ,mannion3 ,altar of ,st4 ,omer 7two panels7 ,simone ,martini3 ,burial of ,christ ,masaccio3 ,birth ,platter ,masaccio3 ,three ,predelle ,masaccio3 ,four ,saints ,quentin ,massys3 ,the ,magdalene ,master of the ,darmstadt ,passion3 ,altar ,wings ,master of ,flmalle3 ,crucifixion ,master of ,flmalle3 ,portrait of a ,man ,master of the ,virgo inter ,virgines3 ,adoration of the ,kings ,hans ,memling3 ,madonna ,enthroned with ,angels ,hans ,memling3 ,madonna ,enthroned ,hans ,memling3 ,madonna and ,child ,lippo ,memmi3 ,madonna and ,child ,antonello da ,messina3 ,portrait of a ,man ,jan ,mostaert3 ,portrait of a ,man ,aelbert ,ouwater3 ,raising of ,lazarus ,palma ,vecchio3 ,portrait of a ,man ,palma ,vecchio3 ,young ,woman ,giovanni ,paolo ,pannini3 ,colosseum4 ,giovanni di ,paolo3 ,christ on the ,cross ,giovanni di ,paolo3 ,legend of ,st4 ,clara ,joachim ,patinir3 ,rest on the ,flight into ,egypt ,sebastiano del ,piombo3 ,roman ,matron ,sebastiano del ,piombo3 ,knight of the ,order of ,st4 ,james ,antonio ,pollaiuolo3 ,david ,nicolas ,poussin3 ,st4 ,matthew ,nicolas ,poussin3 ,amaltea ,raphael3 ,madonna ,diotalevi ,raphael3 ,madonna ,terranova ,raphael3 ,solly ,madonna ,rembrandt3 ,landscape with ,bridge ,rembrandt3 ,john the ,baptist ,rembrandt3 ,joseph and ,potiphar's ,wife ,rembrandt3 ,vision of ,daniel ,rembrandt3 ,moses ,breaking the ,tablets of the ,law ,rembrandt3 ,susanna and the ,elders ,rembrandt3 ,tobias and the ,angel ,rembrandt3 ,minerva ,rembrandt3 ,rape of ,proserpina ,rembrandt3 ,self ,portrait ,rembrandt3 ,hendrickje ,stoffels ,rembrandt3 ,man with ,gold ,helmet ,rembrandt3 ,old ,man with ,red ,hat ,rembrandt3 ,rabbi ,rembrandt3 ,saskia ,rubens3 ,landscape 7shipwreck of ,aeneas7 ,rubens3 ,st4 ,cecilia ,rubens3 ,madonna ,enthroned with ,saints ,rubens3 ,andromeda ,rubens3 ,perseus and ,andromeda ,rubens3 ,isabella ,brandt ,jacob van ,ruysdael3 ,view of ,haarlem ,andrea ,sacchi7873 ,allesandro del ,boro ,sassetta3 ,legend of ,st4 ,francis ,sassetta3 ,mass of ,st4 ,francis ,martin ,schongauer3 ,nativity ,seghers3 ,landscape ,luca ,signorelli3 ,three ,saints 7altar wing7 ,luca ,signorelli3 ,three ,saints 7altar wing7 ,luca ,signorelli3 ,portrait of a ,man ,francesco ,squarcione3 ,madonna and ,child ,jan ,steen3 ,inn ,garden ,jan ,steen3 ,the ,christening ,bernardo ,strozzi3 ,judith ,gerard ,terborch3 ,the ,concert ,gerard ,terborch3 ,paternal ,advice ,giovanni ,battista ,tiepolo3 ,carrying of the ,cross ,giovanni ,battista ,tiepolo3 ,st4 ,agatha ,giovanni ,battista ,tiepolo3 ,rinaldo and ,armida ,tintoretto3 ,doge ,mocenigo ,tintoretto3 ,old ,man ,titian3 ,venus with ,organ ,player ,titian3 ,self ,portrait ,titian3 ,lavinia ,titian3 ,portrait of a ,young ,man ,titian3 ,child of the ,strozzi ,family ,cosma ,tura3 ,st4 ,christopher ,cosma ,tura3 ,st4 ,sebastian ,adriaen van der ,velde3 ,the ,farm ,roger ,van der ,weyden3 ,altar with ,scenes from the ,life of ,mary ,roger ,van der ,weyden3 ,johannes-alter ,altar with ,scenes from the ,life of ,john the ,baptist ,roger ,van der ,weyden3 ,bladelin ,altar ,roger ,van der ,weyden3 ,portrait of a ,woman ,roger ,van der ,weyden3 ,charles the ,bold ,jan ,van ,eyck3 ,crucifixion ,jan ,van ,eyck3 ,madonna in the ,church ,jan ,van ,eyck3 ,giovanni ,arnolfini ,jan ,van ,eyck3 ,man with a ,pink ,jan ,van ,eyck3 ,knight of the ,golden ,fleece ,lucas van ,leyden3 ,chess ,players ,lucas van ,leyden3 ,madonna and ,child ,velsquez3 ,countess ,olivares ,domenico ,veneziano3 ,adoration of the ,kings ,domenico ,veneziano3 ,martyrdom of ,st4 ,lucy ,domenico ,veneziano3 ,portrait of a ,young ,woman ,vermeer3 ,young ,woman with a ,pearl ,necklace ,vermeer3 ,man and ,woman ,drinking ,wine ,andrea del ,verrocchio3 ,madonna and ,child ,andrea del ,verrocchio3 ,madonna and ,child ,watteau3 ,fte ,champtre ,watteau3 ,french ,comedians ,watteau3 ,italian ,comedians ,westphalian ,master 7ca4 #abej73 ,triptych ,konrad ,witz3 ,crucifixion ,konrad ,witz3 ,allegory of ,redemption ,on ,january #ae1 #aidf1 ,mr4 ,rensselaer ,w4 ,lee1 ,president of the ,college ,art ,association of ,america1 sent the following letter to the ,secretary of ,state3 ,my dear ,mr4 ,secretary3 ,the members of the ,college ,art ,association of ,america1 a constituent member of the ,american ,council of ,learned ,societies1 have been disturbed by the removal to this country of works of art from ,berlin museums4 ,information that we have received from abroad leads us to believe that the integrity of ,united ,states policy has been questioned as a result of this action4 ,we have also been informed that adequate facilities and ,american personnel now exist in the ,american zone in ,germany to assure the proper care of art treasures in that area4 ,we would therefore urge that the department of ,state clarify this action1 and would strongly recommend that assurances be given that no further shipments are contemplated4 ,copies of this letter were sent to members of the ,american ,commission for the ,protection