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77-526: Having already inherited a nucleus of 19th-century German and Austrian paintings from his father, in the 1950s Georg Schäfer began actively collecting paintings by old masters and forgotten "lesser" masters which, at that time, were being overlooked by the more conservative regional art centres of Munich, Berlin, Dresden and Vienna. He bought much of the art in the 1950s from dealers in Munich, including from Heinrich Hoffmann , Adolf Hitler's personal photographer, who

154-608: A panoply of drugs , including amphetamines , cocaine , oxycodone , barbiturates , morphine , strychnine and testosterone , which may have contributed to Hitler's degraded physical condition by the end of the war. After about 1941, Hoffmann began to lose favor with Hitler, primarily because Martin Bormann , Hitler's personal secretary, did not like him. Bormann increasingly controlled access to Hitler, and fed him misinformation and innuendo about any rivals for Hitler's attention, such as Hoffmann. Another reason for Hitler's disfavour

231-552: A German expert on the First World War, came to the conclusion that Hoffmann had doctored the image. Krumeich examined other images of the rally and was unable to find Hitler in the place where Hoffmann's photograph placed him. Also, in a different version of Hoffmann's photo in the Bavarian State Archive, Hitler looks like a different man than in the published image. As a result of the doubt raised by those considerations,

308-437: A gesture. Hoffmann remained in charge for subsequent annual Great German Art Exhibitions, making the preliminary selections which were then hung for Hitler to approve or veto. Hoffmann preferred the conventional work of painters from southern Germany, what Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels called in his diary "Munich-school kitsch", over that of the more experimental painters from the north. In May 1938, when Hitler decreed

385-508: A gift under the Nazis. After the war Bavaria made no attempt to return the work to the Kraus family, instead selling it for little money in 1962 to Hoffmann's daughter, Henriette Hoffmann-von Schirach. Informational notes Citations Bibliography Final solution Parties Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe ( German pronunciation: [baːt ˈhɔmbʊʁk] )

462-497: A little dog. A German sheepdog is the only dog worthy of a real man". Hitler strictly controlled his public image in all respects, having himself photographed in any new suit before he would wear it in public, according to Hoffmann, and ordering in 1933 that all images of himself wearing lederhosen be withdrawn from circulation. He also expressed his disapproval of Benito Mussolini allowing himself to be photographed in his bathing suit. The attempt by Hoffmann to portray Hitler as

539-663: A photographic studio on Schellingstraße in Munich and started to work as a press photographer. In 1913, he founded the image agency Photobericht Hoffmann . In 1917, Hoffmann was conscripted into the German Army and served in France as a photo correspondent with the Bavarian Fliegerersatz-Abteilung I . In 1919, he joined the Bavarian Einwohnerwehren , a right-wing citizens' militia. That year he witnessed

616-484: A post he held for over a quarter-century. No other photographer but Hoffmann was allowed to take pictures of Hitler. Hoffmann himself was forbidden to take candid shots. Once, at the Berghof , Hitler's mountain retreat, Hoffmann took a picture of Hitler playing with his mistress Eva Braun 's terrier. Hitler told Hoffmann that he could not publish the picture, because "a statesman does not permit himself to be photographed with

693-458: A sudden and unexpected death in 1928. Hoffmann remarried shortly afterwards in 1929; his second wife was composer Erna Gröbke (1904–1996). The central image archive of Heinrich Hoffmann's company was seized by the US Army at the end of the war. At this point, the archive comprised about 500,000 photographs (an often-quoted figure of 2.5 million is probably too high). In 1950, most of the archive

770-456: A turnover of 1 million Reichsmark in 1935, and 15 million or 58 million Reichsmark in 1943 (equivalent to €237,000,000 in 2021). Hitler received a royalty on all postage stamps featuring his image, which went to his Cultural Fund, instituted in 1937. This amounted to at least 75 million marks over the course of Hitler's reign. When photographing other subjects, Hoffmann was represented by Schostal Photo Agency (Agentur Schostal). During

847-413: A weakness for drinking parties and hearty jokes", who "enjoyed the licence of a court jester" with Hitler. Hoffmann later recalled that his lack of rank preserved his access to Hitler. Hoffmann was part of the small party which drove to Landsberg Prison to meet Hitler when he was released from prison on parole on 20 December 1924, and he took Hitler's picture. Later, Hoffmann often dined with Hitler at

