Category:US National Archives Record Group 260: Photographs of Artworks Appropriated by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg in France, used by the Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution of Axis Criminality, 1945

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For a history of the Office of Military Government for Germany, U.S. Zone (OMGUS), see the description for Record Group 260, Series ERR. The photographs in this series consist of copy prints made from the contents of 39 original albums which were compiled by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (Operational Headquarters of Reich Leader Rosenberg), an organization headed by Nazi Party "philosopher" Alfred Rosenberg during World War II which procured, illegally, masterpieces of artwork from the countries of Europe occupied by the German armed forces. After the war, these photographs were solicited by the Office of the Chief Counsel for the Prosecution of Axis Criminality from the Central Collecting Point of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section (MFAA) of OMGUS in Munich. These photographs were presented as part of Series 6, "Prosecution Exhibits", at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg in November, 1945. The first 37 of the original albums are now in the custody of the Captured German Records Section of the Textual Reference Division of the National Archives. The fate of albums 38 and 39 is unknown. The photographs in this series illustrate the magnitude of the Nazis' plundering of artistic treasures from Europe, as well as their methodical recordkeeping of this activity. Each photograph (which is a reproduction of each original album page) shows the original artwork and caption information (in German). Most pieces are identified by the name of the artist, the title of the work, the approximate time period, the dimensions of the piece, and the medium in which the artwork was crafted. Many types of fine art are represented in this series, including paintings; tapestries and other textiles; porcelain and enamelware; drawings and sketches; fayence and majolica; gold, silver, and bronze pieces; clocks, furniture, and jewelry. The time periods for these artworks range from 5thCentury A.D. Egyptian Coptic textiles to late 19th Century Impressionist paintings and sketches. Artists whose works are found in this series include Francois Boucher, Peter Brueghel, Gustave Courbet, Edgar Degas, Eugete Delacroix, Thomas Gainsborough, Francesco Goya, Jean August Dominique Ingres, Edouard Manet, Jean-Francois Millet, Claude Monet, Rembrandt van Rijn, Benjamin Reynolds, Auguste Rodin, Peter Paul Rubens, John Russel, and Antoine Watteau. The original negatives for this series were made in the German Embassy in Paris by the ERR; these negatives now constitute Record Group 260, series ERR.