and ,salvage of ,artistic and ,historic ,monuments in ,war ,areas4 ,the ,state ,department replied on ,january #be3 ,my ,dear ,mr4 ,lee3 ,your letter of ,january #ae1 urging the ,department to clarify the action taken in removing to the ,united ,states certain works of art from ,german museums1 has been received4 ,in the absence of the ,secretary1 ,i am replying to your letter and am glad to give you additional information on this question4 ,the decision to remove these works of art to this country was made on the basis of a statement by ,general ,clay that he did not have adequate facilities and personnel to safeguard ,german art treasures and that he could not undertake the responsibility of their proper care4 ,you indicated in your letter that you have been informed that adequate facilities and personnel now exist in the ,american zone for the protection of these art treasures4 ,i must inform you that our information1 based upon three separate investigations1 is precisely to the contrary4 ,the redeployment program has1 as you no doubt realize1 reduced ,american personnel in ,germany and this reduction is applied to arts and monuments and this personnel as well as to other branches4 ,the coal situation in ,germany is critical and has made it impossible to provide heat for the museums4 ,general ,clay cannot be expected to provide heat for the museums if that means taking it away from ,american forces1 from hospitals1 or from essential utility needs4 ,we are furthermore advised that the security situation was not such as to ensure adequate protection in ,germany4 ,in short1 the ,department's information is such that it cannot agree with your premise4 ,it was realized that the 8integrity of ,united ,states policy0 might be questioned by some if these works of art were removed to this country4 ,after a careful review of the facts1 it was decided that the most important aspect was to safeguard these priceless treasures by bringing them to this country where they could be properly cared for4 ,it was hoped that the ,president's pledge that they would be returned to ,germany would satisfy those who might be critical of this ,government's motives4 ,sincerely yours1 ,for the ,acting ,secretary of ,state3 ,james ,w4 ,riddleberger ,chief1 ,division of ,central ,european ,affairs#f ,in ,april the author of this book received from ,frederick ,mortimer ,clapp1 director of the ,frick ,collection1 ,new ,york1 the following letter regarding the removal of ,german-owned works of art to this country4 ,a copy of the resolution which accompanied this letter and a list of those who subsequently signed the resolution are also printed below4 #a ,east #gjth ,street ,new ,york #ba1 ,new ,york ,april #bd1 #aidf ,dear ,since we believe that it is impossible to defend on technical1 political or moral grounds the decision to ship to this country two hundred internationally known and extremely valuable pictures belonging indisputably1 by prewar gift or purchase1 to ,german institutions1 notably the ,kaiser ,friedrich ,museum of ,berlin1 we propose to memorialize the ,president in a resolution to be signed by a group of like-minded people interested in or associated with the arts4 ,we also intend to point out that no reason can be found for even temporarily alienating these works of art from the country to which legally they belong4 ,we represent no organized movement or institution4 ,we merely wish as ,american citizens to go on record by appealing to our government to set right an ill considered action arising from an error of judgment which1 however disinterested in intention1 has already done much to weaken our national condemnation of ,german sequestrations of the artistic heritage or possessions of other nations under the subterfuge of 8protective custody10 or openly as loot4 ,the moral foundations of our war effort and final victories will be subtly undermined if we1 who understand the implications1 pass over in silence an action taken by our own officials that1 in outward appearance at least cannot be distinguished from those1 detestable to all right thinking people1 which the ,nazis' policy of pillage inspired and condoned4 ,the ,monuments ,officers attached to our armed forces with their specialized knowledge of the practical risks involved unanimously condemned the decision4 ,those ,americans whose profession it is to study and preserve old paintings deplore it4 ,on ethical grounds it is disapproved by the opinion of enlightened laymen4 ,we therefore consider the protest we will make to be our plain and simple duty1 for it is our considered judgment that no explanation or excuse acceptable to the public conscience can be found for sending fragile old masters across the sea to this country4 ,the physical hazards1 the momentous responsibilities and the intellectual ambiguities inherent in such an act are only too grossly evident4 ,the historical repercussions that will follow it can be imagined in the light of