SECRET!
The Fuehrer of the Reich Head of the main office VS-diary, number 507/44 secret CdSSHA/Be/We. Adjtr-diary, number 253/44 secret Please by way of reply give reference and date indicated above Berlin—Wilmersdorf 1, Hohenzollerndamm 31
Post office box 58
now: Berlin-Grunewald, 8 February 1944
Douglasstrasse, 7/11 001518 Feb. 14, 1944 Document Z G. IR 131
To the "Ancestral Heritage" leader of the SS Sievers Waischenfeld, Oberfranken
Dear comrade Sievers!
Enclosed herewith I transmit to you the attitude of the main leader of the SS group Jankuhn in regard' to the evacuation of the museum of Charkow.
I have looked over the report hurriedly, I have not read it. It is superfluous to discuss it.
Heil Hitler W. G. Buegel
SS leader
[Pencil note:]
It is a cheap method to do away with my report, which is supported by facts, by referring to matters that are not dealt with in the report because these matters do not pertain to the functions of the Sonderkommando Jahnkuhn, and were not within Jahn-kuhn's jurisdiction. Transport space and transport facilities were not supplied by the Waffen SS but by the German Reich-Railroad. This opportunity was available to the opposing side, but was not utilized by them.
. SECRET
The Ancestor's Heritage The Secretary for the Reich Organization [Der Reichsgeschaeftsfuehrer]
Berlin-Dahlem, 30 Oct 42
Diary # G/h/7 Wo/Bg
To Dozent Dr. Franz Hancar!
Wien III/40, Hiessgasse 4
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Subject: Commitment in Russia [Russland-Einsatz]
Dear Dr Hancar!
In order to secure the possessions of important museums and discoveries in the combat zone in the East, the Reichsfuehrer SS has ordered the creiation of a special unit under Captain of the SS, Professor Dr. Herbert Jankuhn which has been operating together with'an SS division very successfully for quite some time.
In the course of the execution of the order, the collections from Maikop, Pjatigorsk and Woroschilowsk have already been secured, besides other important scientific collections from the four important museums in Northern Caucasia. Work may already be done in these museums, and Professor Dr. Jankuhn proposes to set up a complete registration, by way of drawings and photography, of all prehistoric findings.
I am following a suggestion of Professor Dr. Herbert Jankuhn in asking you whether you would be willing to take over this job, mainly regarding Eastern European prehistoric problems, which ought to be of particular interest to you. In case you would accept, I would like you to let me know when you could start working, and what should have to be done in order to secure your leave.
SS-Captain Professor Dr. Herbert Jankuhn shall return to Germany by the beginning of December. Therefore it will be possible without difficulties to discuss then all pertinent questions during a personal meeting.
Heil Hitler ! signed : Sievers Lt Col of the SS
Leader of the Staff
Entered Jan. 20, 1944/185
Berlin, Jan. 14, 1944
H. A. -II-Dr. Z/Do.
File note for the Leader of the Staff.
Subject: Reply with regard to the letters of the captain, in the SS Jankuhn to the Personal Staff of the Reich Fuehrer of SS Office for the Ancestral Heritage, dates August 12, 13, and 22, 1943, respecting the evacuation and destruction of the Charkow Museum.
The criticism, which the captain in the SS delivers against the Special Purpose Staff for very evident reasons, can readily
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be answered, because he states things without any closer investigation, that should disparage the work of the Special Purpose Staff and the Office devoted to pre- and early historic research, because this latter work is. apparently inconvenient to him.
In his letter of IB August 1943, J. had forgotten to mention that the captain who had rebuilt the museum for prehistoric art was in fact a deputy of the Special Purpose Staff, namely, First Lieutenant Mueller, who by means of truly untiring and objective work during his free time had set up the museum to such an extent that it could again be opened to the public. The museum was visited by numerous officers and men, also by units of the Armed SS and the police. A thorough inventory had been taken, also many photographic copies were on hand. Thus First Lieutenant Mueller had performed a gratifying task in time of war which was generally recognized by the leaders of the units stationed in Charkow. The report of Jankuhn does not make any reference at all to this work of the Special Purpose Staff.