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924-601: A young Hitler among the crowd cheering the outbreak of World War I . The photo was later used in Nazi propaganda , although its authenticity has been questioned. Hoffmann claimed that he only discovered Hitler in the photograph in 1929, after the Nazi leader had visited the photographer's studio. Learning that Hoffmann had photographed the crowd in the Odeonsplatz, Hitler told Hoffmann that he had been there, and Hoffmann said he then searched

1001-532: Is derived from the Hohenberg Castle. The suffix "vor der Höhe" was probably first recorded in a document of 1399. The designation Bad was conferred in 1912. The first landgrave of Hessen-Homburg was Friedrich I of Hessen-Homburg . Friedrich II (1680–1708) attained fame as Prince of Homburg. In 1866, as a result of the Austro-Prussian War , Homburg became Prussian territory. With the beginning of

1078-415: Is indicated by the fact that, in 1935, he allowed the photographer to issue a limited edition of a portfolio of seven paintings Hitler had made during World War I, even though since becoming Chancellor he had downplayed his desire to become a painter in his youth. In later years, Hitler forbade any publication of or commentary about his work as a painter. Also in 1935, for Hoffmann's 50th birthday, Hitler gave

1155-599: Is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis , Hesse , Germany , on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area . The town's official name is Bad Homburg v.d.Höhe , which distinguishes it from other places named Homburg . The town has become best known for its mineral springs and spa (hence the prefix Bad , meaning "bath"), and for its casino . As of 2004 ,

1232-683: The Monte Carlo Casino . In 1860, the town was connected with Frankfurt by a railway line . In 1888, Homburg became known throughout the German Empire because Kaiser Wilhelm II made its castle his imperial summer residence. He later financed the building of the Church of the Redeemer (Erlöserkirche) nearby. The emperor's mother also lived there for several years. Edward VII of the United Kingdom

1309-530: The Second World War he was tried and sentenced to 10 years in prison for war profiteering . He was classified by the Allies' Art Looting Investigators to be a "major offender" in Nazi art plundering of Jews, as both art dealer and collector and his art collection, which contained many artworks looted from Jews, was ordered confiscated by the Allies. Hoffmann's sentence was reduced to 4 years on appeal, and he

1386-762: The Third Reich Hoffmann assembled many photo-books on Hitler, such as The Hitler Nobody Knows (1933) – a book that Ron Rosenbaum calls "central to Hitler's extremely shrewd, extremely well-controlled effort to manipulate his image ... to turn his notoriously non-Nordic-looking foreignness, his much-remarked-upon strangeness, into assets to his charisma" – and Jugend um Hitler ("Youth Around Hitler") in 1934. In 1938 Hoffmann wrote three books, Hitler in Italy , Hitler befreit Sudetenland ("Hitler Liberates Sudetenland") and Hitler in seiner Heimat ("Hitler in his Homeland"). His Mit Hitler im Westen ("With Hitler in

1463-637: The Villa Tidenheim in the Lorsch codex , associated with the year 782. This Villa Tidenheim was equated with the historic city center, which is called Dietigheim. The local historian Rüdiger Kurth has questioned this traditional story based on his study of written sources and local factors. In 2002, Kurth initiated archaeological excavations by the University of Frankfurt , managed by Professor Joachim Henning. The excavations showed no evidence of settlement between

1540-512: The "Horex—Fahrzeugbau AG", founded in 1923 in Bad Homburg by Fritz Kleemann. In 1335, permission was given by Emperor Louis IV to Gottfried von Eppstein to settle 10 Jews in each of the localities of Eppstein , Homburg, and Steinheim ; it is uncertain, however, whether any Jews settled in Homburg at that time. Evidence for the existence of a permanent Jewish settlement in Homburg is found only at

1617-566: The "Law for the Confiscation of the Products of Degenerate Art" – which retroactively justified the Nazis' confiscation, without payment, of modern art from museums and galleries for the exhibition of " Degenerate Art " mounted in Munich in July 1937, and allowed for the further unpaid removal of such art from institutions and individuals – Hoffmann was one of the commissioners named to centralize

