18 Dec. 45
part of the presentation, I should like to call Your
Honor's attention to Document 015-PS. It is dated April 16, 1943. It is
a copy of a letter from Rosenberg to Hitler. The occasion for the
writing of this letter was the birthday of the Führer to
commemorate which, Rosenberg presented some folders of photographs of
pictures seized by the Einsatzstab. And I imagine, although we have no
authentic evidence, that probably some of these were prepared for that
occasion. In the closing paragraph of the letter, Document 015-PS,
Exhibit USA-387, he says:
"I beg of you, my Führer to give
me a chance during my next audience to report to you orally on the
whole extent and state of this art-seizure action. I beg you to accept
a short, written, preliminary report of the progress and extent of the
art-seizure action, which will be used as a basis for this later oral
report, and also to accept three volumes of the provisional picture
catalogues which, too, show only a part of the collection at your
disposal. I shall deliver further catalogues, which are now being
compiled, as they are finished."
Rosenberg then closes with this touching tribute to the aesthetic tastes
of the Führer tastes which were satisfied at the expense of a
continent, and I quote:
"I shall take the liberty during the
requested audience to give you, my Führer another 20 folders of
pictures with the hope that this short occupation with the beautiful
things of art, which are so near to your heart, will send a ray of
beauty and joy into your care-laden and revered life."
THE PRESIDENT: Will you read all the passage that you began, five lines
above that, beginning with the words, "These photos represent ... "
?
COL. STOREY: "These photos represent
an addition to the collection of 53 of the most valuable objects of
art delivered some time ago to your collection. This folder also gives
only a weak impression of the exceptional value and extent of these
objects of art, seized by my service command" — Dienststelle
— "in France and put into a safe place in the Reich."
If Your Honors please, at this time we would like to project on the
screen a few of these photographs. The photographs of paintings which we
are now about to project on the screen are taken from a single volume of
the catalogue and are merely representative of the many volumes of
pictures of similar works. The other items, photos of which are to be
projected, were picked from various volumes on special subjects. For
example, the Gobelin tapestry which you are about to see is merely one
picture from an entire volume of tapestry illustrations. Each picture
that you will