Kunst und Profit

Not only Adolf Hitler and Hermann Gring utilized the occupation of France during the Second World War to procure artworks for their collections German museums also made acquisitions at the time. The advantageous foreign exchange rate and the large range of artworks, for instance, from seized Jewish property, afforded favorable opportunities. French museums like the Louvre also expanded their holdings during this time. Many purchases by German museums were restituted to France in the postwar period, while some have remained in the collections until today and are first now becoming a focus of research. The essays in the volume from German and French perspectives analyze the similarities and differences in the activities of museums on the French art market during the occupation for the first time. Adolf Hitler et Hermann Gring ne sont pas les seuls avoir profit de l'Occupation de la France par lAllemagne pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale pour acqurir des uvres d'art pour leurs collections - les muses allemands y ont galement fait des acquisitions. Le taux de change avantageux et l'offre importante d'uvres d'art provenant par exemple de proprits juives spolies ont offert des opportunits favorables. Les muses franais, comme le Louvre, ont galement largi leurs collections cette poque. De nombreuses acquisitions de muses allemands ont t restitues la France dans l'aprs-guerre, mais certaines sont restes dans les collections jusqu' ce jour et n'ont attir l'attention des chercheurs que rcemment. Les contributions de ce volume analysent pour la premire fois, des points de vue franais et allemand, les points communs et les diffrences entre les activits des muses sur le march de l'art franais pendant l'Occupation.