Between Fire and Memory
On the losses of the Berlin Gemäldegalerie in May 1945
Berlin: Bodemuseum (former Kaiser Friedrich Museum) (1897/1904) by Ernst von Ihne Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte
Before the Second World War, the Kaiser Friedrich Museum (now the Bode Museum) had been home to one of Europe’s most important collections of old masters: the rich inventory of the Berlin Gemäldegalerie. As a result of the Second World War, the Gemäldegalerie has today lost around 558 works from its collection. The majority of these were destroyed in two fires at the Friedrichshain flak bunker, to which many paintings had been evacuated during the war.
Packing paintings in the basement of the Pergamonmuseum (1933/1933) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
On 1 September 1939, the Second World War begins. The museums close and the directors of the Berlin collections are instructed to identify the most important works in their collection and to initiate measures for their protection and evacuation.
Among other locations, castles and manor houses in the vicinity of Berlin are considered for storage, as are the cellars of some museums. Due to its robust construction, the basement of the then newly built Pergamon Museum is considered particularly safe.
After the holdings of the Antiquities Collection are moved to the vault of the Reichsmünze for space reasons, the basement rooms are made available to other museums, including the Gemäldegalerie.
View of the control tower of the Flakbunker in Volkspark Friedrichshain by unbekannt Original Source: © Archiv Berliner Unterwelten e.V. 0102000042
From May 1941 onwards, air raids on Berlin increased dramatically, making the evacuation of works from the Museumsinsel urgently necessary. In the same month, several flak bunkers were under construction, including the one in Friedrichshain. This was now discussed for the first time as a possible storage site for the museums, though some museum directors feared they would not retain sufficient independence from the army within the bunker.
View of the control tower of the Flakbunker in Volkspark Friedrichshain by unknown Original Source: © Archiv Berliner Unterwelten e.V. 0102000041
The following month, the decision was made, despite these reservations, to move cultural assets from the museums to the bunker, including works from the Gemäldegalerie. By the end of 1941, the transport of artworks from the Museumsinsel to the bunker had finally begun. The Friedrichshain flak bunker complex consisted of a command tower and a combat tower. The massive reinforced concrete buildings, whose walls were up to 3.5 metres thick, each had their own emergency generator and an autonomous water supply fed by deep wells
.
Floor plan (1st floor), control tower of the Flakbunker Friedrichshain (without date (after 1940)) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
A total of nine collections from Berlin museums were able to store works from their holdings in the Friedrichshain flak bunker. The bunker’s facilities were tailored to their needs. For example, the Gemäldegalerie was given its own small conservation workshop. The individual depots were connected to the museums by telephone line, and access was secured by the military. The most valuable holdings of the Gemäldegalerie were stored here, including numerous large-format works.
Gemäldegalerie Storage - Gilded frame by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (2017) by Exhibition - Gemäldegalerie Storage - "Behind the scenes" Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
With the exception of small formats, the paintings were evacuated without their frames. This made them easier to transport and reduced the amount of space required. The picture frames remained in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, where they survived the war largely undamaged. To this day, the Gemäldegalerie retains this unusual collection of empty frames, which once held the masterpieces of the collection.
US Generals Eisenhower, Bradley and Palton visit the Saline Merkers storage facility, 12 April 1945 (4/12/1945) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
With the drastic deterioration of the situation in February 1945, it became necessary to reconsider the future location of the artworks. The evacuation of the works to mines outside Berlin was discussed at length, but was initially rejected by the museum directors due to the difficult climatic conditions and the risks involved in transport.
On 8 March 1945, Hitler gave the order to immediately secure the art treasures outside Berlin. Between 11 March and 7 April 1945, around 1,180 paintings were successfully moved to Merkers in Thuringia, to the Kaiseroda and Ransbach salt mines. Remaining in the flak bunker were above all the large-format paintings, which had not fit into the mine shaft cages. In April 1945, American troops discovered the valuable holdings in the mine tunnels at Merkers and confiscated them.
Destroyed Flakbunker Friedrichshain 1946 by Unknown Bode-Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
On 2 May 1945, the Friedrichshain flak bunker was handed over to the Red Army. A short time later, two catastrophic fires broke out within the space of a few days, the cause of which remains unexplained to this day. All museum holdings remaining in the flak bunker were destroyed. The extent of the fires was devastating. Around 430 paintings fell victim to the flames. Many of the works destroyed in the flak bunker were by the most outstanding painters in the history of European
art, among them Rubens, Caravaggio, Botticelli, Goya and Van Dyck.
