| American soldiers, including James J. Rorimer (September 7, 1905 – May 11, 1966), left, examine part of Reich Minister General of the Luftwaffe (“Air Force”) Hermann Göring’s (January 12, 1893 – October 15, 1946) private art collection. At left is XVI century statue by Gregor Erhart (1470-1540), “Sainte Marie Madeleine,” also known as “La Belle Allemande,” and at center are 3 paintings by Rembrandt van Rijn (July 15, 1606 – October 4, 1669), including “Portrait of a Boy with a Red Cap,” and 2 by Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472 – October 16, 1553), including “Prince Moritz of Saxony.” The haunting portrait of Prince Moritz of Saxony as a boy looked much like Göring’s own daughter. “It is a curious thing,” Walter A. Hofer (February 10, 1893 – October 28, 1975), art dealer and Göring’s curator, added, “but that portrait has great similarity to little Edda, Göring’s daughter.” “Portrait of a Boy with a Red Cap,” was stolen by Göring and Hofer in 1942 from the Rothschild banking family, who fled France after the Nazis occupied Vichy following the November 1942. After the Fall of France, the Louvre and Cluny and Carnavalet Museums moved to protect their collections from the Germans, obtaining assurances from the collaborationist Vichy Government that multiple French authorities would have to sign off on any transfers to Germany. Belgium had no such guarantees, so Göring forced Ghent to part with van Eyck’s “Mystic Lamb” in August 1942. The Vichy Government claimed that the requisite signatures had been obtained, and the tryptich hung in Karinhall, Göring’s private residence. In October 1944, Göring was reported to have ransacked the Vienna Museum of Art. Trucks were said to bring paintings to Karinhall. Among pictures reported sent Goering were 3 Rembrandts and pictures by Duerer, Brueghel the elder and Velasquez. In May 1945, the New York Times reported that Göring’s art collection was worth 200,000,000 dollars ($3.5 1,000,000,000 in 2024 dollars). It was thought that Göring intended to use his vast art collection as a bargaining chip to obtain clemency with the Allied government. Hofer was captured with a train full of his art in the Bahnhof, Berchtesgaden by the 101st Airborne Division on May 5, 1945. The paratroopers opened an exhibition entitled “Göring’s Art Collection, through the courtesy of the 101st Airborne Division” at a nearby action complex for railroad workers, today the Hotel Hubertus. Hofer, who was described as a “chatterbox” freely discussed and cataloged Göring’s art collection and provided details on provenance when he could. Indicted by the French and condemned to 7 years in prison, he was never turn over to serve, and returned to dealing art after the war. In Italy, Göring gave French paintings to a Florence art dealer in exchange for Italian Renaissance paintings. The seized works included paintings by Cezanne, Renoir, Manet and others. Like so many of his stolen works, ownership proved difficult. Edda Göring, Hermann Göring’s only child, waged a 15-year battle to reclaim a 16th-century “Madonna with Child” painting by Lucas Cranach. Hermann Göring was gifted this painting in 1938 on the occasion of Edda Göring’s christening by the Cologne government. In January 1968, a German court awarded ownership of the painting to the Cologne city government. Rorimer became curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1955. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0521.jpg |
| Image Size | 393.55 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2000 x 1461 |
| Photographer | Horace Abrahams |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 27, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Konigsee |
| State or Province | Thuringia |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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