past situations of a similar kind4 ,it is well known that the ,nazis inculcated in the ,german mind a fanatical belief that we are destructive barbarians4 ,all future deterioration of these pictures will now1 rightly or wrongly1 be laid at our door4 ,we should be glad if you would care to join us and others1 who have already expressed to us their sense of the unjustified impropriety of the action to which we refer in demanding the immediate return to ,germany of these panels and canvasses1 the cancellation of all plans to exhibit them in this country and the countermanding at once of any contemplated further shipments4 ,the text of the proposed resolution is enclosed4 ,as one of the principal reasons for submitting it to our government is to forestall further action of a similar kind with reference to pictures or objects of art belonging to ,german museums1 as well as to rectify the existing situation1 may ,i earnestly request you to signify your approval1 if you are so minded1 by signing the resolution and returning it to me before ,may #f4 ,sincerely yours1 ,signed3 ,,frederick ,,mortimer ,,clapp4 ,on ,may #i1 #aidf1 ,dr4 ,clapp and ,mrs4 ,juliana ,force1 director of the ,whitney ,museum1 sent ,president ,truman the following resolution1 a copy of which was enclosed with the above letter3 ,,resolution ,,whereas in all civilized countries one of the most significant public reactions during the recent war was the horrified indignation caused by the surreptitious or brazen looting of works of art by ,german officials in countries they had conquered2 ,,and ,,whereas that indignation and abhorrence on the part of free peoples was a powerful ingredient in the ardor and unanimity of their support of the war effort of democratically governed states in which the private opinions of citizens are the source and controlling directive of official action2 ,,and ,,whereas two hundred important and valuable pictures belonging to the ,kaiser ,friedrich and other ,berlin museums have been removed from ,germany and sent to this country on the still unestablished ground of ensuring their safety2 ,,and ,,whereas it is apparent that disinterested and intelligent people believe that this action cannot be justified on technical1 political or moral grounds and that many1 including the ,germans themselves1 may find it hard to distinguish between the resultant situation and the 8protective custody0 used by the ,nazis as a camouflage for the sequestration of the artistic treasures of other countries2 ,,be ,,it ,,therefore ,,resolved that we1 the undersigned1 respectfully request the ,president to order the immediate safe return to ,germany of the aforesaid paintings1 the cancellation of any plans that may have been made to exhibit them in this country and the countermanding without delay of any further shipments of the kind that may have been contemplated4 ,this resolution was signed by3 ,abbott1 ,jere ,director ,smith ,college ,museum of ,art ,northampton1 ,mass4 ,abbott1 ,john ,e4 ,executive ,vice-,president ,the ,museum of ,modern ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4,y4 ,adams1 ,philip ,r4 ,director ,cincinnati ,museum ,cincinnati1 ,ohio ,barber1 ,professor ,leila ,vassar ,college ,poughkeepsie1 ,n4 ,y4 ,baker1 ,c4 ,h4 ,collins ,henry ,e4 ,huntington ,library and ,art ,gallery ,san ,marino1 ,calif4 ,barr1 ,alfred ,h4 ,the ,museum of ,modern ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,barzun1 ,jacques ,history ,department ,columbia ,university ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,baur1 ,john ,i4 ,h4 ,curator of ,painting ,brooklyn ,museum ,brooklyn1 ,n4 ,y4 ,biebel1 ,franklin ,assistant to ,director ,frick ,collection ,new ,york1 ,n4,y4 ,breeskin1 ,mrs4 ,adelyn ,acting ,director ,baltimore ,museum of ,art ,baltimore1 ,md4 ,burdell1 ,dr4 ,edwin ,s4 ,director ,the ,cooper ,union ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,chase1 ,elizabeth ,editor 8,bulletin0 ,yale ,university ,art ,gallery ,new ,haven1 ,conn4 ,claflin1 ,professor ,agnes ,rindge ,vassar ,college ,poughkeepsie1 ,n4 ,y4 ,clapp1 ,frederick ,mortimer ,director ,frick ,collection ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,cole1 ,grover ,instructor in ,ceramics ,university of ,michigan ,ann ,arbor1 ,mich4 ,cook1 ,walter ,w4 ,s4 ,chairman ,institute of ,fine ,arts ,new ,york ,university1 ,n4 ,y4 ,courier1 ,miss ,elodie ,dir4 of ,circulating ,exhibitions ,the ,museum of ,modern ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,crosby1 ,dr4 ,sumner ,assistant ,professor1 ,history of ,art ,yale ,university ,new ,haven1 ,conn4 ,cunningham1 ,charles ,c4 ,director ,wadsworth ,atheneum ,hartford1 ,conn4 ,dawson1 ,john ,p4 ,professor of ,law ,university of ,michigan ,ann ,arbor1 ,mich4 ,faisan1 ,professor ,lane1 ,jr4 ,williams ,college ,williamstown1 ,mass4 ,faunce1 ,wayne ,m4 ,vice-,director ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,fisher1 ,h4 ,h4 ,hoover ,library ,stanford ,university ,palo ,alto1 ,calif4 ,force1 ,mrs4 ,juliana ,director ,whitney ,museum of ,american ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,goodrich1 ,lloyd ,research ,curator ,whitney ,museum of ,american ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,gores1 ,walter ,j4 ,professor and ,chairman of ,design ,university of ,michigan ,ann ,arbor1 ,mich4 ,haight1 ,mary ,n4 ,assistant ,curator of ,ancient ,art ,yale ,university ,art ,gallery ,new ,haven1 ,conn4 ,hamilton1 ,george ,heard ,curator of ,paintings ,yale ,university ,art ,gallery ,new ,haven1 ,conn4 ,hamlin1 ,talbot ,f4 ,librarian1 ,avery ,architectural ,library ,columbia ,university ,new ,york1 ,n4,y4 ,hammett1 ,ralph ,w4 ,professor of ,architecture ,university of ,michigan ,ann ,arbor1 ,mich4 ,hancock1 ,walter ,director of ,sculpture ,pennsylvania ,academy of the ,fine ,arts ,philadelphia1 ,pa4 ,hayes1 ,bartlett ,h41 ,jr4 ,director ,addison ,gallery of ,american ,art ,andover1 ,mass4 ,hebran1 ,jean ,professor of ,architecture ,university of ,michigan ,ann ,arbor1 ,mich4 ,helm1 ,miss ,florence ,old ,merchant's ,house ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,howe1 ,thomas ,carr1 ,jr4 ,director ,california ,palace of the ,legion of ,honor ,san ,francisco1 ,calif4 ,hudnut1 ,joseph ,dean ,graduate ,school of ,architecture ,harvard ,university ,cambridge1 ,mass4 ,hume1 ,samuel ,j4 ,director ,berkeley ,art ,association ,berkeley1 ,calif4 ,ivins1 ,william ,m41 ,jr4 ,counselor and ,curator of ,prints ,the ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4,y4 ,janson1 ,h4 ,w4 ,assistant ,professor ,department of ,art and ,archaeology ,washington ,university ,st4 ,louis1 ,mo4 ,jewell1 ,henry ,a4 ,department of ,art and ,archaeology ,princeton ,university ,princeton1 ,n4 ,j4 ,kaufmann1 ,edgar ,curator of ,industrial ,art ,the ,museum of ,modern ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4,y4 ,keck1 ,sheldon ,restorer ,the ,brooklyn ,museum ,brooklyn1 ,n4 ,y4 ,kirby1 ,john ,c4 ,assistant ,administrator ,walters ,gallery ,baltimore1 ,md4 ,kirstein1 ,lincoln ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,kubler1 ,professor ,george ,yale ,university ,new ,haven1 ,conn4 ,lee1 ,rensselaer ,w4 ,princeton1 ,n4 ,j4 ,marceau1 ,henri ,assistant ,director ,philadelphia ,museum of ,art ,philadelphia1 ,pa4 ,mcllhenny1 ,henry ,curator of ,decorative ,arts ,philadelphia ,museum of ,art ,philadelphia1 ,pa4 ,mc,mahon1 ,a4 ,philip ,chairman ,fine ,arts ,department ,washington ,square ,college ,new ,york ,university ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,meeks1 ,everett ,v4 ,dean ,yale ,school of the ,fine ,arts ,new ,haven1 ,conn4 ,meiss1 ,millard ,professor ,columbia ,university ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,miner1 ,miss ,dorothy ,e4 ,librarian ,walters ,gallery ,baltimore1 ,md4 ,more1 ,hermon ,curator ,whitney ,museum of ,american ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,morley1 ,dr4 ,grace ,mc,cann ,director ,san ,francisco ,museum of ,art ,san ,francisco1 ,calif4 ,morse1 ,john ,d4 ,editor ,magazine of ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,myer1 ,john ,walden ,assistant ,director ,museum of the ,city of ,new ,york ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,myers1 ,george ,hewitt ,president ,textile ,museum of the ,district of ,columbia ,washington1 ,d4 ,c4 ,nagel1 ,charles1 ,jr4 ,director ,the ,brooklyn ,museum ,brooklyn1 ,n4 ,y4 ,o',connor1 ,john1 ,jr4 ,assistant ,director ,carnegie ,institute ,pittsburgh1 ,pa4 ,packard1 ,miss ,elizabeth ,g4 ,walters ,gallery ,baltimore1 ,md4 ,parker1 ,thomas ,c4 ,director ,american ,federation of ,arts ,washington1 ,d4 ,c4 ,peat1 ,wilbur ,d4 ,director ,john ,herron ,art ,institute ,indianapolis1 ,ind4 ,phillips1 ,john ,marshall ,assistant ,director and ,curator of the ,garvan ,collections ,yale ,university ,art ,gallery ,new ,haven1 ,conn4 ,poland1 ,reginald ,director ,fine ,arts ,society of ,san ,diego ,san ,diego1 ,calif4 ,porter1 ,allen ,secretary ,the ,museum of ,modern ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,porter1 ,vernon ,director ,riverside ,museum ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,post1 ,chandler ,fogg ,museum of ,art ,harvard ,university ,cambridge1 ,mass4 ,rathbone1 ,perry ,t4 ,director ,city ,art ,museum of ,st4 ,louis ,st4 ,louis1 ,mo4 ,reed1 ,henry ,hope ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,rich1 ,daniel ,catton ,director ,the ,art ,institute of ,chicago ,chicago1 ,ill4 ,riefstahl1 ,mrs4 ,elizabeth ,librarian ,wilbour ,egyptological ,library ,the ,brooklyn ,museum ,brooklyn1 ,n4 ,y4 ,ritchie1 ,andrew ,c4 ,director ,albright ,art ,gallery ,buffalo1 ,n4 ,y4 ,robinson1 ,professor ,david ,m4 ,department of ,art and ,archaeology ,johns ,hopkins ,university ,baltimore1 ,md4 ,ross1 ,marvin ,chauncey ,curator of ,medieval ,art ,walters ,gallery ,baltimore1 ,md4 ,rowe1 ,margaret ,t4 ,j4 ,curator ,hobart ,moore ,memorial ,collection ,yale ,university ,art ,gallery ,new ,haven1 ,conn4 ,saint-,gaudens1 ,homer ,director ,carnegie ,institute ,pittsburgh1 ,pa4 ,scholle1 ,hardinge ,director ,museum of the ,city of ,new ,york ,new ,york1 ,n4,y4 ,setze1 ,josephine ,assistant ,curator of ,american ,art ,yale ,university ,art ,gallery ,new ,haven1 ,conn4 ,sexton1 ,eric ,camden1 ,me4 ,shelley1 ,donald ,a4 ,curator of ,paintings ,new ,york ,historical ,society ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,sizer1 ,theodore ,director ,yale ,university ,art ,gallery ,new ,haven1 ,conn4 ,slusser1 ,jean ,paul ,professor of ,painting and ,drawing ,university of ,michigan ,ann ,arbor1 ,mich4 ,smith1 ,professor ,e4 ,baldwin ,department of ,art and ,archaeology ,princeton ,university ,princeton1 ,n4 ,j4 ,soby1 ,james ,thrall ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,spinden1 ,dr4 ,herbert ,j4 ,curator ,indian ,art and ,primitive ,cultures ,the ,brooklyn ,museum ,brooklyn1 ,n4 ,y4 ,sweeney1 ,james ,johnson ,director ,department of ,painting and ,sculpture ,the ,museum of ,modern ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,sweet1 ,frederick ,associate ,curator1 ,painting and ,sculpture ,the ,art ,institute of ,chicago ,chicago1 ,ill4 ,tee ,van1 ,john ,department of ,tropical ,research and ,special ,events ,new ,york ,zoological ,park ,bronx1 ,n4 ,y4 ,vail1 ,r4 ,w4 ,g4 ,director ,new ,york ,historical ,society ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,walker1 ,hudson ,d4 ,president ,american ,federation of ,arts ,new ,york1 ,n4,y4 ,wall1 ,alexander ,j4 ,new ,york ,historical ,society ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,washburn1 ,gordon ,director ,museum of ,art ,rhode ,island ,school of ,design ,providence1 ,r4 ,i4 ,weissman1 ,miss ,polaire ,museum of ,costume ,art ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,wissler1 ,dr4 ,clark ,american ,museum of ,natural ,history ,new ,york1 ,n4 ,y4 ,wind1 ,edgar ,smith ,college ,northampton1 ,mass4 ,york1 ,lewis ,e4 ,chairman ,department of ,painting ,yale ,university ,art ,gallery ,new ,haven1 ,conn4 ,zigrosser1 ,carl ,curator of ,prints and ,drawings ,philadelphia ,museum of ,art ,philadelphia1 ,pa4 ,stoddard1 ,whitney ,s4 ,assistant ,professor of ,history and ,art ,williams ,college ,williamstown1 ,mass4 ,dr4 ,clapp and ,mrs4 ,force subsequently announced that they had received eight additional signatures which arrived too late to be affixed to the original copy of the resolution4 ,they included3 ,frances ,a4 ,comstock1 ,donald ,drew ,egbert1 ,henry ,a4 ,judd1 ,sherley ,w4 ,morgan1 ,richard ,stillwell--all of ,princeton ,university2 ,robert ,tyler ,davis1 ,portland ,museum1 ,portland1 ,maine2 ,frederick ,hartt1 ,acting ,director1 ,smith ,college ,museum of ,art2 and ,george ,rowley1 ,princeton ,museum of ,historic ,art4 ,,statement ,,by ,,the ,,american ,,commission ,,for ,,the ,,protection ,,and ,,salvage ,,of ,,artistic ,,and ,,historic ,,monuments ,,in ,,war ,,areas1 ,,owen ,j4 ,,roberts1 ,,chairman4 ,national ,gallery of ,art1 ,washington #be1 ,d4 ,c4 ,,washington1 ,may #ad1 #aidf3 ,the members of the ,commission have received copies of a resolution signed by ,dr4 ,frederick ,m4 ,clapp1 ,director of the ,frick ,collection2 ,mrs4 ,juliana ,force1 ,director of the ,whitney ,museum of ,american ,art1 and others who criticize the action of the ,united ,states ,government1 taken at the ,direction of the ,president and the ,united ,states ,army ,command in ,germany1 in bringing to this country certain paintings from ,german museums for safekeeping until conditions in ,germany warrant their return4 ,the ,clapp resolution compares the action taken by the ,united ,states ,government to looting operations carried on by the ,nazis during the war4 ,the ,commission has also noted the statements issued by the ,white ,house on ,september #bf1 #aide1 and by the ,war ,department on ,december #f1 #aide1 that the works of art of bona fide ,german ownership1 which may be brought to this country for safekeeping1 will be kept in trust for the ,german people and will be returned to ,germany when conditions there warrant4 ,the ,commission has also noted the statement issued by the late ,chief ,justice ,stone1 ,chairman of the ,board of ,trustees of the ,national ,gallery of ,art1 on ,december #ad1 #aide1 that the ,trustees of the ,national ,gallery1 at the request of the ,secretary of ,state1 had agreed to arrange for the storage space for such paintings as might be brought to this country by the ,united ,states ,army for safekeeping1 and that he felt the ,army 8deserved the highest praise for the care exercised in salvaging these great works of art and in making provisions for their safety until they can be returned to ,germany40 ,the ,commission accepts without reservation the promise of the ,united ,states ,government1 as voiced by its highest officials1 that the works of art belonging to ,german museums and brought to this country for safekeeping1 will be returned to ,germany