From his suite at the Ritz Hotel in Paris during WWII, Field Marshal Goering conducted a large scale pillaging operation. Art treasures were seized from galleries, museums and from Jewish families. He enlisted the support of Nazi agents Alfred Rosenberg and the Notorious art plunderer Bruno Lohse, who ensured that the treasures were transported to Goering's German estates. When Goering was arrested on 26 April 1945 by American forces, over 1000 art treasures were seized from his properties. Several of the works were never seen again. Goering committed suicide on 15 October 1946.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

SUGGESTED READING

• Jonathon Petropoulos, Goering's Man in Paris, The Story of a Nazi Art Plunderer & His World, Yale Uni Press, 2021
• The Rape of Europa, Documentary directed by Richard Berge, 2006 (Youtube)
• Robert Edsel & Bret Witter, The Monuments Men, Little Brown, 2009

COURSE OUTLINE

• Brief overview of political and military career of Goering
• Nazi obsession with art treasures
• Gallery and museum curators attempts to save the treasures from the Nazis and the work of the Monuments Men from May 1945 recovering the stolen items
• Mysterious circumstances of Goering's suicide 15 Oct 1946 during the Nuremberg trials
• Longer term impact of the pillaging on the art treasures on 20th and 21st centuries as a part of the larger legacy of World War II

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Discuss the extent of the Nazi pillaging or art and the particular role of Field Marshal Goering in this huge enterprise.
2. Discuss the short term and longer term impact of the art theft on the 20th and 21st centuries as part of the larger legacy of WWII