The leaders of Nazi Germany shared a passion for art, amassing either through plunder or purchase large state and individual collections. However, they could not have succeeded in this endeavor without the assistance of experts from the art world. In The Faustian Bargain: The Art World in Nazi Germany, Jonathan Petropoulos profiles five prominent individuals who furthered their artistic careers through collaboration and conformity with the Third Reich:
• Ernst Buchner, the General Director of the Bavarian State Painting Collections and an expert on pre-modern German art, repatriated the Van Eyck brothers’ Ghent altarpiece to Germany.
• Karl Haberstock, a prominent art dealer, found favor among the Nazi elite, selling pieces to Hitler, Göring, Goebbels, and Speer, among others. Later, his influence extended to the role of adviser to the Reich’s visual arts programs, guiding decisions on the disposal of confiscated works.
• Robert Scholz, a leading art critic and editor of the official Nazi art journal, Kunst im Deutschen Reich, became an officer in the looting organizations in France.
• Kajetan Muhlmann, an art historian, oversaw looting organizations in Poland and the Netherlands.
• Arno Breker, a renowned artist, produced monumental sculptures that gained Hitler’s praise and came to represent the Nazi regime.
In chapters focused on each of these men, Petropoulos also discusses three or four ancillary figures to illustrate that these key individuals were not alone in their commitment to the goals of the Third Reich. Among the others discussed are: Hans Posse, who accepted the directorship of the Führermuseum for the opportunity to build the greatest museum of all time; Prince Philipp of Hessen, who acted as a liaison between Hitler and Mussolini while procuring art works for the Nazi regime’s leaders; and Otto Kümmel, who headed the Berlin State Museums and led a large-scale effort to reclaim German works taken from Germany in the previous four centuries.
These men of the intelligentsia played a profound role in the looting and confiscation of treasured and valuable artworks, and yet few of them faced any sort of punishment for their involvement. In fact, most remained actively associated with the art world after the War and went on to lead normal lives. They justified their behavior under the Nazis on the grounds that they were safeguarding cultural property, following orders, or taking back what rightfully belonged to Germany. In the end, however, as Petropoulos details, they went beyond mere collusion to active -- and in many cases, criminal -- participation. They compromised their commitment to art, and their own personal integrity and morals, in favor of their commitment to the Third Reich.
The Faustian Bargain complements Petropoulos’ 1996 book, Art and Politics in the Third Reich, which explores the Nazi leaders’ involvement in arts administration and their passion for collecting art. The Faustian Bargain includes detailed notes, an extensive bibliography, and an index.
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|TABLE OF CONTENTS|
|Abbreviations and Acronyms||xv|
|Chapter 1: Art Museum Directors||13|
|Chapter 2: Art Dealers||63|
|Chapter 3: Art Journalists||111|
|Chapter 4: Art Historians||165|
|Chapter 5: Artists||215|