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1694-616: The "greediest parasites of the Hitler plague." On appeal, Hoffmann's sentence was reduced to four years, because of his lack of official position within the Third Reich. Hoffmann figures prominently in the OSS Art Looting Investigation Unit's Reports 1945–46, Detailed Intelligence Report DIR N°1 carries his name. Hoffmann was released from prison on 31 May 1950, and some of his assets were returned to him. He settled in

1771-447: The 12th or 13th century. Most likely this building had an association with Wortwin's "castle". A further cultural layer from an even earlier time may lie beneath these remains. Investigations using carbon-14 dating and micromorphological analysis will show whether the dating can be made more precise. Homberg acquired market rights about 1330, but the document granting these rights is said to have been lost. The town's name, "Homburg",

1848-422: The 74 Jews who remained on 17 May 1939, 42 were deported in 1942/1943 to Concentration Camps, never to return. While the spa business experienced a long-term decrease after the two world wars, the town gained importance by becoming the site for headquarters of various authorities and administrative bodies. By autumn 1946, the military government had already ordered the founding of bizonal authorities. Bad Homburg

1925-658: The Berghof or at the Führer's favorite restaurant in Munich, the Osteria Bavaria, gossiping with him and sharing stories about the painters from Schwabing that Hoffmann knew. He accompanied Hitler on his unprecedented election campaign by air during the presidential election against Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg in 1932. In the autumn of 1929, Hoffmann and his second wife Erna introduced his Munich studio assistant, Eva Braun, to Hitler. According to Hoffmann, Hitler thought she

2002-580: The Federal Equalization Office ( Bundesausgleichsamt ) stayed in Bad Homburg. In the 20th century, Bad Homburg became a favourite residential area among the upper classes. On 30 November 1989, Alfred Herrhausen , the manager of Deutsche Bank , was killed and his driver was injured by a car bomb in Bad Homburg. It is alleged that this was an attack by the Red Army Faction , though this has never been proven. Bad Homburg's civic coat of arms

2079-518: The Lost Art Database of the Zentrum für Kulturgutverluste and had an adhesive label on the back documenting its ownership by Jewish collectors Bertrand and Martha Nothmann . In 2021, Germany proposed a law to make it easier for private foundations to restitute artworks lost due to Nazi persecution. Heinrich Hoffmann (photographer) Heinrich Hoffmann (12 September 1885 – 16 December 1957)

2156-604: The Nazi Party as a significant mass phenomenon. In 1926, Hoffmann's images of the Party's rally in Weimar in Thuringia – one of the few German states in which Hitler was not banned from speaking at the time – showed the impressive march-past of 5,000 stormtroopers, saluted by Hitler for the first time with the straight-armed "Roman" or Fascist salute . Those pictures were printed in

2233-559: The Nazi Party in 1925. The following year he co-founded the Illustrierter Beobachter . In November 1929, he represented the Nazi Party in the district assembly of Upper Bavaria and, from December 1929 to December 1933, he served as a city councillor of Munich. In 1940, Hoffmann became a member of the Nazi German Reichstag . After Hitler had taken control of the party in 1921, he named Hoffmann his official photographer,

2310-439: The Nazi regime – although not as much as was expected, since the knowledge that the Nazis were putting large numbers of the artworks up for sale depressed their market value. When auctions were halted as war approached, there were still over 12,000 works stored in warehouses which the commission Hoffmann sat on had condemned as artistically worthless. Hitler personally inspected these, and refused to allow them to be returned to

2387-529: The Russian Chapel, properly called All Saints' Church, an Eastern Orthodox church whose cornerstone was laid by the Russian imperial couple on 16 October 1896, although they did not attend the church's consecration almost three years later. King Chulalongkorn of Siam (Thailand) sent a garden pavilion in gratitude for a successful cure. It was erected in 1914. Horex was a well known German motorcycle brand of

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2464-449: The U.S. Army at the end of the war, and were never returned to Germany. In 1937, after the selection jury had outraged and angered Hitler with their choices for the first Great German Art Exhibition to inaugurate the opening of the House of German Art in Munich, he dismissed the panel and put Hoffmann in charge. That dismayed the artistic community, who felt that Hoffmann was unqualified for

2541-500: The West") was published in 1940. His final book of this period, Das Antlitz des Führers ("The Face of the Führer"), was written shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War . In 1936 he had effectively seized control of stereographer Otto Schönstein's publishing house, Raumbild-Verlag , which effectively put him in charge of all mass-market stereoscopic (3D) photography in Germany until

