1940

Extract from a document showing a stamp — Stamp of the leadership of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, c. 1941–1944. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

5 July 1940

The Einsatzstab (task force) Reichsleiter Rosenberg is established, led by Nazi party ideologue Alfred Rosenberg. Initially tasked with registering “Jewish cultural property”, it quickly develops into a central institution for the systematic looting of art, cultural objects, and household furnishings in the territories occupied by Germany.