On 6 February 1943, the command was given for the first evacuation of the city. The Special Purpose Staff had then through untiring effort brought out the most valuable prizes of the museum; on 9 February it was necessary for the last members of the office to leave the city, which already had been almost abandoned by German troops. It was impossible at that time to bring out all the material, because the transportation situation did not permit this. It was not really necessary for SS leader Jahnkuhn to point out that these objects were important and worthy of being brought to safety. On the other hand, however, one must also consider the transportation problems that arise at the time of the evacuation of a city. It is evident that at such a time military transports receive unqualified priority, that even the most valuable possessions of culture cannot take precedence over them. Yet the Special Purpose Staff was able to salvage the most, important articles of the museum. The remainder was entrusted to the care of the former curator of the museum, Professor Rudenski. Of this balance, again the most valuable was walled up within the enclosures of a bomb-proof cellar. For several days Professor Rudenski succeeded in saving the building from being blown up as intended, Finally, however, on the evening of February 14, 1943, as related by Professor Rudenski, by an oversight of a command of the Waffen SS, a fire broke out in the building and it burned down to the ground. Yet, later on, a large portion of the valuables from the cellar was salvaged again. However, a Gothic sword was missing. Now, as alleged by Jan-
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kuhn, it turns out that this sword was preserved by a unit of the Waffen SS.
Captain of the SS J. could have easily learned of these facts, if he had taken the trouble to contact the competent labor group Ukraine of the Special Purpose Staff and not Prof. Hornung, who had been installed in an entirely different district and who knew nothing about the developments in Charkow. At least he would not have exposed himself to the charge that he frivolously and without closer examination of the circumstances had claimed "that the Special Purpose Staff had not done the least for the preservation of the things that were found." The contrary is true.
After the recapture of the city, the valuables were reclaimed from the wreckage and the museum was opened again to the public on July 19, 1943. Thus it was proved anew that the Special Purpose Staff had done everything in the way of securing possessions of great cultural value and preserving them in the interests of the German administration.
Unfortunately, the second loss of Charkow in August 1943 rendered the work of restoration null and void. On August 6 the working staff received an evacuation summons with the order to leave Charkow immediately and without delay. Conditions affecting transportation were the same as in spring. If, indeed, valuable military installations had to remain behind, it is clear that, above all, objects from a museum had to remain behind. If the SS command had trucks at its disposal and could use the transportation facilities without consideration of military needs for the objects of the museum, then this is certainly a matter of very great appreciation. On the other hand, however, it cannot be charged to the Special Purpose Staff that it did not possess adequate transportation facilities. Nevertheless, the co-workers of the working staff have done what they could in order to preserve the most important part of the picture collection. In two days, already under hostile action, a large portion of museum collections was examined for the purpose of qualifying for transportation and then the selected assortment of 300 pictures of Westem-European masters and Ukrainian painters and twenty-five costly Ukrainian carpets was packed and shipped. As already at an earlier date the most important collections of the museum, dealing with prehistoric art, had been carried off, the special command Jankuhn could only preserve third and fourth grade pieces of which several could be found in Kiev and other places.
The Special Purpose Staff under these circumstances sees no occasion for making any reproaches against the Special Command
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Jankuhn. If one was able to have at one's disposal transportation facilities and manpower in a more liberal manner, then it was easy to carry off larger collections. That the Special Command J. had done this is gratefully acknowledged by the Special Purpose Command; since it is being taken for granted that the collection was saved for the owner, namely, the Reichminister of the occupied Eastern districts and'that correspondingly it is handed over to the Special Purpose Staff as the deputy of civil affairs. The Special Purpose Staff asks for the necessary action.