2618-515: The archaeologist Günther Binding interpreted as evidence of two former castles having occupied the site in succession and burnt down. Further digs by the University of Frankfurt at Bad Homburg Castle in April 2006, again initiated by Kurth and managed by Prof. Henning, revealed only a single burnt layer, from a half-timbered building, possibly a castle with towers, which was dated from ceramic finds to

2695-881: The archive of the Austrian Resistance in Vienna, German National Museum in Nuremberg, the "Library for Contemporary History" in Stuttgart, the German Historical Museum in Berlin, and the German Federal Archives. Nine photographs taken by Hoffmann reveal how Adolf Hitler rehearsed poses and hand gestures for his public speeches. He asked Hoffmann to take these shots so he could see what he would look like to his audience, then used them to help shape his performances, which he

2772-570: The beginning of the Christian Era and the 13th century. It seems that the historical record in the Eberbach chronicles ( Eberbacher Zeugenreihe ) which mentions Wortwin (or Ortwin) von Hohenberch as Homburg's founder about 1180 is the first solid evidence of the town's existence. As early as 1962, in an excavation under the Hirschgang wing of Bad Homburg Castle, two burnt layers were discovered, which

2849-441: The beginning of the 16th century. Until 1600 it consisted of 2 or 3 families, and by 1632 these had increased to 16. The first Jewish cemetery was purchased in the 17th century. The community continued to grow so rapidly that in 1703 the landgrave Frederick II of Hesse decided on the construction of a special Judengasse (Jewish quarter). A synagogue, built in 1731, was replaced by a new one in 1867. The Jewish community of Homburg

2926-513: The collection in a museum in 1988, but those plans were delayed due to a financial crisis in the FAG Kugelfischer company, which led Schäfer's heirs to mortgage the art collection. By the end of 1997 the family had regained control of much of the collection and established a foundation to protect it. City officials meanwhile secured resources for the museum, and in February 1997 Volker Staab won

3003-453: The collection of Hitler's planned Führermuseum in his hometown of Linz, Austria , as well as to other high-ranking Nazis, and to various German museums. In 1941, Hoffmann was chief among the many Nazi chieftains who took advantage of the occupation of the Netherlands to buy paintings and other artworks from Dutch dealers, sometimes at inflated prices. That drove the art market up, much to

3080-415: The collections from which they had been confiscated. The result was the burning of 1,004 oil paintings and 3,825 other works in the courtyard of Berlin's central fire station, on 20 March 1939. Along with sculptor Arno Breker , stage designer Benno von Arent , architect Gerdy Troost , and museum director Hans Posse , Hoffmann was one of the few people whose artistic judgment Hitler trusted. He bestowed

3157-457: The commission to design the museum. The museum is situated next to the city hall ( Rathaus ) at the southern entry to downtown Schweinfurt and was opened to the public on 23 September 2000. 50°02′38″N 10°14′10″E  /  50.0439°N 10.2361°E  / 50.0439; 10.2361 Provenance research into the ownership history of 1000 artworks in the Georg Schäfer collection

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3234-533: The condemnation and confiscation process, along with chairman Adolf Ziegler, President of the Reich Chamber for Visual Arts, the art dealer Karl Haberstock, and others. A year later, Josef Goebbels , the Reich Propaganda Minister, brought the commission into his Ministry and restaffed it to include more art dealers, since the sale of the confiscated works internationally was a source of hard currency for

3311-430: The consternation of Hans Posse, who had been commissioned by Hitler to assemble a collection for the planned museum. Posse appealed to Hitler to put a stop to it, but Hitler refused the request. Hoffmann was also the person who recommended Dr. Theodor Morell to Hitler for treatment of his eczema . Morell, who was a member of the Nazi Party, became Hitler's personal physician and treated him for numerous complaints with

3388-497: The country's first division until 2018. The Bad Homburg Open is a WTA 250 tennis tournament held in the town in honour of its long legacy of playing and developing the sport. The inaugural Bad Homburg Open was held in 2021 and played on grass at the TC Bad Homburg. German player Angelique Kerber won the event. In 2024, it was upgraded to a WTA 500 event. Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is twinned with: a. ^ In 1953,

