HCPO - OSS: Detailed Interrogation Reports - Bruno Lohse ... · Consol idated Interrogation Report...

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OPICE OF SIRATKGIC SERVICKS ART lOOTING lNVBSTIGATION UNIT

JPO 413 us ARMY

DETAILED INreRROOATION REPORT NO bull 6

15 August 1945

SUbject a BRUNO LOHSE

middot~I ~ ~~fl( ) t shy

middot J s PLAUT bull( middot Lieutenant USNR

Director

Distribution

US Chief of Counsel middot(war Crimea) Doc Div 6 J bullAbull sect (War crilms) 3rd us A1mY bull 5 US Group CO (Germany) MFA amp A 4 USFBT MFA amp A 2 mlAustria (U9Aa) MFA amp A 2 G-5 Cion 1 Atfairs War Dept 2 Roberts COJIIDias1on 2 E1ID state oept 2 Brit El 00 Genoony MFA amp A 4 AbullCbullAbull (British) MFA amp A 2 usw 2 11middot1middot5middot 2 DmiddotObullIbullRbull 4 Oltlamiss Gen Netherlands (Ec Recup ) 2 ])ltarnal and Jile 12

J)rafted 27 Augus t 1939 asbull a driver i n tho 4t h Feldlazar e t t Ar mee s ani t h tsabtoll ung 532 1 witn grade of pr ivate ser ved with this un lt 1n t he Pol1sh campa i gn Tr a nsferred 4 sept e mbe r 1940 t~ a Partz~rj~gerabt e 1lunp and sent to the

COQF IDJIHAs

BRUNQ LOHSE

Note LOHSE was lnterrorated at a special i nvest i gat ion center in Austria durin~ tho period 15 June - 15 Au7ust 1945 This report is supplementary to Consol idated Interrogation Report No lr Activityof the Finsatzstab Rosenberg in France 1 1 dated 15 Au~ust 1945 1 whlch is based largely on his state shyments 1 and ln which the extent of hls own activity ls del incatod

I middot P~RSONAL

(a ) Birth Family and ~ducat lon

Wtlholm Pe t Ar Rruno LOHSB 1 born 17 Soptembor 1911 at DiHngdorf Kre i s Herford Westphamplia Father AURUSt LOHSF member of the Berlin Phtlharmonlc OrchEgtJtra ( pemiddotrcuss ion i nstruments ) last known wherpnbouts Berlln April 1945 rAothcr Anna cathe-r ine LOHSE nee ~-~OP l~KOP died 1 938 Ofe brother and OnEmiddot sister1 Frau TOVI TSKI last known whoreah out s Hamburg (wlth 3 children) LOHSE s brothor and brothe r - in- law NOVITSKI wor e both miss i~ in combat on the Russ i a n front l ate in 1944

El ementary and intermediate schooltnr in Ber l in Graduated tn 1929 University of Berlin 1930 - 1932 studies in art history philosophy and lermanic cultnrc 1932 1 qua l lfied as a teacher of spbrts 1933 four months in Prllnce study ing lanruerbulles 1935 Unlvers tty of Frankfort ~radvgtte studies In the hls tory of art 1936 Ph middotD 11 Finamp Arts from Frankfort 1936 - 1939 independent study and aft d egt allr11- on a small scala in Rnr lln usln~ his father s house as a stud lo- rallery

(b) Pol i t lea l

Upon hls return from France in 1933 and ros umptlon of hts studios at the Univ0rstty of Bor l ln LOHSE was obliged to rocolve political indoctrinat ion in company wtth all other unlvors tty students He sta t ed that in order to avoid the i m11l i cations of s uch indoctrination and becHnsc his studies with the depos ed professor~ FISCHEL NFUr~P and WFI SSBACH had bo~n interrupted he volunteered to toach sports i n the All~cmo ine s s He jotnod tho Naz i Par ty in 1937 middot In 1938 he ts oont t nuod sports ins truct ion i n t he s s on tne pl ea of ill health

LOHSE atah1d that in 1942 ln Parts ha was offered t he rank of Ob~rsturmfuchrer tn the Al l gomo1ne s s and was r e shyquested to wear t he s s uniform As ho wAs an enlisted man in the Luftwaffe he was ab l e to decllno both tho rank ana the uniform He statod under oath that ho had ne ver worn an s s un tform but that he had been lla ted permanent l y on the s s rol la as a qua l if i ed and e l igible sports instructor

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(o ) Military service

on ex~ ln the Quat

to remain GOFRilTG

hls

bull bull I middot ~ ~

Ersatztrappentetl at KolbergOstseo f or convalesce n t duty s ubsequl)nt to a lonp pertod tn the hospita l

In February 194 1 LOHSE an detached for four weeks temporary duty wtth the E tnsatzstab Roscnbor~ Parte Transfer shyrod 21 July 1941 to tho wachabte tl1mp Hermann Goer t~ K Kompantc Transferred 10 ~~rch 1943 to tho Stabskompant e des Generals der Luftwaffe Paris and on 19 Auust 1944 to the Fal1schtrmpanzerkor ps Hormann Goer in~ B(r lin (hls final military Untt)

II ACTI VITY liTH THE BINSATZSTAB ROSPNrPRG

(a ) Init tal Ass tgnment

Bocauso of his civlltan stF -1dinco as an a rt hlstorian LOHSE was dotached from his mtlltnry unIt ln Ht-brunry 1941 for four WOlt)kS duty with the Spec la l s trif for Pictorial Arts of the Winsatzstab Rosenberg in Paris Pr i or t othts time ho stated th~t he had had no contact 11th tho Rosenb~rr orpanlza shytlon LOISE stated that upon hls rCpormiddottLnrmiddot for duty Dmiddot R middotK middot Ob~rfuehr~r Baron Kurt von BFHR Director of tho Paris ar t staff and Deputy Dtrector of tho EmiddotRmiddot Rmiddot in the Occupied countries of the wes t had explained to htm that in accordance with a fliTLFR or-d er ownerless Jewish collections were to be roquisitioned and sent to fermany such conf i scAtion be in~ in accord wtth a specia l provision of the trltrman-French armistice st~ned a t CompicRne in 1940

LOHSE stated that von B~rn tole hlM also that the ent ire opcrt t ton had ~eon d~clar-d soc regtt by HITVR and t ho t even the basic text of tho special artic l e of tho armlstico was not to bo dlvul~ed it had been his or i~lnal l mprnsston and that of all his coll(agues ln tho ER R in Parts thlt tho confiscat ions wor e ont lr oly l egal and carrted out by agrcem~nt of th~ ~ren ah and German govArnments