The staff command cannot rid itself of the impression that the Captain in the SS Jankuhn submitted his report frivolously on the basis of one-sided information. If he had made inquiries at the proper places without doubt he would have arrived at a different conclusion. At this juncture it is necessary to take a firm stand for the protection of the co-workers of the Special Purpose Staff and to ward off strongly every attack of a bureau that does not clearly understand the conditions.
Moreover, it could have been expected that Captain in the SS J. would have used the opportunity to get acquainted with the bureaus of the Special Purpose Staff and effected some cooperation. With the cooperation of both certainly more material could have been salvaged than had been done regardless (of the handicaps) .
signed : Utikal
SS "Ancestral Heritage"
Research Organization
_ Waischenfeld/Oberfranken, October 6, 1943 To the Chief of the SS Central Bureau SS Leader Berger, Berlin
Dear SS Leader!
Already on July * * * of this year the need arose to inform you about frictions that developed between co-workers of the SS "Ancestral Heritage" Research Organization and the Special Purpose Staff R.R. in Dnjepropetrowsk. In this connection I did not neglect to mention that Reichminister Rosenberg complained that we had removed prehistoric discoveries from the Caukasus.
In order to complete the picture, I am turning over to you as supplement two reports from Captain in the SS (F) Jankuhn. They refer to the Museum in Charkow and they reveal with full clarity that the men of the Special Purpose Staff R.R.—insofar as we have met them heretofore—lack the simple prerequisites
707—PS
for the work in the East, namely, an unobjectionable, manly behavior. ' '
I am summarizing the two reports and, briefly, I am able to "conclude: 1. When the evacuation of Charkow became necessary in the winter of 1942, the Special Purpose Staff R.R. left the city without having done anything for the salvage of the museum.
2. On August 8, 1943 it became known that the possibility of a surrender of Charkow existed. On August 11 at nine in the morning the last man of the Special Purpose Staff R.R. left Charkow. Before August 15 no one considered any evacuation possible. In reality, Charkow was not evacuated until August 24. Not the least had been done for the salvaging of the collections of the museum, even though the care for the museum is in the hands of the Special Purpose Staff R.R. There were even documents on the desks, which leads one to believe that the men concerned abandoned their work as quickly as possible. Captain in the SS Jankuhn thereupon packed up the treasures and ordered them to be shipped.
This behavior of the men of the Special Service' Staff R.R. could obviously be described by the most appropriate terms, and we are not at all surprised, if just these people "take a shot at" the men of the SS Reichsfuehrer, who really do nothing but fulfill the duties neglected by the former.
Heil Hitler!
SS Leader
. Copy
To the personal staff of the Reich Fuehrer of SS Office of the- SS "Ancestral Heritage" Research Organization, Berlin
Command Post Division Std., September 25, 1943
Concerning the evacuation of the museum of Poltawa
When it became known that the evacuation of the city of Poltawa by September 21, 1943, was anticipated, I intended to examine personally the condition of the museum there and to order the necessary measures for preserving them, should the need arise.
Since the 03 of the division, SS Leader Daltweiler, had learned during a stay in P. that the salvaging of the museum through a
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specialist officer of the armed forces on the basis of a command from the O.B., already had begun, a trip to Poltawa was abandoned.
Heil Hitler!
Signed: H. Jankuhn Captain in the SS (F) For the correctness of this copyf '
SS Leader
Copy III
Special Command, Fp. 16284
Command Post Division, Std., August 22, 1943 To the personal Staff of the Reich Fuehrer of SS Office of the SS "Ancestral Heritage" Research Organization, Berlin
Regarding the destruction of the museum in Charkow.
On August 21, upon my suggestion, Sergeant in the SS, Dr. Zarp, from KB unit 5, visited the museum in Charkow. He found that the museum building had been burned down completely.
Since the -more valuable pieces had been salvaged—as was pointed out in the report of December 8, 1943—no loss of more important objects of culture was sustained through the destruction of the museum. '
Signed: H. Jankuhn
Captain in the SS
For the correctness of this copy SS Leader
Copy ' I
Special Command Jankuhn, 16284
Command Post Division, Std., August 13, 1943 To the personal Staff of the Reich Fuehrer of SS Office of the SS "Ancestral Heritage" Research Organization, Berlin
Regarding the destruction of the museum in Charkow in the spring of 1943.
