Francois Boucher in the Hitler Albums

The Lost Odyssey; Chapter 2

• Nearly sixty-six years have passed, since the Nazi occupation and yet, there are still over 100,000 pieces of art, missing from the plunder.

• Only 16 of the top 40 listed have been recovered.

• It is a sad state of affairs, but up to 20 percent of the European art collection, was looted by the Nazi's from 1938-1944. Today, the international community as a hold, is still trying to recover any lost looted pieces, to offset the devastating losses suffered by so many. This substantial loss can be compared to the horrific fire that swept through the Royal Library of Alexandria 42_^BC, burning the entire structure and all it's contents to the ground.

• It is a known fact that after Germany lost the war, the United States of America and a few other international communities united together, to find Hitler's hidden loot. Aided by the help of the U.S. Military, the Roberts Commission, Several Foreign State & Intelligence Departments, and a hand few of fine art organizations; many of Europe's lost pieces, were found and returned.

• Currently, the National Archives at College Park, has substantial volumes of records, pertaining to the looted art by the Nazi. These records range from thousands of intelligence reports, to a recorded count of 12,000 still photographs of the lost pieces, accumulated by the Roberts Commission.

On the seventh day of November in 2007-

The United States National Archives announced the recent discovery of two Hitler albums. Within these journals were catalog entries of confiscated art pieces stolen by the Third Reich. Originally Hitler ordered the Third Reich, under Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), that any political or military propaganda be documented and confiscated.

Then when Hitler's Nazi conquest surpassed, its own German borders in 1940; Hitler ordered that all "ownerless Jewry and Freemasonry" art pieces, be sent back to Germany.

In 1942, Hitler gave the another order that stated, "What couldn't be carted off quickly, and sent back to Germany, be burnt instead. Hitler realized that looting large palaces, castles, estates, museums and libraries were too intrusive on what little resources and manpower they had. Therefore from 1942 to 1945, much of what was stolen by Hitler's soldiers was destroyed. Thereby, securing the chances of Allies hands getting its own hands on the art collection, for themselves to sell.

The Hitler album's themselves can in existence- when in 1940- having celebrated victory over France, Adolf Hitler ordered France's massive art collection be cataloged. While much of the collection, was then sent to his personal curators' back in Germany, to be later tucked away in hidden stashes.

According the National Archives, "Soon after the German occupation of France in 1940, the German military, and subsequently the ERR, focused their art confiscations on the world renowned Jewish- owned art collections from families such as the Rothschilds, and the Veil-Picards, Alphonse Kann, and Jewish dealers such as the Seligmanns and Georges Wildenstein. According to the German ERR documents from 1944, the art seizures in France totaled 21,903 objects from 203 collections. There were 5,009 items confiscated from the Rothschild family collections, 2,687 items from the David-Weill collection, and 1,202 from Alphonse Kann’s collection."

The Hitler albums are numbered 1 and 2. They were donated to the United States National Archives sometime during 2007, by Mr. Robert Edsel the renowned author. Mr. Edsel acquired them through family members of an American serviceman. Mr. Edsel is currently planning on donating a third album to the archives, known as Album 6.

 A Ravished Collector

• Edouard Alphonse James de Rothschild,

In 1940, the Baron and his wife escaped to Lisbon, Portugal right after the Nazi occupation of France. From there they were able to continue on their way to New York City, New York. It is there that they waited until the end of World War II to return to their homeland of Austria. But before his escape to the United States, James and his wife did their best to hide their massive art collection worth millions from the Nazi's. He hid most of his collection somewhere on the Haras de Meautry farm and at his Château de Reux estate. But in 1940, the Nazi's caught up with the Rothschild's treasure, raiding and looting everything in sight.

The Haras de Meautry farm of theirs, was also a race horse breeding farm. And many of the horses, around 600 of them were sent to Hungry or Germany for breeding. James' prize winning horse, Brantôme was one such horse captured and sent to Germany. Brantôme was returned to James Rothschild just after the war in 1945.

"In the Conservatory": Manet painted this double portrait of Mr and Mrs. Jules Guillemet in 1879.

"Portrait of Claude Monet": Manet painted this portrait of Claude Monet in 1874. They met in 1866.