Office of Military Government of Bavaria
Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives Section
Office for North Bavaria, Nürnberg, Germany
APO 696 / US Army

Final Report
on MFA/A Activities in Northern Bavaria
April 1945 - December 1948

by André Kormendi,
MFA/A Officer for Northern Bavaria

Excerpts:

Internal Loot:

The recovery of cultural material confiscated or acquired under duress from racial or political persecutees in Germany has not been followed up systematically by MFA/A. This problem is regulated by legislature and is enforced by German authorities. MFA/A has, however, secured abandoned Jewish property and initiated investigations for the recovery of such material upon requests of owners, especially if these became citizens of the United States or of other Allied countries ...

Protection and Recovery of Privately Owned Cultural Material:

This office has been faced with the problem of aiding in the recovery of cultural material which came into the posession of army personnel or was requisitioned for the furnishing of US installations and billets. The North Bavarian Office investigated over 30 cases of requisitioned cultural material and obtained the return to their owners of more than 100 numerous art objects. It also carried out a number of investigations for the return of material taken away unlawfully by US personnel. Although investigations of that nature are extremely difficult, such material was recovered in at least two instances with an indictment in one of the cases. Several investigations are still pending in the ZI.