when conditions there warrant4 ,the ,commission is strongly of the opinion that the resolution sponsored by ,dr4 ,clapp1 ,mrs4 ,force1 and others is without justification and is to be deplored4 ,hon4 ,owen ,j4 ,roberts1 ,chairman ,philadelphia1 ,pennsylvania ,david ,e4 ,finley1 ,vice ,chairman ,director1 ,national ,gallery of ,art ,washington1 ,d4,c4 ,huntington ,cairns1 ,secretary ,secretary1 ,national ,gallery of ,art ,washington1 ,d4,c4 ,dr4 ,william ,bell ,dinsmoor ,columbia ,university1 ,new ,york ,hon4 ,herbert ,h4 ,lehman ,new ,york ,paul ,j4 ,sachs ,professor of ,fine ,arts1 ,harvard ,university ,cambridge1 ,massachusetts ,francis ,cardinal ,spellman ,archbishop of ,new ,york ,francis ,henry ,taylor ,director1 ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art ,new ,york ,the following letters were released on ,june #aj1 #aidf3 ,,the ,,white ,,house ,washington ,may #bb1 #aidf ,dear ,mrs4 ,force3 ,this is in acknowledgment of the letter to the ,president1 signed by yourself and ,dr4 ,frederick ,m4 ,clapp1 ,director1 ,the ,frick ,collection1 with which you enclosed a resolution signed by ninety-five of your colleagues in connection with the two hundred valuable paintings removed from ,germany to this country for safekeeping4 ,these paintings were removed to this country last year on the basis of information to the effect that adequate facilities and personnel to ensure their safekeeping did not exist in ,germany4 ,our military authorities did not feel that they could take the responsibility of safeguarding them under such conditions and it was therefore decided that they would have to be shipped to this country until such time as they could safely be returned to ,germany4 ,it was realized at the time that this action might lead to criticism but it was taken1 nevertheless1 because it was considered that the most important aspect was to safeguard these priceless treasures4 ,it was hoped that the ,president's pledge that they would be returned to ,germany1 contained in a ,white ,house press release on ,september #bf1 #aide1 would satisfy those who might be critical of this ,government's motives4 ,i know of no plans to make any further shipments of art objects from ,germany to the ,united ,states nor of any plans for the exhibition of the two hundred paintings now in this country4 ,while a definite date for the return of these pictures has not as yet been set1 ,i can assure you that this ,government will honor its pledge to effect their return as soon as conditions warrant4 ,very sincerely yours1 7signed7 ,william ,d4 ,hassett ,secretary to the ,president4 ,,department ,,of ,,state ,washington ,may #bb1 #aidf ,my dear ,mrs4 ,force and ,dr4 ,clapp3 ,i have received your letter of ,may #i1 #aidf1 and its enclosed resolution1 signed by #ie of your colleagues1 urging the ,president to order the immediate safe return to ,germany of the #bjj paintings which were brought to this country last year4 ,when these paintings were found by our forces in southern ,germany every effort was made to assure their preservation4 ,it soon became evident that adequate facilities and personnel to ensure their safe keeping could not be guaranteed4 ,consequently our military authorities1 realizing the magnitude of their responsibility in preserving these priceless treasures1 requested that they be relieved of this heavy responsibility and that the paintings be shipped to this country where they could be properly cared for4 ,this ,government reluctantly gave its approval to this request1 knowing that such action would lead to criticism of its motives4 ,the decision was taken because there seemed no other way to ensure preservation of these unique works of art4 ,in order to dispel doubts as to the reasons for this action the ,white ,house released a statement to the press on ,september #bf1 #aide1 which explained the situation and included a pledge that the paintings would be returned to their rightful owners4 ,that pledge still holds good and while a definite date for the return of the paintings to ,germany has not as yet been set1 you may rest assured that this will be done as soon as conditions warrant4 ,the resolution also recommended that plans to exhibit these paintings in this country be cancelled and that further shipments of ,german works of art to this country be countermanded4 ,i have never heard of any plans to make additional shipments of works of art from ,germany to the ,united ,states nor do ,i know of any plans to exhibit the paintings which are now in this country4 ,sincerely yours1 ,for the ,secretary of ,state3 7signed7 ,dean ,acheson ,under ,secretary4 ,following are ,dr4 ,clapp's and ,mrs4 ,force's replies1 also released on ,june #aj3 ,june #c1 #aidf ,my dear ,mr4 ,president3 ,permit us to thank you for your kind attention to the resolution1 signed by us and ninety-five of our colleagues prominent on the staffs of museums or experts in the history and preservation of art1 relative to the