LOHSE sta t ed thet von BElffi hod furthe r explained to hlm t hat POSENrERG dostr~d prompt actlon and that he bad ther~fore b een ob liged to call u pon all avallable pr oft~ss tona l art hiatorlans to assis t in the task LOHSE was ptvbullm the l nltlal r es ponslbll lty for the preparation of a ca t n l of and inventory of tho newly confiscated Alphonso KANN collc ctlon He s tated that he f ound the work uncongon La l and t hat he r equested forma lly to be r e turned to hls r eG i ment at the end of the st i pulated four weeks of detached duty

(b) Asslpnment to GOERING

LOHSE stated that two days before the ex p iration of his duty ao~RING arrtvcd ln Par t s to cxamlno tho matertal confiscated to dato by the E R R He was g iven the task of escorting GOERING thrO~h tho Jeu de Pa ume and as LOFSGa spec ia l f leld was Dutch painting of the 17th century of act tnR as docent in tnts catorory LOHSE r~marked that GOERING had beon impressed by his knowledge tn this flo ld 1 particularly ln view of a discuss ion which took place conoerntn~ several disputed p i ctures btblt~on and ordered hlm tp come to hls offloe d oreay LOHSE reported to GOERING and was orderod

Parle art for

in Parts as a member of the Flnsatzetab art staff also asked hlm to make pertodlo survoya of tho mo~kot on his b eha lf a nd to ~eoommend art objoote a oqu liS it 1on

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I Shortly thereaftPr LOHSE recelvod a special document sl~ned by ~CERING authorizln his actlvlty in the Rolchs shy

1marschall ts behalf and requestlll all military state and Party orpantza tions to f ac1litnt1 hl_s mission s evera l months l ater LOHSF was transferred formally to a Luftwaffe detachmen t Because of his special Ml esion for GOERING he was permitted to wear civllian clothes l n Parts and to drive a pr ivat~ car a nd middotwhereas his activity with the Einsatzstab diminished because of the new assignment his stature and independence in tho organizat ion woro increased thor eby Nominally he rlmainod a member of the special art staffwithout executive authority

(c) Activity nftor the Roviston11

In Auus t 1942 the sa- ca lled r revis lon11 r rport pre pared by Perc ichslo lter Robert S030LZ a nd Abschnlttoletter Hermann von IWJRAM was pres onted to RQSINBERG (S Mgt cons elida t ed Intorro~a tlon Report No 1 Chapter II (b) ) Upon ROSBNFRG s acceptance of the rec ommendations made in this r np ort SC~OLZ was - ivon full r os pons tbllity for the art s t aff in Par ls 1owover ln v iew of tho f a ct thot hc rl1maJnod for the most per t at tho Roscnborp headquartmiddotcrs in Ber lin scmiddotbulloLZ made LOHSF and Dr Walter BORCHERS hls d o putlc3 for Parts von BEHR loft the art staff ln January 1943 and for approximate ly a year from thls date LOHSE enjoyed a qunal-oxocutivo posltlon shar l nr h is nrofesslona l r espons lb1lltl0s wlth BORCHERS and deferrinG ln purely administrative matters to von INGRAM a~ Dr B~T-~T~R who had succeeded von BBI~ as Director of tho F R middot R Pnr is bull

Barly in 1944 b~caus c of a rift whtch tad deve lopedhctweon BORCIRS and LORS~ and because LOHSE hnd rwtdc cent lnual reques ts to be returned to nct lve military duty SC~10LZ dls shyrnlssod hlm f rom tho art s taff H~ was succeeded by Walter RrbullrnoCK LOHSE was rtven l eavo prl01bull to his r oturn to act tvs duty and hroko h is l og on a skiing ho liday GOERING thcre~ponordered hlm to r emain ln Par ls and to continue work on his specia l ass t~nmcnt divorced from thf art staff but r ema iningunder the E RRmiddot for administrative purpos es

(d) Activity f r om the FDll of Parts nntil the Gorman surrender

In August 1944 1 during tho German rout in France a l l malo employees of the E RR wore ordered to act ivo military duty for defense of the Reich on 48 hours notice LO~~E stated that upon l e arning or this order ho becamo appr ehensive tha t tho swift withdrawal of the E middot RmiddotRmiddot staff would r esult ln the abandonment of essent ial records and a number of va luabre art treasures REHBOCK was absent from Pllrls and failed tQ r oturn and BORCHERS in panic dismiss ed all workcrs on r eceipt of the order preparin~ to ovaouato paris at once bull

On 8 A~ust 1944 LOHSE notified GOERING by telephoneof the order given the Einsatzstab by the German military

1 commander in France and was requested to proceed at once to Berlin On hls return to parts 10 days later he found the bull Einsatzstab headquarters abandoned and returned to Berl tn on 19 August reporting to GOERING s headquarters He was transferred to the Hermann aoerinp Fallschlrmpanzerkorps Berl i n on that date

Amiddot tr lp to Brussels ens ued for the purpose of r~oover tng persona l possessions whlch had appar ently been sent there 1n the hasty eva cuation o~ the Par ts offloe LOHSE sta t ed that all his persona l po~sess t ons were los t tn t he trans f er 1 and that he recovered nmiddotothl~ Shortly theree tte~t hemiddot was g 1VEtn

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permission to go to Merano Ita l y for a week s leave had been under med teal treat ment for k idney a tones 1 and as hls

cond ition did not improve he was adv i sed to undergo an opelbulla shytion in November 1944 The Berlin hospi tal to which he had been ordered was destroyed in an air ra id short ly before h~ arrival and he was granted perm i ssion to proceed to Rohenshys chwangauFilssen to have the oporati on performed there At FUssen he lived with Ofrnther SCHISDLAUSKY and other E middotRmiddotRbull personnel assirned to the deposit at Schloss Neuschwanste tn

At the end of the war approached LOHSE proceeded to Kogl in company with SCHIEDLAUSKY to confer ~ith SCHOLZ who had as yet received no instructions from the Re ichschanoellery re shygarding disposition of the E middot Rmiddot Rmiddot materia l ln the event of an Allied military occupation In Kogl i t was fe l t that the Russ ian advance mt rht soon ent~ulf the area and SCHOLZ deQ lded that tho bas i c records or the F nn which were stored at Ko~l 1 should be moved to Fussen lhor efore FLFISCHER who had been summoned by SCHOLZ and LOHSE moved part of the materlampl from Kogl to Fussen by truck LOHSE made two additional trips from FOssen to Kogl and return collectin~ further fi les a nd photograph ic records SCHOLZ revea led to him that he had received orders from the Rolchschance llery to destroy all E RR documentary material an order which he saw flt to ignore

