My father was a motor pool mechanic and driver in 1946. He was part of the group which "liberated" Dachau. I do not know what happened to the artist in question, but I do know that he was a prisoner and tried. I did not find his name among those tried at Nuremburg, but there were trials all over post-war Germany.
My father died some years ago, so I cannot question him further. What I can tell you is the following: My father became acquainted with the prisoner when he heard from another soldier that the man was an artist, selling small paintings in return for cigarettes, etc. He painted 9 such paintings for my father in return for paint, brushes, and cigarettes. The paintings ranged in size from 4 1/2 by 5 1/2 to 10 by 16 inches framed. The artist used whatever paints he could scrounge, but they appear to be mainly oil paints. They are all alpine scenes, contained some houses and/or barns, and no people. I don't know if he grew up in that region, but of course Germans love the outdoors, especially the Black Forest and the Alps.
My father made the frames for the paintings. He backed them with papers being thrown out. This, of course, is where it gets interesting. The papers he used were lists of wanted and/or apprehended persons suspected of war crimes. The lists included both civilians and military, including a number of SS officers.
I hope to find out a number of things about these paintings:
Was the man a known artist?
What happened to him? I think he might have been found innocent, but I'm not sure, as I was quite young when my father told me the story.
The papers backing the paintings are proof of the provenance, which leads to the last question: What, if anything, are these paintings worth?
I would like to know so that I can adjust their insurance cost accordingly. I would also like to know more about them, so that I might perhaps loan them to a museum.
I feel these paintings are valuable less in terms of money than in the fact that they provide us with a voice, a story in the days after the war had ended.
Please understand that I am not a Nazi; neither was my father. My father was sickened at what he saw in Dachau, and years later could not speak of it without tears. I think perhaps he felt the artist was innocent, otherwise he would not have bought the paintings. For myself, it is curiosity. These lovely, delicate paintings are a story whose end has been lost in time. I would like to know the end of the story.
Thanks, Ally