3465-522: The curators of a 2010 Berlin exhibition about Hitler's influence inserted a notice saying that the image's authenticity could not be verified. Hoffmann met Hitler in 1919 and joined the Nazi Party on 6 April 1920. He participated in the Beer Hall Putsch as a photographic correspondent. While the Nazi Party was banned in 1923, Hoffmann joined the ephemeral Großdeutsche Volksgemeinschaft then rejoined

3542-470: The dictator of Germany, Hoffmann was the only person authorized to take official photographs of him. He adopted the title Reichsbildberichterstatter (Reich Picture Reporter) and his company "Heinrich Hoffmann, Verlag Nationalsozialischer Bilder" (Publisher of National Socialist Pictures) became the largest private company of its kind, after the existing press agencies were nationalized. The company had two divisions, one which supplied editorial photographs, and

3619-700: The end of the Second World War. In 1933, Hoffmann was elected to the Reichstag which, after the passage of the Enabling Act of 1933 , had become a powerless entity with little function except to serve as a stage setting for some of Hitler's policy speeches. As a one-party state, an "election" in Nazi Germany meant marking a ballot approving the Führer's list of candidates; no alternative choices were presented or allowed. The personal esteem Hitler held for Hoffmann

3696-563: The epitome of the German people was difficult because Hitler lacked the racial profile of the Nordic race (i.e. tall with blonde hair), which the Nazi New Order sought to preserve. Hoffmann tried to portray Hitler in the best light by focusing more on his eyes, which many found dreamy and hypnotic. Hoffmann's photographs were a significant part of Hitler's propaganda campaign to present himself and

3773-472: The former silent-movie star Wera Engels . He died in 1957 at the age of 72. Hoffmann married Therese "Lelly" Baumann (1886–1928 ), who was very fond of Hitler, in 1911. Their daughter Henriette ("Henny") was born on 2 February 1913 and followed by a son, Heinrich ("Heini") on 24 October 1916. Henriette married National Hitler Youth Leader Baldur von Schirach , who provided introductions to many of Hoffmann's picture books, in 1932. Therese Hoffmann died

3850-466: The glass negative of the image until he found Hitler. The photograph was published in the 12 March 1932 issue of the Illustrierter Beobachter ("Illustrated Observer"), a Nazi newspaper. After the war, the glass negative could not be found. Footage of the event from a similar angle has also been claimed to show Hitler, but there is no evidence he adopted a toothbrush moustache before the war. In 2010, historian Gerd Krumeich  [ de ] ,

3927-549: The honorific title of "Professor" on Hoffmann in 1938, something he did for many of his favorites in the arts, such as architects Albert Speer and Hermann Giesler , and sculptors Breker and Josef Thorak . Hoffmann accompanied Hitler on his state visit to Italy in 1938, in which the Führer was much taken by the beauty of the Italian cities of Rome , Naples and Florence and the artworks and architecture they contained. Hoffmann (with von Ribbentrop's photographer Helmut Laux )

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4004-685: The main Nazi newspaper, the Völkischer Beobachter , and distributed by the thousands throughout Germany. That rally was the progenitor of the Party's annual mass rallies, which were staged quasi-annually in Nuremberg . Later, Hoffmann's book, The Hitler Nobody Knows (1933) was an important part of Hitler's strenuous effort to manipulate and control his public image. Hitler and Hoffmann became close friends, cemented by his absolute loyalty and lack of political ambition. Historian Alan Bullock succinctly described Hoffmann as an "earthy Bavarian with

4081-407: The other which published photo-propaganda books. The manager of the company was Michael Bauer (born 1883) of Munich, but Hoffmann was the sole shareholder. The company steadily expanded, opening multiple branches. Hoffmann's photographs were published as postage stamps, postcards, posters and picture books, making him a millionaire. Hoffmann's companies, which employed 300 employees at their peak, had

4158-508: The photographer one of his own paintings of the courtyard of the Alte Residenz ("Old Royal Palace") in Munich, a favorite subject of Hitler's, and one he had painted many times when he was a struggling artist. Hoffmann came to own at least four of Hitler's watercolors . One was purchased in 1944, which provoked Hitler to remark that it would have been "insane" to have paid more than 150 or 200 marks for it, at most. The pictures were seized by