LOHSB stated that during his last sojourn at Kogl SCHOLZ had r iven him the complete dossier of basic E middotRmiddotRmiddot orders with the r equest that LOHSE turn them over to t he Amer i can authorishyties at such time as Flissen might he occupied He rece ived als o a written order from SCHOLZ a uthor i z i ng SC~IEDLAUSKY and other E R R pers onnel to r emain at FUssen and to g ive the American author ities any ass istance or informat i on requested ~

Upon hls return to Fiissen LOHSE l earned that UTIKAL arrl a number of the evacuated members of tho E middot Rmiddot Rbull Berltn staff had been ther e in h i s absence UTIKAL had ordered all Emiddot Rmiddot Rmiddot personnel to l eave FUssen and attempt to escape SCHrEDLAUSKY howe ver had remained On 2 May 1945 1 SCHIEDLAUSKY and LOHSE reported to the American Militany Government authorities tn FUssen and on 4 May 1945 LOHSE was int ornod

( e ) Participation in conf~cat iona I

The initia l conf isca tions of the Einsatzstab were conduct ed by conf idential ass istants of von BEHRI who were unaccompaniedand unadvlsed by the profess iona 1 art his tor tans a t tached to tho speclal staff At an undetermlned moment howe ver ( purs uant to the r e commendat ions of the 11 revls lon11 reportl ~t bocame standard procedure to have one or the art historians accompany res ponsible E middotR R pers onnol to the premis es where confiscations were to t ake place LORSE as wel l as BORCHFRS KUNTZE BAUMANN Fraule in EGGEMANN Fraulo in von TO~FORDE am other members of the art staff enrnGed i n this uct tvity It was the ir function to control the sc ope or the confiscation in ter ms of the i ntrlnsio value of the objoots of art under cons ideration and to eliminate the lrresponslble seizure of mis cellaneous comparatively value l ess i tems

LOHSE stated also tha t at the time of von B~HR s transfer from the E middot RmiddotRmiddot to Dienststelle Westen he (LOP~E) rece ived an order from SOHOLZ a nd von INGRAM to inves tipate carefull y a ll addresses whlch had been oolloo t ed by von BFFffi as potent ial 1Qc1 for conf iscation and to ascertain whe ther those were in factl egitimate ownerless ~argets

LOHSE was obliged f~thermoro to determine through tho French commission for Jewish Problems and tho Sicherheitsdlenst

- 4 shy

that

- 5 -

4 bull bull

~ whethor thn prospective s eizures encompassed prop~rtiea abandoned by J ewish owners LOHS~ stated that to the best of his belief no selzur6 was ever effected by the E middot Rmiddot Rmiddot unless the owner r~d actually f l ed but he admitted that this pr inc tple was not applied t n the lnd i s criminato conf is cat ions undertaken by von BEER and the Dienststolle Westen in the course of the M- Action

All seizures conducted by the ~ R R middot aubsAquent to von BFHR bulls departure were dire cted by LOHSE andor BORCHERS FLFISCTIFR was charged wlth the r lmOmiddotal of th0 works of ar t se l ected by the art histor i ans from the place of confi scat i on to the Jeu de Pauma

(For further de tails sEJe consolidated Intorro~atlon Report No 1 1 Chapter III (a) )

(f) In i t i ation of Pxcbanres

LOHSF shar ed with von ~~RR and SCPOLZ the responsib ility for tho lnttlatlon of certain cxchanes of confiscated pnintshylnrs carr led out by the F R R w1th a number of i nd 1 v ldua ls bull The majority of these were transacted with the German dea l er Gustav ROCILITZ on beha l f of GOERING

(For deta ils of exchan~e3 in which LOHSE took an acti~Je part sofl cons oldda ted Interrorat ton Report No 1 Chapters IV (d) and V and Detailed Interroatlon Peport llo 4 subject Gustav ROCLITZ )

(~) Rol~t lons with tho E middot R middotR middot Staff

LOHSE s re l at ions vllth hts professional colleacues in Paris were strained by a s~rlea of petty lntri~ues prccipltat~d by the jealousy of several women mcrtbcrbulls of the staff and by ~oneral envy of hts favored position in rAlation to ~O~RING (See Consolidated Interrogation Report No 1 Chapters II (c) and VI and SEe below Chapter IV )

III ACTIVITY FOR GO~ING

(Note For full detai l s of LOHS~ s purchases for and proposals to GO~HG soc consolidated Interrogation Report Uo 11 The GO~RING2 1collection )

(a) In Par is

LOHSE s activity as a spoc la l aront f or the GQCRINO Collect ion was carried out primar ily ln Parts from March 1941 throuph July 1944 At the outset LOHSF was limited to the examlnatlon of art ob jects avai l a ble i n the Paris market and to propostnc and exh l b l tln3 them to GO~RING l n t~e Jeu de Pauma on the occas lon of GOlltRING s numerous vis its to Par is subsequontly he was empowered for a rclat ive l y short time to make l ndependont purchases for GOERING on the bas is of photoshy1rapha submitted to the Re lchamaraoha ll and a s pao l a 1 fUnd was placed at hts disposal through the office of the commanding G~neral of the Luftwaffe ln Parts LOl~E sta t ed

long-lived ~n order months

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this arrangement was neither satisfactory nor that ho was too often embar rassed by GoRING 1 s after objects had been purchased outright from various dealers to have them returned as unsatisf~ctory Consequently he reverted to his original s tatus as sur-r~yor for rotPDG of wolbullks available n the zrarket

LOHSE s pr incipal connections i n the Paris art market were the fol lowing

1 Al len LO~

J ewish director of the Galerie GARIN (formerly KLEHBERGSR) LOHSE stated that he had mot LOEBL thloughWilhelm Jakob MOH)lE~i (see O S S A L I U Interim Report on German Looting of Worls of Art i n Prance 11 dated 15 Aprtl 1 015 ) shortl y after he hud arrived i n Paris and t hat ho had made an aerEHmen1i with OEBL prot e cting him against anti- Jewis h act i on in 1bulleturn for which LOHSE rbullece ivcd first option for GOERING on any works of art pass ine throus h LOEBTJ s hands In add i tion he secured the release of LOEBL s brother Manon from the concentrashytion camp at Draney on two occasions

LOEBL was LOHSE s adviser and intormedia1bully in a substantial numbeuror of tra nsactions and s potted pictures for him It was chiefly through LOEBL middotthat LOJSE becane familiar wlth the Paris art trade lnd became acquainted wi h such other dealers a ~ Victor MANDEL PERDOUX and ENGcL w bo ooerated as an informal ayn~icete (See Conshysolidated Interroen iion Reoormiddott Jo 11 Ge1middotman Methods of Acquisition peal ers )

LOHSil purchased E paintings otttright from LOSEL for ClOERING and proposed a numbol of others

