The profiteers

It was not only the state treasury that profited from the theft of property by the Nazi state.

Black-and-white photograph of a crowd from the front.

Public auction of Jewish household goods in Lörrach, early 1940s. Stadtarchiv Lörrach, Bild StaLö2.43.15.

At the expense of persecuted Jews, Sinti, and Roma, as well as political opponents, large sections of German society enriched themselves: in addition to players in the second-hand goods and art markets, this included shipping companies, asset managers, and, to a considerable extent, private individuals. Individuals and institutions from all of these groups appropriated objects and assets. Works of art and furniture were used to furnish offices and government agencies. At auctions, in second-hand shops, and at collection points in the city of Berlin, the German population was able to buy furniture, household goods, and works of art, thus furnishing their homes at the expense of the persecuted. State art institutions had exclusive access to particularly valuable cultural assets from home furnishings or confiscated moving goods.

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