Excerpt from Bernhard Schlüter’s auction transcript concerning the property of Oskar Skaller, 16 August 1941. BLHA, Rep. 36A (II) no. 36160, fol. 25v
Auctions were considered an effective “Verwertungsmethode” (method of utilization) for art and cultural assets. Here, too, there were gradations in the hierarchy of “Verwertung“Verwertung” (liquidation) refers to all measures taken by the Reich financial administration to transfer stolen assets to the state treasury and, if necessary, convert material goods into cash. More”.
The finance officials left “wertvoller Hausrat” (valuable household goods) as a whole lotDirectory containing detailed information on objects or lots offered at an auction. More to various auction houses in Berlin, such as Gerhard Harms or Leo Spik, and received the proceeds from them minus a commission. The documentation of the objects varies depending on the auction house but is generally not very detailed.
Take a look at the individual auctioneers who conducted auctions on behalf of the authorities.
If the National Socialists considered the items to be ordinary household goods, the Vermögensverwertungsstelle auctioned them off in its own auction house on Kottbusser Ufer. However, the items auctioned here also repeatedly included art and cultural assets, which were described in brief.