2 ~tav ROCIILIVIZ

LOHSE was t~e c hi ef intermediary in the aerie s of exchanges conducted by the E H R with ROCmITZ in GOERING s behalf (See Consolida ted Inter1bullpgation Repor t No 1 Chapters IV (d ) and V and Detailed Inter~ ogation Report No middot4 Subje 1middott Gustav ROCHLITZ )

3 Adolf WUESTERmiddot

LOHSE stated that he was on fairly close terms with WUESTIR amateur art dealer and special buyor for von RIBBENTROP 1 who had Llim ina talled in the German Emba ssy in Paris with the nominal t itlo of Consul LOHSE also met WOESTER ttuoough MOimEN WUESTER in turn inshytrodpced LOHSE to aeveral dealers notably DEQUOY and FABL~tH

( Frenc h citizen who bad been active as a dealer

in Berlin and fr om whom LOHSE bourht s everal object s i n Berlin for GOERING middot(s ee bel ow ) In Paris intermittently througho~t the war

6 I

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G ~EEG21fll9M

Dutch restorer and dealer activo in Par is and some~ime business associate of D1middot Hans WENDLAND LOISE pwbullchased one p ictur e outright from bim for GOSRING

LORSD also made purchases in Par is for GOERING from the following MESTRALLE1 PhDCUX LAicDHY BOIJlL Mme GERARD1

a nd tho Hotel DROUOl

(b ) Out of Par is

1 Holland

In addition to h is ac t i v ity for GOnlUUG in Pa1bullis 1 LOHSE made a number of tliJs to IIol lnnd in connection with the a cquisition of paint ings fol the GOERING Collection He atc t ed that the Dutch art marlcot was not n fertile field for him in t hn t GOSRIUG s chief buyc1bull and Director of his col shylections Wol ter Andreas lOFER conducted extensive business i n Holla11d the Dutch mamprkot was further covered for GOERil~G by Alois MIEDL and the special repro santativo of SEYSS- INQUART ICajetan MUEHLMAUN

LOESE stated that h~ vsitod Holland thL first time on GOERING s orders liia mission was to proce~d to Amstebulldam meet PAT- ZAADE and take him to Monoco PAT- ZADE had a ntunbcr of pictures wblch had been ~11ovm to GOERING in Berlin and had nrousod his interest Tbey had been loft with a reshystorer in Holland for cleaning anC were to be tmiddot ken to Dr BREDIUS in Monaco fol expert opirion prlor to po~s iblo ec shyquisition by GO~ING L01SE stated thrd on ttH return trip to Berlin the cases containin( tbe pv inti np-s in question which had been consigned as Wehrmocht prorxbullty were lost somewhere between P~ris and Amstcldam anJ ho was oblieod to go to AmsterdaJri sovcral times j_n an effort to trace them

On the occasion of one of the s e vinita he met the art dealel Victor MODRCZEWSICI whom he had lltno~n in Berlin MODRCZL~SKI introduced him to ~ax J FRIEDLANDER the eminent authority on Dutch painting and to the art dealer Jan DTIC Jr whon LOHSE subsequently diso ovo1bulled to btJ a partner of MODROZEWSKI LOHSE also me t WIEDl1

1 a businoss middotassociate of DIIC at this time

DIK and HODRCZEWSKI cama to Palis 1n Moy 1942 nfter arrangements had been completed by LOH3E to offer a group af pa i ntings to GOERIID Three of those fieurcd in an E R R ~ oxohanse (see Cona9lidated Interrogation Report No Chapter1 1 V 17) and five additional pictur e s were purchased

LOHSE stated that a number of t hQ paintings which DIK had brought frpm Amsterdam to Pa ris were clso lost on the return tr i p and t hat the l oss bad necessitated his presence in Amsterdam on several othor occasions In the course of these yisits LOHSE obtained exper t opin1ona from FRIEDLANDER on six or seven p i ctures which he pl~nned to propos e to GOERING and s tated that he had been able t o render FRIEDshyLANDER certain a s sistanc e i n his pl 18h t as a J ew LOUSE was unabl e t o recal l exactly how n~ny v1e1t s he had made to Holland dur1ng t he war but belie ved t he numb e~ was bet ween t en a nd fifte en 0~ s everal oooaeione he travel ed f rom Paris to Amsterdam in the middotGOERlNG s pooial t ruin and the major-ity otbull

I 1

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his visits were merely overnight stops enroute from Paris middot~o Bsrlin

Contrarv to lhe assertion made by Aloia MIEDL under inter shyrogation in Madr~d ( see o s SA LI U report on MIEDL dated 1 May 1 945 ) LOHSE sta t ed that he did not go to Holland o~ E R R business

2 Sw i tzellond

LOISE s ta ted that he had travel ed to Switzerla nd on one occasion in 1942 1 traveling from Paris to Basle where he met Dr Hans SCHNLIDER ttc f ormer Curat or of the Mauritshuis in The Hague Tho trmiddotip had b oon au t hor izod by GOIRING as the r e sult of an argument which had taJren place between LOHSE and HOFER over the authenticity of a painting attributed to Br ouwer which GOERING had a c quir ed frmiddotom DIK on LOHSE s recommenda tiltJn HOF~3R had den i ed the attribution n nd LOHSE had tteque sted GOERING s permis s ion to proc~Gd to Basle and discuss the matter with Dr SCEJJEIDER LOJISE s tfl ted tha t SCENSIDER c onf irmed the Br ouwer att1bullibution an~ that GERING had r etained the painting

From Basle he pr oceeded to Zurich t o examine three Cranachs photographs of which had been sent to Berlin for GOERING s examination by the Frankfort doal or BOEDECKER LOHSE had be on told that ~he pictures were in the possess ion of a dealltH named TRAINE but on orrial in Zurich he learn(ld tha t the pictura s were no longor available having bron sold some time before LOHSE stated tha t he bad transac ted no further business in the course of this sinrl e visit to Switzerland end had r eturned directly from Zurich to Par is

3 Sou_h_of Fran~

LOHSE stated that he had t Ntvel ed to tho South of Frapce in conne ction with thEJ acqUisition of wormiddotks of ar t for GOERING on five or six o~casions In addition to tho trbullip llllde to Monaco in the company of PAT- ZAADE he wont sovoral times to Nico and Canne s to survey the Riviera art market which was the middotcenter for Unoccupied France He a cquired one painting f~ GOERING from the dealer AQUILARD in CElnne s bull

(c ) General

LOHSE was given a l etter of authority dated 21 April 1941 for his special GOERING mission Tho tex t of t his letter Wpoundls

nnr Bruno Lohse is t von mir b eauftrag t in Kunsthandlungen Privataammlungen und auf off ontliche

