Artbooks Stolen By Nazis Donated To US National Archives

Artwork that the Nazis had looted from their victims, and catalogued during World War II are going to be donated to the United States National Archives in two leather bound photo albums.

These two photo albums that will be donated to the United States have photos from with both Adolf Hitler and his curators would choose pieces of art. Those pieces of art would be displayed in Hitler’s art museum located in Linz. The albums were created by a special group set up around 1940. The group’s mission would be to take works of art from territories under occupation. It is said that these albums would be the key that could help find the missing pieces of art that were looted by the Nazis back in World War II. In addition, these photo albums is one of the most significant finds related to the theft of art and cultural treasures since the Nuremburg trials. Thousands of cultural items and works of art plundered by Hitler and the Nazis are still missing. The two albums were found by the heirs of a United States soldier stationed at the end of World War II in Berchtesgarden, Germany. So far, most of the works photographed in the album have been returned to their owners. Still, many items are still missing and/or unidentified. Thirty-nine of these photo albums are already in the US National Archives. These albums were a major piece of evidence at the Nuremburg trials.