The bigger the lie, the more willing we are to believe it.A post-war looting investigation report on Goring's "aquisitions" was made. There were at least 150 paintings traded for Van Meegeren's "Vermeer". The list above shows 125 of them.
What seems so extraordinary is the casual way that literally thousands of paintings were stolen, sold and bartered so that even more could be stolen. The Nazis even had their own organization dedicated to the task at hand - the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, the ERR. A vast criminal network dedicated to plundering art - a network in which Van Meegeren operated with consummate skill.
A closeup of Van Meegeren at work.
NY Times :: the final installment of Errol Morris' tale of the Nazi-era artist Van Meegeren here.
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