Art Provenance and Claims Records and Research
Descriptive List of Key Records
U.S. Allied Commission for Austria (USACA)
(a)
Record Group & Series: Record Group 260, Records of U.S. Occupation
Headquarters, World War II, U.S. Allied Commission for Austria (USACA), Reparations
and Restitution Branch, Records Relating to Claims, 1945-1950 (Entry
1992).
Description: Consists of correspondence, receipts, and lists regarding claims. The files are of varying degrees of detail. Some contain simply a list of the property claimed. Others contain extensive correspondence and inventories. Dutch Claim 65, for example, falls somewhere in between the two. It contains correspondence and a List of Dutch Properties from the Central Collecting Point, Munich on which is found an entry for a Van Goyen painting (Castle and the River) with a "presumed owner" and history. Records are arranged by country, thereunder by claim number. At the end of each country's claims there are folder(s) with lists of claims and receipts. The Dutch section contains a folder titled Dutch Art Treasures (Roll 28); the French contains folders titled French Art Treasure Correspondence (Roll 50).
This series is available on
NARA Microfilm Publication M1926, Rolls 1-140.
NOTE: The final folder for each country contains a claim list that provides information on each claim for that country. Owner, property description, and location information are typical details included. Paper copies of the lists are available in the NARA (College Park, MD) Textual Research Room consulting area.
(b)
Record Group & Series: Record Group 260, Records of U.S. Occupation
Headquarters, World War II, U.S. Allied Commission for Austria (USACA), Monuments &
Fine Arts Branch, Claims & Receipts of Property, Monuments & Fine
Arts of Various Countries, 1932-50. (Entry 1995)
Description: Consists of individual claims as well as information on locations, such as the looted art depot found in the salt mines at Alt-Aussee. Many of the individual claims are identical to claims found in the Reparations and Restitutions Branch documents. The folders that contain these claims and reports are numbered in an indiscernible manner. Therefore, a folder list is provided in Appendix B of M1927. There is an inventory of such claims at the beginning of the box.
This series is available on
NARA
Microfilm Publication M1927, Rolls 2-9.
(c)
Record Group & Series: Record Group 260, Records of U.S. Occupation
Headquarters, World War II, U.S. Allied Commission for Austria (USACA), Monuments &
Fine Arts Branch, Monuments & Fine Arts Lists, Receipts & Reports
of Objects for Restitution to Ownership, 1945-50. (Entry 1996)
Description: Consists of information on specific collections and art depots discovered in Austria, as well as random reports, letters, and circulars. The folders are arranged numerically and are listed in Appendix C of M1927.
This series is available on
NARA
Microfilm Publication M1927, Rolls 10-14.
(d)
Record Group & Series: Record Group 260, Records of U.S. Occupation
Headquarters, World War II, U.S. Allied Commission for Austria (USACA), Records of
the Property Control Branch, Correspondence and Related Records
Regarding Pending Claims, 1945-50 (Entry 2006).
Description: Consists of correspondence, memorandums, investigation reports, restitution claims, and court rulings relating to queries and pending claims about properties located in areas under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forces, Austria (USFA). Included are queries and claims relating to properties formerly held by the German State. This series is arranged numerically by pending claim number (e.g., P-1000) and is often referred to as the "P Files."
This series is available on
NARA Digital Publication DN1929, Rolls 223-234.
(e)
Record Group & Series: Record Group 260, Records of U.S. Occupation
Headquarters, World War II, U.S. Allied Commission for Austria (USACA), Records of
the Property Control Branch, Correspondence Relating to Claims and Queries,
1945-1950 (Entry 2007).
Description: Consists of correspondence, memorandums, military government forms, and financial reports pertaining to claims and queries about property in all zones of occupation. The claimants include private individuals, families, and businesses. Many of the claimants are Americans. The series is arranged alphabetically by zone and thereunder numerically.
This series is available on
NARA Digital Publication D1929, Rolls 235-247.
(f)
Record Group & Series: Record Group 260, Records of U.S. Occupation
Headquarters, World War II, U.S. Allied Commission for Austria (USACA), Records of
the Property Control Branch, Reports on Property Control and Restitution Claims, 1945-1951 (Entry 2013).
Description: Consists of weekly and monthly progress reports from subsections of the Property Control Branch. Included in the reports is information about releases, transfers, claims, and queries, and the general status of real estate, business enterprises, and moveable property. The folders are arranged alphabetically by subject and thereunder by date.
This series is available on
NARA Digital Publication DN1929, Rolls 274-276.
(g)
Record Group & Series: Record Group 260, Records of U.S. Occupation
Headquarters, World War II, U.S. Allied Commission for Austria (USACA), Records of
the Property Control Branch, Claims and Restitution Reports on Property Administered by the Military Government in Upper Austria, 1945-1951 (Entry
2014).
Description: Consists of correspondence, memorandums, military government forms, inventories, financial reports, and audit reports relating to properties located in the U.S. Military Zone, Upper Austria that were placed under the control of the U.S. Military Government and ater released to a claimant. This series is arranged in two parts: first, numerically by serial number with a location code (e.g., O1.0001 Li); and second, alphabetically by subject.
This series is available on
NARA
Digital Publication DN1929, Rolls 276-287.
(h)
Record Group & Series: Record Group 260, Records of U.S. Occupation
Headquarters, World War II, U.S. Allied Commission for Austria (USACA), Records of
the Property Control Branch, Claims and Restitution Reports on Property Administered by the Military Government in Salzburg, 1945-1950 (Entry 2015).
Description: Consists of correspondence, memorandums, military government forms, inventories, audit reports, powers of attorney, affidavits, and financial reports of properties administered by the Military Government in Salzburg and later released to a claimant. Included are records relating to property of Hermann Göring. This series is arranged in two parts: first, numerically by serial number with a location code (e.g., S1.1001 Sa); and second, alphabetically by subject.
This series is available on
NARA Digital Publication DN1929, Rolls 287-291.
(i)
Record Group & Series: Record Group 260, Records of U.S. Occupation
Headquarters, World War II, U.S. Allied Commission for Austria (USACA), Property
Control Branch, Restitution Claims and Reports on Property Under Control, 1945 -1951. (Entry 2016)
Description: Consists of correspondence, memorandums, military government forms, registers, receipts, inventories, financial reports, and audit reports relating to claims for property located in U.S. Military Zone, Salzburg. Many of the records relate to moveable property. Included are receipts for shipped property, registers of claims for property, registers of claims for machinery, and records related to the Wels Art Collection. This series is arranged in two parts: first, numerically by serial number with a location code (e.g., S1.1002 Sa); and second, alphabetically by subject.
This series is available on
NARA Digital Publication DN1929, Rolls 292-299.