The Lost Masterpieces of World War II

Gary Arndt (0:00)

Throughout history, conquering armies have carried away the treasures of defeated nations. But during the Second World War, this practice reached an unprecedented scale. The German military stole priceless masterpieces from museums and private collections. Decades later, some of these treasures still remain missing, and their fates draw speculation and investigation. Learn more about Nazi art theft and the mysterious disappearance of some of the world's greatest artistic treasures on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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One of the most overlooked aspects of the Nazi Party was their obsession, which really stemmed from Hitler's obsession with art. In September 1933, just months after taking power, the Reich Chamber of Culture was created. The chamber controlled the production of music, art, radio, film, theatre and writing within Germany. The Nazis placed so much emphasis on art because they believed it could shape a nation's development. As a result, they considered certain types of modern art dangerous because they didn't align with the true German image that they wanted to create. They also claimed that modern art was influenced by both Jews and Communists and was designed to weaken German society through cultural Bolshevism. Because of this, modern art became known as degenerate art in Nazi circles. This term was chosen as it suggested the artist's mental, physical and moral capacity was poor and immoral in some way. The Nazis did not reject all foreign art. They particularly condemned modernist movements such as Cubism, Surrealism and Expressionism while celebrating classical antiquity and traditional European paintings. Hitler himself admired numerous foreign old masters and the Nazis collected many of their works.

While publicly rejecting modern art, the Nazis systematically looted modern art from museums and private collections across Europe during the war. They sold many of these pieces on international markets in order to obtain foreign currency or they often just destroyed them.

The Nazi proclivity to loot art during their occupations became one of the biggest cultural scandals of the entire war. And a prime example of this was the Amber Room. The Amber Room was often called the 8th Wonder of the World. It was an extraordinary chamber decorated with elaborate panels made from several tons of amber, backed by gold leaf and complemented by mirrors and precious decorative elements. Located in the Catherine Palace outside of St. Petersburg, the room was a gift to St. Peter the Great in 1716 to celebrate peace between Russia and Prussia.

Modern estimates place the value of the room at anywhere from 142 to over 500 million dollars. The Soviets were aware that the Nazis desired the Amber Room. Curators responsible for removing art and treasures from Leningrad tried to disassemble it for transportation. However, because the objects were so old, the amber had dried out and become brittle, making the room's pieces impossible to move without crumbling. To protect the room, the Soviets tried to hide it behind plain wallpaper. But because of the room's fame, that project failed. When German soldiers arrived, they disassembled the Amber Room in just 36 hours. What was nicknamed an 8th Wonder of the World was then just reduced to 27 crates. By October 1941, the room was moved to East Prussia to the city of Königsberg to be stored and displayed in the city's castle. The castle was a museum where Alfred Rode, the museum's director, studied the room's history. The Amber Room remained on display at Königsberg Castle for approximately two years. As the threat of Allied air raids increased, the Germans dismantled its panels and placed them in storage. The precise timing of the process is debated, although the panels were reportedly being packed into crates in January of 1945