shipment to this country of two hundred famous paintings formerly in the ,kaiser ,friedrich and other museums of ,berlin4 ,in addressing the resolution in question to you we felt that we were following the time-honored ,american custom of bringing to our government's attention a consensus of opinion on the part of those who have special practical familiarity with old pictures and personal1 sometimes long1 acquaintance with ,european history and culture in its emotional and intellectual aspects4 ,should you1 in the course of events1 undertake further inquiries into the problem created by the shipment referred to in our resolution1 we shall be happy to be so informed4 ,respectfully yours1 ,june #c1 #aidf ,dear ,mr4 ,hassett3 ,in reply to your letter of the twenty-second permit us to say that should the ,president make further inquiries into the subject covered by our resolution with reference to two hundred pictures selected chiefly from the collections of the ,kaiser ,friedrich ,museum and brought to this country1 we should be pleased to be kept informed4 ,we1 and our ninety-five colleagues in museums and universities who have had long experience with old paintings and are interested in the history and preservation of works of art1 would also be glad to know when the pictures referred to are returned to ,germany since we are as yet uninformed whether the conditions which are held not to warrant their return are of a practical or a political nature4 ,this question obviously cannot but be uppermost in our minds in view of the fact that present conditions in ,germany are apparently such as to warrant leaving there thousands of ,german-owned works of art of great moment which belong not only to the ,kaiser ,friedrich ,museum but to the museums of other cities in the ,american zone1 including the great collection of the ,alte ,pinakothek in ,munich1 where under satisfactory conditions and auspices an exhibition of early ,german art1 including masterpieces by ,drer1 ,grnewald and others1 is now being held4 ,it is in fact one of our perplexities that we have never been told why our officials discriminated against important pictures and art objects 7many times the number of those urgently transported to this country for safekeeping7 which were also formerly in the ,kaiser ,friedrich and other museums1 not forgetting those which were in ,south ,german churches4 ,were they just left to their fate8 ,if it were convenient at any time to pass on to the ,president our continued anxieties on these important points we should be happy to have you do so4 ,sincerely yours1 ,june #c1 #aidf ,dear ,mr4 ,acheson3 ,in reply to your letter of the twenty-second with reference to our resolution supported by the signatures of ninety-five of our colleagues prominent in museums or experts in the history and preservation of old masters and other works of art1 permit us to say that1 in the absence of ,secretary ,byrnes1 we took the liberty of sending you the resolution4 ,we are aware of the statement released by the ,white ,house on ,september #bf1 #aide explaining the situation and promising to return the pictures to ,germany when conditions there should warrant such action4 ,we are1 however1 still uninformed why the unanimous advice of the monuments officers1 who had special training and technical knowledge not only of the conditions required for the preservation of old masters but of the certain dangers to which journeys subject them1 was disregarded4 ,we have also never been told whether the conditions believed to jeopardize the safety of these important pictures were of a practical or of a political nature4 ,neither do we know why1 out of the great and extensive collections of the ,kaiser ,friedrich only two hundred pictures were selected nor by whom the selection was made4 ,more serious still no official mention has ever been made of the fact that there were in the possession of the other museums of ,berlin and other cities1 including the famous collection of the ,alte ,pinakothek in ,munich1 as well as in the churches of the ,american ,zone1 art objects and pictures many times more numerous than the paintings actually brought to this country for safekeeping4 ,one cannot but ask3 ,were satisfactory conditions found for them or were they merely left to their fate8 ,these are questions that have given and still give rise to rumors1 unhappy conjectures and ambiguous interpretations which we deplore4 ,unreasonably or otherwise the whole situation is confused by implications that we feel will not be laid until the pictures deposited in ,washington have been sent back with the least possible delay to their rightful owners on whom devolves an unequivocable responsibility for their care and preservation4 ,sincerely yours1 ,,footnotes #a ,e7insatzstab7 ,r7eichsleiter7 ,r7osenberg7--,reichsleiter meaning realm leader4 ,the ,rosenberg ,task ,force was commonly referred to by these initials4 #b ,see article 8,german ,paintings in