Versteigerungen Kunstgeg=lnstlmdo zu erworben middotAlle D1enststellen des Staa tes der Partei und der Wehrmacht sind angew1esen ihn be ~ der Durchfuhrung s eines Auftragas Zt unteratiitzen

(Tranelation

t Dr Bruno Johse is au thorzod by me t middoto acquire works of art from art dealers prlvate collections and public auctions All units of the Sta te the Par ty and the armed forces are requested to support htm in the exeoutiop of his mission )

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had been

HOFER (See Walter Andreae

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~ ~ ~ LOHSE emphasized that hie activity for GORING lfampcred constantly by his lack of independence and by GOERUlO a ultimate r eliance in all important transactions on Detailed Interr ogation Report No 9 Subject HOFER ) HOFER was inclined to depre cate LOHSE s efforts and to minimize t re impor t ance oL objects which he proposed to GOERING Moreover t be rumor that LOESE had bean chosen by J

COERING ae future Director of the Carinhall collections aroused h OER s enmity and cr~ated an additional bar r i er GOERING amp attitude toward LOHSE was that of a tolerant elder and whereas LOHSE sta t ed that be had idolized GOERING 1 he admitted that GOERING s reluctance to release him from the s pecial mission had placed him in an anomAlous pooition b oth in the GOERING entourage and in the Einsatzatab

Inasmuch as he was frus t rated so often in his a ttempts to persuade GOERING (through ROPER ) of tho valinity of hi s proshyposals LOESE felt free to propose objec ts wltich he had s een in tho Par is art market to other r~rman offltdals ond to Gorman deal ers Thus on his r ecolllJbullendo tion a null bullcr of Jn int ings wore acquired for the Fuehrermuseum Linz throueh German dealers wJ th whom he had become friendly Among theoo were Hans W LANGE the Bellin auctioneer Frau Maria ALMAS- DIETRICH Munich and Dr GOEPEL tbe special a(ent for L i llz (For a detaJled list of paintings acquired for Linz on LOHSE 1 s recommendat ion aoe Consolida ted Intorropa tion Report No 4 11Linz HITLER s Musoum and Library ) In addition LOHSE vtos instrumental in tho acquisition of two pa intinpounds for neicharlinister SPEER (companionmiddot piecec by Rubert Robart from FAI3IAU purchased by the ~ormnn sculpto~ Arno BREKER and ono painting pound or Rcichshysleitol BORAff~ (e rlinterhal tor f-om LOE3L pnrchased by Frau DIi1RICH)

LOHSE was inmiddotrolved in the complitnted affair of the SCPLOSS Collection confiscoted in Hl4 by th Tichy au t h orities and sold subscquc1tly in large part to Gcr11mny for the Jin2 Musotln GOERING w1 s interested initially in its acquie i t ion but bocanse of t 1H nircums tancCs mrroundlnr tho confiscation and tho exorbitanc figure aallted by tho French government ho withdttow LOHSE 1 rJ part i n thG affair was a dual one He had been smnmonod by von BEER in t he in1tial atacee of the transfer and ~oked to arrange the details of transporta tion of the collec tton fr om Unoccupied FNlnce to Par is on behalf of the Gorman government In addition he was r esponsi ble for middotk eepli1g GOERING i nformed of all developments (For full details of the oonfisoat1on transfer and sale of the SCHLOSS Collection soe Consol idatod Intorrobulla tion Report Io 4 11Linz HITLER s Mua eull and Library ) middot

IV SUMYARY

The LOHSE case is complica t ed by the fact that he served in a dual capacity and t hat his f unctions and prerogatives wer o never clearl y definod Although nominally only a corporal in the Luftwaffe and a scholar attached to the Paris art staff of the Einsatzatab Rosenberg his employment on behalf of GOERING gave him respons ibi lity a nd prestige greatly exceeding that of his colleagues Moreover homiddot bas boon the target of the following accusationa leveled against him boymiddot French and other informants

(a) responsibility for r eckless confiscation oj Fxbullenoh art properties

(b) personal thett ot valuable works of art

J bull IS

(c) threatening and persecut i on of Frenchmen Jews

and other individual s

(d) active membership in the s s LOHSE has been under interrogation for an extended period

The apparent candor of his statements and the directness of his answers have at a ll times impressed his iht orroeators favorabl y On no occasion has he a ttempted t o deny his per sonal responshysibility for a cts committed under orders as a member of tho Einsatzstab Rosenberg nor has he shmm any i nclination to minimize tho significance of his activity 1n bobalf of GOERING His statements concerning colloaguos und business associate s - shyof ten in tho face of accusations made against him by the inshydividual under discussion - - appear to have been made truthfully and without bias

The statements vthich form the basis of thio ropogtt have

boon mado without exception under oath In tbo interests of clarity tborofore it s eems adv i snhlo to onunwrvto horo the accusattons di rected at LOHSE from various sources togothc with his sworn answers to the no c harges

(1) Relations with Victor WtANDL _i_~Boc9ad~z So Pa is

LOHSE was acltused of s ending a militay trucli with a Gorman drmiddot 1cr to tria address to tako away worl~s of art ( tapshyestitlc r~nr A)tntings) and on two occasions 24 February 1943 and rn middotbull1rlicr date of having dispatched somoono to this address to colle0t 8 000 franos and 200 000 francs rospect ivolybull

LOHSE sta t ed that he neith er condnctfJd business trans shyactions r ony l-)rbulld -ith MANDL nor uill ~113 0vrr receivl mcncy from hil- Ho smiddotb~l t~at he me t MANU LmiddotJ~-e1ncJly through LOE--L ond Fcan I)IETRIC~ ~~o conducted all b gtl~middotic 1llsine ss from t hic lddmiddots~ All p~tures ptllchas oci ~1 Flut DIlRICH 1n Pnris wero bro11ght to 1~amp~WJ middot nnd stored with -111 The sum of 8 1 000 franlr wan cclscmiddotrot b y one of LOUSE s (lSaistents as a s ervice to FNu DI=TRICHr lho was abs ent from Paris at the time so thD t rbull ill could bo paid for her Sim1l11rly 1 the sum of 2001 000 1rancs was collected to pay for a p ictur e which had boan a cquired by Dr GOE~

As indicated above LOHSE actod f r om t~e to timo as np i ntormediay f or Frau DIETRI CH GOEPEL LANGE a ndmiddotothors

(2) LEFRA~W and themiddot SCJUOSS Collootion

LOHSE was accused of a cquiring for himself in company with the dealeragent LEFRANC1 throe pa intings from the SCHfOSS Col l ection