Rubens Hall of the Gemäldegalerie at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum with markings indicating the destroyed works (1905/1936) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Before the fires, the collection of the Gemäldegalerie included numerous large-format works by the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens. Of the works formerly exhibited in the so-called Rubens Hall, very few survived the war; on this wall, only two portraits by Anton van Dyck remain.
Neptune and Amphitrite (ca. 1614) by Peter Paul Rubens Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Peter Paul Rubens, Neptune and Amphitrite , ca. 1614, 230 x 305 cm (lost from the Gemäldegalerie)
Rubens Hall of the Gemäldegalerie at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum with markings indicating the destroyed works (1905/1936) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Diana at the Stag Hunt (1630/1635) by Peter Paul Rubens Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Peter Paul Rubens, Diana Hunting Deer , 1630/1635, 176 x 479 cm (lost from the Gemäldegalerie)
Rubens Hall of the Gemäldegalerie at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum with markings indicating the destroyed works (1905/1936) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Lamentation of Christ (1620/1641) by Anton van Dyck Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Anton van Dyck, Lamentation of Christ , 1620/1641, 220 x 166 cm (lost from the Gemäldegalerie)
Hall of Spanish paintings in the Gemäldegalerie at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum with markings indicating the destroyed works (1913 / 1933) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Hall of Spanish Paintings in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum (upper floor, room 49) with marked destroyed works.
Saint Agnes (1635/1638) by Alonso Cano Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Alonso Cano, Saint Agnes , c. 1635/1638, 111 x 86 cm (lost from the Gemäldegalerie)
Hall of Spanish paintings in the Gemäldegalerie at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum with markings indicating the destroyed works (1913 / 1933) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Saint Sebastian (1636/1649) by Jusepe de Ribera Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Jusepe de Ribera, Saint Sebastian , ca. 1636/1639, 200 x 149 cm (lost from the Gemäldegalerie)
Hall of Spanish paintings in the Gemäldegalerie at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum with markings indicating the destroyed works (1913 / 1933) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Portrait of a Monk (ca. 1803) by Francisco de Goya Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Francisco de Goya, Portrait of a Monk , c. 1803, 82 x 68 cm (lost from the Gemäldegalerie / property of the Kaiser Friedrich Museumsverein)
Hall of Italian paintings in the Gemäldegalerie at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum with markings indicating the destroyed works (1904/1910) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Hall of Italian Paintings in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum (upper floor, room 49) with marked destroyed works.
The Judgement of Paris (ca. 1682) by Luca Giordano Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Luca Giordano, The Judgement of Paris , ca. 1682, 244 x 326 cm (lost from the Gemäldegalerie)
Hall of Italian paintings in the Gemäldegalerie at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum with markings indicating the destroyed works (1904/1910) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Der hl. Matthäus schreibt sein Evangelium mit Hilfe eines Engels (1602) by Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio) Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Evangelist Matthew , before 1602, 223 x 183 cm (lost from the Gemäldegalerie)
View of the studio of museum photographer Gustav Schwarz at the Pergamon Museum (ca. 1932) by unknown Original Source: © Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Following the experiences of the First World War and the accompanying losses of art and cultural heritage, photographs of the entire holdings of the Gemäldegalerie were commissioned in 1925. The task was entrusted to the Berlin museum photographer Gustav Schwarz (1871–1958), who worked for all the collections of the Royal Museums in Berlin and had his studio in the Pergamon Museum.
The Resurrection of Lazarus (1618/1620) by Peter Paul Rubens Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
This inventory also includes some extremely rare colour photographs taken before the Second World War.
Peter Paul Rubens, The Resurrection of Lazarus
, 1618/1620, 263 x 196 cm (lost from the Gemäldegalerie)
Historical glass negative in acid-free packaging Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
The very high-resolution photographs taken by Schwarz have been almost completely preserved in the form of glass negatives. Today, they represent a unique visual record of almost all the works in the collection that were destroyed during the Second World War.
Glass negative of the work Outdoor Banquet, attributed to Frans Hals Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
In 2024/25, the old, high-quality photographs were digitised. Today, 80 years after the end of the war, the lost works are once again accessible to everyone in the Gemäldegalerie’s online collection and form an invaluable source of information for future research.
Concept / Text: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz / Eva Gudermann, Dr. Katja Kleinert, Franziska May
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