Through the interrogation of Prof. Hornung, the curator of the museum in Dnjipropetrowsk, chosen by the Special Purpose Staff and on the basis of information that was supplied by the commander of the F.K.V. of the secret police and of the security
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service, the following could be brought to light concerning the fate of the museum of prehistoric art in Charkow in the spring of 1943.
In 1941/42 the museum of prehistoric art in Charkow was reestablished anew in the main street of the city, the Sumskaja, by a captain, who for this purpose had been given a furlough. The exhibition is said to have been good and well arranged. Besides collections of prehistoric character there were to be found in the museum articles referring to folklore. When, during the winter campaigns of the months of February and March, the Special Service Staff R.R. left the city without having done the least for the saving of the collections. Merely a Gothic sword and a gold-plated handle are said to have been taken along by one SS unit. Since the salvaging of the piece was not effected through the Security Service Command in Charkow, it must be assumed that a unit of the II SS armored corps took this gorgeous weapon along.
After the retreat of the German troops, the museum was destroyed, apparently by explosion of fire. The Ukrainian collections stored there were destroyed almost completely.
Recent excavations undertaken in the ruins of the building have yielded only insignificant pieces of the material formerly stored there.
Thus one of the most important museums of Russia with collections of great cultural value was given over to destruction through the agencies of the German civil administration.
. Signed : Jankuhn
Captain in the SS
For the correctness of this copy SS Leader
Ha
Exhibit i
To the report of 12 August 1943
This Institute of Culture is confiscated by the Charkow garrison!
It is secured for the Special Command R.R. and is placed under its professional supervision.
Outside of the rules for visit and use, it is forbidden to enter the institute, the taking of material is considered looting and will be punished as such.
Special permits through the Special Command R.R. Charkow, Sumskaja 48.
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In the field, June 2G, 1943
For the Commander of the garrison
O.K. V.Rat
[Handwritten draft]
.Copy 5 times
Special Command Jankuhn 16284 II
Command Post Division, August 12, 194,3
I
SS "Ancestral Heritage" Research Organization, Berlin
034482 x-Oct. 9, 1943, Copy Z B/4r/r22 To the personal Staff of the Reich Fuehrer of SS Office of the SS "Ancestral Heritage" Research Organization,
Berlin .
Subject: Evacuation of the museum in Charkow.
On August 8, '43 in the evening it became known that the possibility of an evacuation of Charkow until August 14 existed. On August 10, 1943, I went in the company of an interpreter, SS Sergeant Jacobsen to Charkow. In the afternoon I reported to the commander of the D.K.F. of the SIPO and the SD, Major Krauebitter, and informed him that I was entrusted by the Reichfuehrer SS with the salvage of the museum in the field of operations of the Waffen SS on the Southern front. In this connection I learned of the fate of the museum in Charkow during the evacuation of Charkow in the beginning of 1943; a separate report on that subject is being prepared. At the same time Major Krauebitter informed me that the KVR with the garrison of Charkow, who was 'responsible for the museums had already left the city days ago. A further inquiry in the buildings of the bureau of the Special Purpose Staff R.R. revealed that this bureau already had left Charkow on the morning of August 10. A survey of the museum in the company of Major Krauebitter revealed the following picture:
The Museum contains a small prehistoric department after the really prehistoric museum had been destroyed in the winter after failure of evacuation. Moreover, it contained a good collection of Ukrainian art of folklore character, small objects of ecclesiastical art, particularly, however, mostly paintings of Ukrainian painters, as the pictures of central- and west-European masters had been transported to Germany by the SD in 1942. The storehouse of the museum contains still numerous pictures. The key to the
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museum was given to the Ukrainian lady superintendent by the Special Purpose Staff R.R., who also related that at eight o'clock in the morning on October 8 a gentleman of the Special Purpose Staff R.R. had been in the museum and with several pictures had quickly departed at 8:30 o'clock. As a matter of fact, some pictures of the collection were missing, approximately 1%.
