National Archives receives WWII diary in signing ceremony

 Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, shows pages from the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr., given by the Foundation to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Pages from the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. given by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 In a signing ceremony Monday morning at the U.S. National Archives, on the eve of the 74th anniversary of the suicide of Adolph Hitler, a diary kept by a U.S. Navy Reservist about Nazi art theft in World War II was donated to the National Archives by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art.

The diarist, S. Lane Faison, Jr. (1907-2006), recorded observations he made during 1950 and 1951 when he directed the Munich Central Collecting Point which was a storehouse and distribution center for the recovery of art the Nazis seized from museums and private collectors.

A page from the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. given by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 Since the National Archives affords access to records by all and Monuments Men wants as many persons to see the documents as possible, it made sense for Archives to have the diary, Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation, said at the ceremony.

Earlier, Mr. Faison's four sons had given the book to the Foundation.

 

Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist and "expert on Holocaust-era asset records," with S. Lane Faison, Jr.'s diary/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

From left, Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist, with Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, at the signing ceremony at National Archives for the gift acceptance from the Monuments Men Foundation to Archives of S. Lane Faison, Jr.'s diary. Open on the table are pages from one of 43 "Hitler's Albums" recovered and at Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The diary will be reunited with 43 volumes of the "Hitler Albums" which have been recovered and already given by the Foundation to the Archives where they may be digitally accessed. The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg , the Nazi task force devoted to seizing art and other valuables, compiled the albums, perhaps for the pleasure of Hitler who loved art, Mr. Edsel said.

The volumes are among the estimated 100 albums of photographs of stolen art the Nazis kept with careful documentation about each piece, including the rightful owner, said Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist at Archives and "expert on Holocaust-era assets," according to an Archives statement.

A page from one of "Hitler's Albums" on display at the signing ceremony for the gift acceptance of the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. by National Archives from the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A photograph of a stolen painting from one of "Hitler's Albums." Under the photograph is picture identification (below)/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In a "Hitler Album," the identification page underneath the photo which identifies the painting and the family from whom the Nazis stole it, as carefully recorded by the Nazis/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 The majority of the volumes are still missing, and presumably sitting in attics, barns, old houses and garages. A team of about five researchers from the Foundation is actively searching for them, Mr. Edsel said.

It is a crime for anyone to knowingly sell historical documents, artifacts and other records.

The albums were all the same size, Dr. Bradsher said, and were used as evidence during the Nuremberg trials.

Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, notes that not all 43  recovered "Hitler Albums" have title pages. The one on display has a title page/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On the left is David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., who signed documents to accept the gift of the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. from the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art,. Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men, is on the right and, standing, is Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From left, David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, and Dr. Greg Bradsher at the signing ceremony at National Archives for the gift from the Monuments Men Foundation of the diary of S. Lane Faison, Jr. to National Archives/Photo by Patricia Leslie


 Mr. Edsel said art was extremely important to Hitler who kept volumes of it from the time he was 16 until he died, including some of the "Hitler Albums."

During the war, General Dwight D. Eisenhower issued more than one order to Allied troops that they leave premises as they found them and not take souvenirs, Mr. Edsel and Dr. Bradsher said. With teenaged and 20-something aged soldiers, the order was difficult to follow and enforce.

Today, these sites would be treated as crime scenes, said Mr. Edsel who wrote The Monuments Men which was picked up by George Clooney and made into a film in 2014.

From left, David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, and Dr. Greg Bradsher with S. Lane Faison. Jr.'s diary/Photo by Patricia Leslie

From left, David Ferriero, archivist of the U.S., Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist, and Robert Edsel, chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, with S. Lane Faison. Jr.'s diary on the left on the table and, on the right, one of 43 recovered "Hitler Albums"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At Williams College, Mr. Faison was the director of the Museum of Art and headed the art history department where one of his students was recently retired National Gallery of Art director, Earl A. Powell III. Photographs of looted art and memorabilia seized by the Nazis may also be found at the National Gallery’s own Munich Central Collecting Point Archive.

Mr. Faison was born in Washington, D.C.

According to Hilary Parkinson of the Archives' public affairs office:

"The diary will be available to the public in NARA’s textual research room at College Park in the near future. We will be exploring options for providing access to digital images once the diary has been transferred to College Park.
 

"Some of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) Photograph Albums have been digitized and can be seen here."

Also present at the ceremony was David Ferriero, archivist of the United States.

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