I

He sta t ed that ho bad rac-~vod neither paintings nor compenshysation from the scmoss t r ansaction Two small paintings wlich ho had recommended to Frau DIETRICH - shy a probabl e Rembrandt and a Judith Loyster - shy wero purchased by her and subsequ~ntly bought by Alfred ROSENBERG from E R R funds because a quostion of the authent i city of these picturoa had ~rison and SCHOL~ had rec ommended to ROSENBERG tba t t re purchaso would vindicate LOHSE ROSEloBERG had a lso tol t that LOHSE bad erred 1n ma~ing a va ilabl e t o Frau DIETRICH pa intings which mi ght eventually be wanted for t he Linz Collection a nd i t was h b i ntention t o give them to Linz LOHSE sta t ed tha t Fr au DIETRICH sold t hes e paint~ ings t o ROSENBERG without profit

middotgtmiddot A thilbulld picture (Dutch 17 c Portrait of a Woman) was givan

back to LEFRANC and subsequently acquired by Dr GOE~EL far Linz L~RANC was tho agent officially delegated by the French governshymont to handle the d~tails of tho sale and r oceive for sale all objects which had not been hel d back by the Louvre or chosen i~ the initial group for Linz

(3 BELTRAND Appraisalamp

Th~ absurdly low appraisals mndo by M Jacques BELTRAND on paintings confiscated by tho Einsatzstab which had boen selected for the GOERING Coll~ction have boon condemned by all sources LOHSE hao denied catogorically that ho a ttcmptcd to influence BELTRAND in hi~ appraisals and stated that BLTRAND a timid and negative individual mado middotbe low appraisals out of f ear of tho Germans notably GOERING

There is emplo document~ry ovidence to provo that JOJ~Erl on at loast one occasion persutdod BELTCA~~D to lower his figulbulles (s ee Consolidated Intorro ra tion Report No 2 Jht GOR I NG Colshylcction 11 LOHSE stated t~at he appraisals were a source of constant wonder to SCBIEDLAUSEY and him and never reflected the middotmlue of tho worl(s in question

(4) Relation~h~p with Baron Olivier ALLARD 59 Boulevard Txel mans 1_ cr1s shy

LOHSE vas accuood of clandestine traffic in paintings with Barmiddoton AJ_j_H~gt

middot atod that ALLARD o 3elgiol snbj middot c-t was n clos e friend and ~ 1)ormiddotmiddotlis companion ALLARD 1bullan into firSlncinl difficulties nnd vtshud to sell some of his pictutt cJ roHSE stated that he h-d o~krd FLE$hr to call fur thcsr pL~turcs in order to show trogtn tcmiddot ~r RADJbull___ ]H and to LANG3 i hr tgt1 ctur os were not sold JJl)ITSE soiC ~J~ -- he had thom rc (in l bull ~--11 ldmittod fretlyhis LJ~crts in ALLfDs behalf

(F) Hopoundt~ltl lith LEEGElJHOEI~ 2_~0 By_ylovord Raspai1 1 Pnris

i( has beltHl alleged middot that LOHSE hod flbulloquant business reshylations with the dealor LEEGENHOEK

LOHSE stated that ho hadnever bought pictures from L~shyGENHOEK as HOFERfroquontod t h iD ~ollury as GOERING s aeent He admitted th~t he had visited the eall~ry frequently to see LEEGENHOEKs pictures LOHSE denied categor ically tbot LEEGENHOEK had ever transactod business with tho E1nsatzstab Rosonberg middot

(6) middotProjected Exchange with FABIANI and DEQUOY

LOHSE has been accused of attompt1ng to promote a largeexchange with the dealero DEQUOY and FABIANI involving paintshyings conf i scated by tho Einaatzstab Rosenberg and pf planningmutual profits with the two dealers It was stated tba t 52 modern pictures were delivered to DEQUOY on tho premises of tb9 former WILDENSlEIN Gallery 140 rue middotdu Faubourg St Honoro Paris on 26 January 1944 and that throo days later 8 additional modern pictures were dolivltSrod there The eo con- middot f1scated paintings were to be exchanged for 7 paintings of the 18th contury z 1 landscape attributed to Hub6rt RobortBouch~ 4 pictures by Guar d1i and 2 by Pann1n1 The 7 paintings were

and it was intended to resell t~o 60

the Tho informant further

bull ~

given an aggreeate evaluation o 2 000000 francs stated t~~t LOHSE and the two dealers ~ confiscated paintings for approximately 20 000000 franca profits to bo divided equally amonr thom stated that tho transaction vtat blocked by SCLOLZ who arrived from Berlin just in time t9 nullify the proceedings

That this exchange was projected has been confirmed by various sources including LOHSE LOHSE stated that SCHOLZ who in 1 941 haC prepared a list of confiscated French 19th and 20th century paintings which the E R R could use for exshyct~nnga or s nl o purpos es had approved tho transaction in principle LOHSE ~tn ted that tho DEQUOY- FAI3IANI paintings wore to be ac shyquirEd by the Einsatzs tab for Linz The transaction according to LOHSE was null if icd by certain of his colloamiddotuos in the E R R who informed SCHOLZ that the exohanco would be disadvantageous to tho Einsa tzstab LOHSpound denied tha t he had ovor discussed with FA~UNI or DEQUOY any question l c lat ~ng to pe lsonal plofits

Ho fulthor dor ~od tho t thmiddot 7 pointinc s offered by tbQ deolorR hod a n n~C ltgate value of 2 1 000 1 00() floncs and stated thEI t tho Jlilbort HvboltBmchcro alone had been sold subs equently

to LAJlGE iu Berlin for 3 1 500 1 000 fl~oncs and resold by LANGE to L1nz f ol cn ovrn higher proice He atn t od f nnthoro that GOEPEL had dosilod tle crcburge for Linz and had written e statement to this effoc t C~l- middotYUESTER had apprniocd t bo modoln pic tulcs offelon Al1C middotno-t ib applaieal was voly much loVIer than 201 000rbullrJCbull ~l nc IIG added tha t 10 paintin~s had boen offered by Dt~Tbullc r 1(1 FArgtIAlJI in this cxc hnnroe anti thr t 9 hed been subshys ampquc nl~middot ncquil ~d for Linz by purchase (8co Consoliclated I1tcmiddotmiddot~_ middot tion Rcro1t No 4 1

11L H1Z HIlmiddotmiddotJ~ tr tiuseum and Lit1bullary 11 )

1 I I ri- ~r_n _middotmiddotmiddot gt LOEBL s privat 7 to GOiFING

ha11 - 1~1c ~h - middot middot of much conj ElCll~ LJE3S and IIOFSP rlLlvo botb l~- bull 1rcu-cr -bull makin demands O o~L tor the liblary a nd llJ ~ lt01J~lt b n indicated t hat thu bullJll-l~ln GARIN (LOEPL middots firm) 9~-tmiddotl ~ lt~~mediary for the s n ~ nr~ a n important libNromiddotmiddot~middot to GOi~ iiN(

