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From left to right, Deputy Secretary of State Jacob J. Lew, Interior Minister Heribert Rech of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, Ambassador Scharioth, and Monuments Men Foundation President Robert M. Edsel, in the background

(© Mark J. White)

Just three months after the return of two rare books, which was achieved through the mediation of the National Archives, the Federal Republic of Germany has again accepted two valuable books lost during the last world war.  The first is the 450-year-old Augsburger Geschlechterbuch, which is of art-historical value, and the second is a volume from what is known as Hitler’s “Linz catalogue,” which contains photos of art works intended for his planned “Linz picture gallery.”

The books were officially handed over at the U.S. State Department on January 22.  Baden-Württemberg Interior Minister Heribert Rech and Ambassador Klaus Scharioth accepted the books on the German side. Deputy Secretary of State Jacob J. Lew attended the ceremony from the American side.

Genealogical record

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The Augsburger Geschlechterbuch is a 16th-century volume of drawings and prints depicting the prominent families of Augsburg.

(© Mark J. White)

The Augsburger Geschlechterbuch, which dates back to the mid-16th century, contains a total of 96 drawings and etchings of figures bearing coats of arms.  The purpose of such genealogical books was to represent the rank and status of families with coats of arms in all their splendor, in this case, the influential families of the city of Augsburg.

The volume was stored at Waldenburg/Hohenlohe Castle during World War II.  After it disappeared from that site and turned up in the United States following the war, it was admitted for auction at Sotheby’s in 2004.  After failed attempts to reach an amiable agreement with the seller, the matter was referred to the District Court of New York, which in 2009 ruled in favor of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

Baden-Württemberg Interior Minister Rech accepted the book on behalf of the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart's Graphische Sammlung (Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs).  There it will soon be restored and on public display.

Linz Catalogue could be valuable tool

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Volume XIII of the Linz Catalogue was originally one of 31 albums.

(© Mark J. White)

The “Linz Catalogue” originally consisted of 31 photo albums, 19 of which were believed to have survived.  The catalogue was compiled on Hitler’s orders so that he could gain an overview of the works collected for the art gallery he planned to build in his hometown of Linz.  Many of those works were confiscated by the Nazis, in particular, from Jewish citizens or acquired through sales assumed to have been coerced or motivated by persecution in occupied countries.

Through the mediation of the Monument Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, whose aim is to locate cultural property moved during the war, US veteran John Pistone returned Volume XIII of the Linz Catalogue, which until now had been believed lost. Ambassador Klaus Scharioth accepted the volume on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany.  Germany regains an object which could prove helpful as a tool in the compensation of Nazi injustices.  It thus represents an invaluable source for provenance research and in locating cultural property confiscated through persecution.

The now returned volume will be handed over to the German Historical Museum in Berlin, where the currently known volumes are also stored.