Then the colonel proceeded to tell us about the _Einsatzstab Rosenberg_, the infamous “task force”—to translate the word literally—organized under the direction of Alfred Rosenberg, the “ideological and spiritual leader” of the Reich, for the methodical plundering of the great Jewish collections and the accumulated artistic wealth of other recognized “enemies of the state.” Rosenberg was officially responsible for cultural treasures confiscated in the occupied countries. He had virtually unlimited resources at his command. In the fall of 1940, not long after his appointment, Rosenberg received a congratulatory letter from Göring in which the Reichsmarschall promised to support energetically the work of his staff and to place at its disposal “means of transportation and guard personnel,” and specifically assured him the “utmost assistance” of the Luftwaffe. Even before the war, German agents had accumulated exhaustive information concerning collections which were later to be confiscated. The whereabouts of every object of artistic importance was known. Paintings, sculpture, tapestries, furniture, porcelain, enamels, jewels, gold and silver—all were a matter of record. When the Nazis occupied Paris, the Rosenberg Task Force was able to go into operation with clocklike precision. And so accurate was their information that in many instances they even knew the hiding places in which their more foresighted victims had concealed their valuables. The headquarters of the E.R.R.[1] had been set up in the Musée du Jeu de Paume, the little museum in the corner of the Tuileries Gardens overlooking the Place de la Concorde. The large staff was composed mainly of Germans, but some of the members were French. Looted treasures poured into the building, to be checked, labeled and shipped off to Germany. But it was more than a clearing house. The choicest things were placed on exhibition and to these displays the top-flight Nazis were invited—to select whatever caught their fancy. Hitler had first choice, Göring second.