After no one had taken steps toward any real preservation of the museum, neither among the garrison nor among the Special Purpose Staff R.R., which according to the poster, referred to as Exhibit I, was responsible for the care of the collection, the packing was begun.
The prehistoric findings—almost exclusively ceramics of the bronze age—were packed in two wooden boxes and shipped by a truck of the EKV; they were to be sent from Kiev to Berlin.
The exhibit of Ukrainian popular art contained textiles, ceramics, glass, costumes, and objects of wood. The greater part is packed in two large wooden boxes and was shipped with the evacuation material of the EKV by- rail to Dnjepropetrowsk. Among it was a large tapestry, which on account of its size could not be packed.
From the collection of paintings the most valuable pictures were selected and shipped by rail in the direction of Dnjepropetrowsk.
The documents that remained lying on the desk of the Special Purpose Staff R.R.—a work plan of the Special Purpose Staff R.R. signed by a section chief Schmidt and a report on Ukrainian art— were saved and turned over to the EKV of the SIPO and the SD.
Signed: Jankuhn
Captain in the SS
For the correctness of this copy SS Leader '
Letters on the collection of the Charkow museum (and others) and the losses during evacuation, including conflicts between Rosenberg's staff and Sievers's staff (Ahnenerbe) (1942-44)
Authors
W. G. Buegel (SS leader (1944))
W. G. Buegel
- Additional details not yet available.
Wolfram Sievers (administrator of Ahnenerbe Society; Reich Research Council)
Wolfram Sievers
German Managing Director of the NS Association German Ancestral Heritage (Ahnenerbe) (1905-1948)
- Born: 1905-07-10 (Hildesheim)
- Died: 1948-06-02 (Landsberg Prison)
- Country of citizenship: Germany
- Occupation: managing director; official
- Member of political party: Nazi Party (since: 1929-01-01)
- Member of: Schutzstaffel (since: 1935-01-01)
- Participant in: Nazi human experimentation (location: Dachau concentration camp); Nuremberg Medical Trial (date: 1947-01-20; role: affiant, defendant, witness)
- Significant person: Helmut Poppendick (role: colleague); Kurt Wehlte
Gerhard Utikal (chief of Rosenberg einsatz staff; prisoner at Nuremberg 1947)
Gerhard Utikal
German university professor and psychiatrist
- Born: 1912-04-15 (Grodziec, Gmina Ozimek)
- Died: 1982-11-05 (Remscheid)
- Country of citizenship: Germany
- Member of political party: Nazi Party
- Member of: Sturmabteilung
- VIAF ID: https://viaf.org/viaf/8394814
- ISNI: https://isni.org/isni/0000000066801370
- WorldCat Identities ID: https://worldcat.org/identities/viaf-8394814
H. Jankuhn (SS captain (1943))
Herbert Jankuhn
SS Officer (1905-1990)
- Born: 1905-08-08 (Węgorzewo)
- Died: 1990-04-30 (Göttingen)
- Country of citizenship: Germany; West Germany
- Occupation: anthropologist; archaeologist; politician; prehistorian
- Member of political party: Nazi Party
- Member of: German Archaeological Institute; Göttingen Academy of Sciences; Militant League for German Culture; Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities
- Position held: museum director
- Employer: The Ahnenerbe; University of Göttingen; University of Kiel; University of Rostock
Date: 08 February 1944
Defendant: Alfred Rosenberg
Total Pages: 8
Language of Text: English
Source of Text: Nazi conspiracy and aggression (Office of United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office, 1946.)
Evidence Code: PS-707
HLSL Item No.: 451252
Notes:This document was not entered as evidence.
Document Summary
PS-707: Correspondence between SS, RF and Sonderkommando, RR (Einsatzstab) forming a report on the causes and reason for the destruction of the Charkow museum