Recently discovelod documents and LOHSE s own statements establish th0 fact middotthat LOEBL offerod his own library to GOERING as a gif t plobably to influence the Reichsmnrachall in bullhis favol Tho offer wna transmitted threugh LOHSE and HOFER ~o GOERING but GOERING declined to acoont tho gif t and oldeled tho library acquiled instead through oxchanro Accordingly an Utrillo painting confiscated by lho E R R bull was e iven to LOEBL in what amounted to token eYcbanec for his liblary (For fUlthor details see Consolidate d Intclrogntion Repolt No 2 11 Thc GOERING Collection )

LPBSE has also been accused of roquo~ting the Sicherheits shyd1enst thlough GOERING to permit him to employ Allen shy and Manon LOEBL in his own intelasts LOHSE admitted thnt he lnd made a loquest middotto the S1chorho1tsdie nst but of a diffelent natulo - - namely in older to protect the LOEBLs from furthol persecution

(8) Activity for RIMMLER f

Several 1nf OX manta have s ta tod that LOIISD 111 addition to his activity for GOERING was responsible for tho acquisition of works qf al t fol HIM~~LER and other high Party members bull

bull 12

E1nsatz~tab LOHSE arrangement of exchanges which resulted in the

GOlitANN and middotnr _ J3LNlROP None

tith liiamp~Lrt wa s l 1 ru1ted to

In the course of his work with the

participated tn the soqu1s1 tion of paintings by HITL of these wa s 1n1 tiated by h1m

LOH~J sta te d tha t h is connection the following i nci dent bull

He was asked by GO~Rl r~o on one oooas1on to go to Amsterdam to examine two Dutch collecti ons those of the dealers VUwiHA and Si mMS middot He aa de the examination and bough t noth 1nb from the oolle c tiona ci ther for GOi~no o~ Aop anyone else but it was rumored that he had boug~t both collections ln t h el r ent1rety lhe S S had elraedy taken steps to confisca t e the two collEctions which consisted mainly ln antique furni t ure and rugs tose th~r with a few unimpor tant paintings bull LOl was obli ged to v1sit ths co l lections in the company of an S L Hauptsturmfuehrer na~ed PJ k LSCHIiANU Accordi ng t o uOt8 both collections wer e O urcpasedsubsequently by Hihulililh through the German Comml aston f or thf3 Netherlands and were used to furnish cl u llstabl1shments 1n Germany

( 9) (XVII e )

LOHampE s tE ted the t he met iI lle SdAlLG on 17 September 1 943

his birthday) on the lrench Hiviera ri e was wl th h er cons t antly thereafter 1n tarts and made one trip with her -middot to t he Ri viera r early in 194middot~ Mlle ampLnATKI payi namp her own ex)enses LOHSE r egards llille bull ~u~TKI as his fiance e H~ has d6n1ed em9ha ti cally that she hed sny connectlon w th t he E or that she was ever aupporte d by hiw H e has descri bed l er as s renchwoman ofi Pol i sh origin who ws s str ongly entl - llaz1 anc en ectlv6 worker for de Paulle a circumstance wh~ch occasionally caus ed h _rtt difficul ty with th~ Gsrman nuthor1t1es

(10 ) lr~vs l

It hss be c n e+ lcged tha t lOh ~ tra veled extensively in Switzerland itely s nd amppain during the war and one source ste t6 d ~ampthe had be6n involved in German intell i gence service a c ti vities ~n Jpe1n I

LOHSL stated that he has never been t o Spain that his qnly ~rip to I t nly was n1ede 1n the autumn of 1 9 4 4 1 when he wen t to

Serano for a week s convalescent leave and thE t he was never in ~ taly on bu~in6ss He stated further tha t his only t r i to ~w ltzerland to ok pl ace middot in 1 942 (see abo ve)

middot (ll) Oenercl

LOHS~ stated unde r oath

(a) that he never rsce1ved a oommsslon of any k qdfrom any dQal er that he did no t do so beoause he wi shed to qecome an 1ndep6ndent ar t dealer aft6r the war end hooed ~shy~hrOUP being of service to people orominent 1n t he German a~t ~orld s uch as rau DIETRCi1 LAlWt Dr GOhPLL and several of ~he directors ot the Rh1nelan9 museums bullbull to benefit 1n the long1middotun

(b) the t he never retained tor h1 nself any object qonfis~ted by the L1nsa~zs tab ~ae~berg Ho admit ted 1n tQ1s oonne ot1on thet his Psr1s epartm~nt at 3 Avenue ~~ampat1gnon wae middot

to

refurnished during one of his ubsencbs from th~ city ~y ~rlulein fGGLHANN w1 th o f ~ w p io ces of furn l turo and some ru2o c onfi sea ted through ths M- Actlon but that thi e ma terial b ud bee n r a turntd th~ D1ltns t s toll t Wcs ttin before he l tft P ari s

middot(c) tht t h e mpoundtde no profit wha t e vc r through any t rano shyoction in which hlt w~s i nvolved He stoted that h6 ramp cel ved as r c munf= r c Uon in r r le t ht normiddotme l Army p)y ot c cor 9or a l with en t ddi ti on~l 500 morka monthly ~ altry fro m t hv ~i nsetz stltLb hoscnberg un d u nltl r d i0m al lmw- ncc ot 15 mtPlfs j ltJ tcco~ted no gif t J from

11 11dtt l lt rtl or other ind1 v1duul 3 1n r c~ ward f or 111 s tltJIVJ cts lie purchts od 3 omrll Dutch 17th ct n t ury paln tl tl tS from iOCHLl Tl f or 75 000 fr cncs ttnd wts told by h0Cl1Ll 14J t h t t t hc e we r u blt~tn oold to hl n u t co ~t In udditton ht r uCbull-gtl Vc-d ~ elf t from b11tJ1lD two woodcutD by LrJJltd~ND h i llJS( lf

( d) th the ne vtr thre~tuned or n t~roampcu ttJd J ews Fr c nchshymG n or oth( r i ndl vid u - ls I t h cs bbt n ~lltgt d t hc t LOBS~ h e lpe d LO~Bu SCHQbullLLJth cn d Mme OAlLLhUX in o rdlt r to p rofl t f middotL nmci a lly t hc rmiddot eby I n t hi c onnampctl on h e dt nlcd ht vi ng bouc~1 t or a cquired uny works of urt from CAILJJU) or ~CllOLuL J t b a lO t-ll r c la tion shyshl ~ hcs u lr~udy bamp~n c i t ed