the ,national ,gallery3 ,a ,protest10 by ,charles ,l4 ,kuhn1 in ,college ,art ,journal1 ,january #aidf4 ,this and subsequent references printed by permission4 #c ,see article 8,german ,paintings in the ,national ,gallery3 ,a ,protest10 by ,charles ,l4 ,kuhn1 in ,college ,art ,journal1 ,january #aidf4 #d ,as printed by ,kuhn in ,college ,art ,journal1 ,january #aidf1 p4 #ha2 also in ,magazine of ,art1 ,february #aidf1 and ,new ,york ,times1 ,february #g1 #aidf4 #e ,see in this connection the statements released to the press by the ,white ,house on ,september #bf1 #aide1 and by the ,war ,department on ,december #f1 #aide4 ,they are printed in ,magazine of ,art for ,february1 #aidf4 #f ,these letters are printed on pages #hc and #hd of ,college ,art ,journal for ,january #aidf2 in ,magazine of ,art for ,february #aidf1 and in the ,new ,york ,times of ,february #g1 #aidf4 ,,index 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,westphalia1 #aah ,coremans1 ,dr4 ,paul1 #bef ,coulter1 ,hamilton1 rehabilitation of ,verwaltungsbau1 #fd2 described1 #ff-fg2 ,rothschild jewels1 #agg2 8,bavarian ,bible10 #bad2 accompanies token restitution to ,paris1 #bde-bdf2 rehabilitation of ,fhrerbau1 #bef2 transports panels from ,munich1 #bga2 mentioned1 #fh1 #ajf1 #abg ,courbet landscapes1 #aih ,coypel painting1 #bje ,cracow1 #bed ,cracow1 ,archbishop of1 #bfc ,cracow1 altarpiece1 #beb ,cracow1 tapestries1 #aea ,cranach1 ,lucas1 #ahb1 #bce ,cranachs1 the1 #bjb ,c rations1 #gi1 #abf ,crosby1 ,sumner1 #bj 8,crown of ,charlemagne10 #beb ,crown of ,st4 ,stephen1 #bhg ,crucifixion1 ,bellegambe1 #bjf ,crucifixion1 ,van ,dyck1 #aeb ,crusaders' ,hall1 #aae ,csanky1 ,dr41 #gc1 #gd1 #ge1 #gf ,csanky1 7son of ,dr471 #gd ,czech government1 #afd1 #bga ,czechoslovakia1 #he1 #hg1 #aif1 #bga1 #bgb1 #bic ,czechs1 #hi1 #aab1 #aac1 #aag1 #abc ,czernin1 ,count1 #aeb ,czernin family1 the1 #aeb 8,czernin ,vermeer10 #aeb ,dachau1 #ed1 #fc ,dalferes1 ,col4 ,roy1 #bea1 #bed ,dana1 ,titian1 #aeb ,danube ,river1 #hf1 #hg1 #aab1 #aag1 #abe1 #aea ,darmstadt1 #bbi1 #bej ,daumier1 ,honor1 #bcb ,david1 ,gerard1 #adc ,david-,weill1 ,m41 #bci1 #bdj1 #bff ,david-,weill ,collection1 #bci ,davitt1 ,lt4 ,col4 ,harold ,s41 #aca1 #afh1 #afi1 #agj1 #ahc1 #ahd1 #ahe1 #bbe del ,garbo1 ,raffaellino1 #bjh ,della ,robbia plaques1 #ij1 #ii1 #aad del ,robbia1 ,luca1 #ib ,drain1 ,andr1 #bda ,dessau1 #ce ,dewald1 ,col41 #bea1 #bed ,displaced ,persons1 see ,d,ps ,dbler1 ,herr1 #abg ,dollfuss1 ,chancellor of ,austria1 #afe 8,double ,roger10 see ,roget1 ,roger ,,dp camps1 #bha ,d,ps 7,displaced ,persons71 #fc1 #bdh1 #bha ,dresden1 #bed ,dresden ,gallery1 #afc1 #bej ,dreyfus1 ,m41 #bfe ,duisburg1 #bff ,dunn1 ,capt41 #di1 #ej1 #ea ,drer1 ,albrecht1 #beb ,dutch ,government1 #bjj1 #bjb1 #beg ,dutch ,interior1 ,pieter de ,hooch1 #aih ,dutch ,restitution ,commission 7,,cgr71 #aif1 #bfg1 #bgj ,eagle's ,nest1 #aib1 #aic1 #aie1 #bje1 #bag ,eastern ,military ,district 7of ,american ,zone71 #bdf1 #bfj1 #bgf ,,ecad ,headquarters1 #bh1 #cj1 #bca ,eder1 ,max1 #adj1 #ada1 #ahd1 #ahe ,edinburgh1 ,duke of1 #bdi ,edward ,,vii1 #bi ,eggebrecht1 ,dr4 ,william1 #bej ,egyptian tomb figures1 #aea ,ehrenbreitstein1 #adf ,ehrentempel1 #fd #hjth ,infantry ,division1 #adg ,eigruber1 ,gauleiter1 #aee ,einsatzstab ,reichsleiter ,rosenberg 7,e4,r4,r471 #bb1 #bcn41 #bd1 #adi1 #ahc1 #bae1 #bbg1 #bcg1 #bch1 #bda ,eisenhower1 ,gen4 ,dwight ,d41 #di1 #aed1 #bdc1 #bdd1 #bgj1 #bga1 #bic #aath ,armored ,division1 #fa1 #abe1 #aca1 #aei ,elkins ,park1 #ea ,ellenlittay1 ,madame1 #ge1 #gf ,embankment1 the1 #ba ,emerich1 #bff ,erhardt1 ,gregor1 #bje ,e4,r4,r41 see ,einsatzstab ,reichsleiter ,rosenberg ,essen1 #bcb ,essen pictures1 #bcb ,estreicher1 ,maj4 ,charles1 #bgb toile1 #ah ,european ,civil ,affairs ,division1 #bh ,excelsior1 the1 #bbf ,exposition ,building1 #bei ,eyck1 ,hubert van1 #add ,eyck1 ,jan van1 #add ,faison1 ,lt4 ,lane1 #agg1 #agi1 #aha ,farben1 ,i4 ,g41 #bi1 #ch1 #bbi1 #bei ,farmer1 ,capt4 ,walter1 #bdg1 #bgg1 #bgh1 #bhd1 #bhf ,featherstone1 ,col4 ,w4 ,b41 #agf ,feldherren-,halle1 #ef ,ferdinand1 ,archduke ,franz1 #afd ,feste ,coburg1 #bdh ,fest-,saal1 #bch ,fifteen ,army 7,u4 ,s471 #bhe ,fifth ,army 7,u4 ,s471 #afi1 #agf ,fine ,arts ,commission1 #aif ,first ,army 7,u4 ,s471 #aah1 #bcb ,fogg ,museum1 ,harvard ,university1 #ca1 #ea ,forchheim1 #bec #ddth ,,aaa ,brigade1 #agi1 #bjc ,fourth of ,july1 #aac1 #aad1 #aag ,fragonard1 ,jean ,honor1 #bdj ,france1 #af1 #ade1 #aec1 #bcb1 #bde1 #bef1 #bfa1 #bfd1 #bfe1 #bic ,franconia1 #df ,frank 7,nazi ,governor of ,poland71 #bdi1 #bea ,frankfurt1 ,howe assigned to1 #ce-ec2 trips to1 #afh1 #bbg1 #bbi1 #bcb1 #bce1 #bea1 #bfd1 #bgg2 ,naval ,headquarters1 #bcf2 ,reichsbank at1 #bdf1 #bhg2 ,collecting ,point1 #bdg2 ,,usfet ,headquarters1 #bee1 #bei1 #bgb2 ,land office in1 #bhb2 mentioned1 #bh1 #bi1 #ca1 #cb1 #cc1 #cd1 #eh1 #fg1 #afa1 #bdd1 #bdi1 #bed1 #beh1 #bfa1 #bfc1 #bff1 #bga1 #bgc1 #bgi1 #bha1 #bhe 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