Detailed Interrogation Report No 7 by the Art Looting Investigation Unit of the OSS on Goering's secretary Gisela Limberger divided into five sections, dated 15 September 1945. Part I, the introduction, states that 'Gisela Limberger was interrogated at the OSS Special Interrogation Center in Alt Aussee, Austria from 20 June to 15 September 1945' and her testimony was included in Consolidated Interrogation Report No 2 on the Goering Collection [see below] 'as one of its most important sources. This report is intended to give a more detailed account of her duties in the Goering organization and to determine as far as possible the extent of her responsibilities in the formation of the collection'. Part II includes an overview of Limberger's personal life. Appointed librarian in the Prussian State Library in Berlin in 1932, in 1935 she was transferred to the Prussian State Ministry and shortly after assigned to the Goering Stabsamt which was a part of that organization because Goering was a Prussian State Minister. She was never a member of the Nazi Party because this was not necessary for those who worked for Goering.' Part III provides a detailed account of Limberger's duties as Goering's secretary, a post that she covered 'only in that she handled his confidential and private business. During the early years of her work for Goering she was chiefly occupied with matters related to the art collection'. Not being an art historian, her 'activities with regard to the collection were limited purely to administrative matters such as listing, recording entries, arrangement of exhibitions, etc. She never had anything to do directly with the choice of objects or their acquisition'. After the death of Frau Grundtmann Kornatski in autumn 1942 'she took over all the duties of Goering's confidential secretary in addition to what she was doing before'. Includes a detailed list of Limberger's duties in Abteilung II of Goering's Stabsamt. Part IV and V provide the conclusion and recommendations for action in the case of Limberger, who was judged as 'essentially a functionary of the German State. [...] She has made an excellent impression on her interrogators. Though reserved at first she answered all questions without hesitation and as she became more familiar with the purpose of the investigation she volunteered important information. [...] It is clear that she had no personal responsibility whatever in the formation of the Goering Collection'. As a result, she 'has made a very real contribution to the solution of many of the problems presented by this investigation. [...] It is the recommendation of this unit that she be held as a voluntary witness pending the trial of Goering'. Detailed Interrogation Report No 10 by the Art Looting Investigation Unit of the OSS on Karl Kress divided into four sections, dated 15 August 1945. Part I provides information on Kress's personal life and military career. He was appointed in 1931 on the basis of his long military service as 'technical assistant to the State Art Collections at Kassel', primarily as a photographer. Part II includes details of his activity with the ERR from autumn 1940, when he was ordered 'to proceed to Paris [...] with the purpose of photographing art objects'. From 1941 he was permanently transferred at von Behr's insistence to the ERR at the Jeu de Paume in Paris under Drs Lohse and Kunze. 'Some time later he was ordered to Salonika [...] for the purpose of making cultural propaganda photographs. [...] His work [with the ERR in Paris] was handicapped, in that Corporal Simokat, who appeared to be favoured by Lohse, had been installed as chief photographer'. 'In 1943 he was sent to Riga and Kiev on short photographic missions and also worked in the Einsatzstab deposits at Neuschwanstein/Fuessen and Chiemsee.' He was in charge of cataloguing and later transferring ERR files of photographic negatives to Newuschwanstein. Part III includes a summary of the information that Kress had provided on the Einsatzstab's activities and personnel which had been included in Consolidated Interrogation Report No 1, in particular that on Stabsfuehrer Gerhard Utikal, Dr Bruno Lohse, Hauptstellenleiter Hermann von Ingram and Walter Andreas Hofer. Part IV provides a summary of the report stating that 'French sources have indicated that Kress was involved in individual thefts under the guise of formal Einsatzstab confiscation. [...] It is conceivable that he engaged in some petty thievery, but it is not likely that he was involved in any large-scale, illegal transfers of art objects'. Kress had been released prematurely 'to do some urgent photographic work' for the MFA and A branch of US Third Army and was 'wanted for further interrogation'. |
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