L0H) 1 e fl l t d bn1 u l s of t h b mor e s lrlous champrgos d trec ted tig~ nst h i11 os c n indivlduul hv~ b o(-n ma cie under oth I t l s r vcommnded th t ~ vfl ry ef f or t bE mtc1E t o l r n - uncc r l n tGrro shyB~ t1on t hos lt 1nd1v1riu l o ln position to V4 r bullfy h~s stu t eme n t s nr incl () l ly s uch rs twbl l e c o l l 4pound UUl ~ n t h e i ns c tzs t ub t s L0hCu~t hOgtXMLI nd orhul t i n ~hLCbullbull ( tll prmiddotE-sumt lgtl y unde rmiddot h ous t ~rl~s t ln u t GEorgcn~ t tamprs tt Auo tr~~ )) ~nd l hos o dct l ul S middot ~nd o thcr l)( r s on o l n 1Lr 1 s wi th wh om he wnG L n cont ct Whcr e cs 1 0HSL cpprr s to h V( Ltn victl rt i zlt d i n l t r gc mtias uramp by thE j ( alouoy of h1 s col llt- gtgu~s thubull c c cn b t no doubt th t h~ pluyL d u l~cd1ng p art l n thG confi s c~ ti on of Jowish ar t ~ proplrtl bo conductcd by thu Linsu t zsttb Jouu1bure in l ~rLs

middot middot It 1s recommEgtndbd thor - for u that h () be bo l d ta J

nie ~c ri _l w1 tnoss in such wr cri mt-o proco e dina cs ma y b Et

dir~ c t e d gui no t ina tzs tob RosGnbeTg p c rsonnvl tnd th~ t 1f ~led as a wa r cr1minul the s e vEr J ty of chtr gba brought aampai~s t him b e de tcrmlnbd by the euro X t bn t to which h imiddotn comshyli c~~y in ~1nsa tzstab operati ons i s judge d to h~ vamp be en crimiddot irlcL

I~ LOIWE 1 a stotemant tht t bG r 6 ce 1ved no Cu r s onal oroflt whatovdfrom the trens~c tions conductvd on b~h~lf of Gb~niNG lo fino ly confirmed hls act1 vi ty for GOhhl L4G may be r6gorded in the arne light ta hi s duty with thlt Ibullbullbull h H - shy nl4mely the ptrforma co of ~n ass1 gnm6nt und6r ordurs bull

J u P

J)rafted 27 Augus t 1939 asbull a driver i n tho 4t h Feldlazar e t t Ar mee s ani t h tsabtoll ung 532 1 witn grade of pr ivate ser ved with this un lt 1n t he Pol1sh campa i gn Tr a nsferred 4 sept e mbe r 1940 t~ a Partz~rj~gerabt e 1lunp and sent to the

COQF IDJIHAs

BRUNQ LOHSE

Note LOHSE was lnterrorated at a special i nvest i gat ion center in Austria durin~ tho period 15 June - 15 Au7ust 1945 This report is supplementary to Consol idated Interrogation Report No lr Activityof the Finsatzstab Rosenberg in France 1 1 dated 15 Au~ust 1945 1 whlch is based largely on his state shyments 1 and ln which the extent of hls own activity ls del incatod

I middot P~RSONAL

(a ) Birth Family and ~ducat lon

Wtlholm Pe t Ar Rruno LOHSB 1 born 17 Soptembor 1911 at DiHngdorf Kre i s Herford Westphamplia Father AURUSt LOHSF member of the Berlin Phtlharmonlc OrchEgtJtra ( pemiddotrcuss ion i nstruments ) last known wherpnbouts Berlln April 1945 rAothcr Anna cathe-r ine LOHSE nee ~-~OP l~KOP died 1 938 Ofe brother and OnEmiddot sister1 Frau TOVI TSKI last known whoreah out s Hamburg (wlth 3 children) LOHSE s brothor and brothe r - in- law NOVITSKI wor e both miss i~ in combat on the Russ i a n front l ate in 1944

El ementary and intermediate schooltnr in Ber l in Graduated tn 1929 University of Berlin 1930 - 1932 studies in art history philosophy and lermanic cultnrc 1932 1 qua l lfied as a teacher of spbrts 1933 four months in Prllnce study ing lanruerbulles 1935 Unlvers tty of Frankfort ~radvgtte studies In the hls tory of art 1936 Ph middotD 11 Finamp Arts from Frankfort 1936 - 1939 independent study and aft d egt allr11- on a small scala in Rnr lln usln~ his father s house as a stud lo- rallery

(b) Pol i t lea l

Upon hls return from France in 1933 and ros umptlon of hts studios at the Univ0rstty of Bor l ln LOHSE was obliged to rocolve political indoctrinat ion in company wtth all other unlvors tty students He sta t ed that in order to avoid the i m11l i cations of s uch indoctrination and becHnsc his studies with the depos ed professor~ FISCHEL NFUr~P and WFI SSBACH had bo~n interrupted he volunteered to toach sports i n the All~cmo ine s s He jotnod tho Naz i Par ty in 1937 middot In 1938 he ts oont t nuod sports ins truct ion i n t he s s on tne pl ea of ill health

LOHSE atah1d that in 1942 ln Parts ha was offered t he rank of Ob~rsturmfuchrer tn the Al l gomo1ne s s and was r e shyquested to wear t he s s uniform As ho wAs an enlisted man in the Luftwaffe he was ab l e to decllno both tho rank ana the uniform He statod under oath that ho had ne ver worn an s s un tform but that he had been lla ted permanent l y on the s s rol la as a qua l if i ed and e l igible sports instructor

I

(o ) Military service

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( 9) (XVII e )



(10 ) lr~vs l




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- bull



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6 I

~

t bull

G ~EEG21fll9M




(b ) Out of Par is

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~

j



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(c ) General




(Tranelation


I

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IV SUMYARY




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I

















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( 9) (XVII e )



(10 ) lr~vs l




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t bull

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(b ) Out of Par is

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~

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(c ) General




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IV SUMYARY




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I

















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bull 12








( 9) (XVII e )



(10 ) lr~vs l




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(c ) General




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IV SUMYARY




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( 9) (XVII e )



(10 ) lr~vs l




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IV SUMYARY




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( 9) (XVII e )



(10 ) lr~vs l




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( 9) (XVII e )



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to










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bull ~












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( 9) (XVII e )



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to










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( 9) (XVII e )



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middot (ll) Oenercl




to










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to










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HCPO - OSS: Detailed Interrogation Reports - Bruno Lohse ... · Consol idated Interrogation Report...

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Transcript of HCPO - OSS: Detailed Interrogation Reports - Bruno Lohse ... · Consol idated Interrogation Report...