4235-466: The requisite image, and Hitler determined, to his own satisfaction, that Stalin was not Jewish. Hitler would not allow Hoffmann to publish photographs of Stalin if he was smoking a cigarette, deeming it inappropriate for a leader of Stalin's status to be shown in that way. Besides introducing him to Eva Braun, Hoffmann also introduced Hitler to art dealer Maria Almas Dietrich , who used that connection to sell hundreds of paintings to Hitler himself, for

4312-599: The role. Frederic Spotts , in Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics , describes Hoffmann as "an alcoholic and cretin who knew little more about painting than did the average plumber". Hoffmann's answer to his critics was that he knew what Hitler wanted and what would appeal to him. Nevertheless, even some of Hoffmann's choices were dismissed from the exhibition by Hitler. A room full of somewhat more modern paintings which Hoffmann had selected as possibilities were angrily dismissed by Hitler with

4389-586: The short-lived post-war Bavarian Soviet Republic in Munich, and published a collection of photographs he had taken as Ein Jahr Bayrische Revolution im Bilde ("One Year of Bavarian Revolution in Pictures"). The accompanying text, by Emil Herold, suggested a connection between the "Jewish features" shown in the photographs and the subjects' left-wing policies. A noted photograph, taken by Hoffmann in Munich's Odeonsplatz on 2 August 1914, apparently shows

4466-656: The small village of Epfach in southern Bavaria . In 1954 a ten-part autobiographical series, "Hoffmann's Tales", was published in the "Münchner Illustrierte", the result of interviews by journalist Joe Heydecker  [ de ] , later collected as a book in 2008. Hoffmann published his memoirs in London in 1955 under the title Hitler Was My Friend . In 1956, the Bavarian State ordered all art under its control and formerly possessed by Hoffmann to be returned to him. Hoffmann's widow, Erna, continued to live there together with

4543-499: The spa industry in the town in the mid-19th century, Homburg became an internationally famous spa town. Bad Homburg was favoured particularly by Russian nobility. The spa industry began with the discovery of the Elisabethenbrunnen ("Princess Elizabeth's spring") in 1834. The first spa building and the first casino in Homburg were built in 1841–1842 by the brothers François (1806–1877) and Louis Blanc (1806–1852), who later owned

4620-549: The subject of a lawsuit, Price v. United States . A smaller part of the photo archive remained in the possession of the Hoffmann family. Hoffmann's son Heinrich Jr sold some photographs through the "Contemporary Image Archive" which he founded. The remaining collection was sold to the Bavarian State Library ( Bayerische Staatsbibliothek ) in Munich, in 1993. Other smaller collections exist, controlled by Getty Images,

4697-459: The times he was with his private entourage, she was not immediately his mistress. He believed that did happen at some point, even though Hitler's outward attitude to her never changed. Ultimately, to the surprise of his intimate circle, Hitler married Braun in the Führerbunker in Berlin on 29 April 1945, and the couple committed suicide together the following day. On 17 September 1931, Hitler

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4774-401: The town used the marketing slogan Champagnerluft und Tradition (Champagne air and tradition). As of 2021 , Bad Homburg was one of the wealthiest towns in Germany (while the Hochtaunuskreis itself and the Landkreis Starnberg in Bavaria regularly vie for the title of the wealthiest district in Germany). Local tradition holds that Bad Homburg's documented history began with the mention of

4851-405: Was Adolf Hitler 's official photographer, and a Nazi politician and publisher, who was a member of Hitler's intimate circle. Hoffmann's photographs were a significant part of Hitler's propaganda campaign to present himself and the Nazi Party as a significant mass phenomenon. He received royalties from all uses of Hitler's image, which made him a millionaire over the course of Hitler's rule. After

4928-428: Was "an attractive little thing" – Hitler preferred women to be seen and not heard – but Braun actively pursued him, telling her friends that Hitler was in love with her and claiming she would get him to marry her. Hoffmann reported, however, that even though Braun eventually became a resident of the Berghof – after the death of Geli Raubal (see below) – and was then constantly at Hitler's side during

5005-411: Was Hoffmann's increasing reliance on alcohol. By 1945, Hoffmann was an alcoholic. Hoffmann was arrested by the United States Army on 10 May 1945. He was tried by a denazification court for war profiteering . Hoffmann was classified as a "major offender" in January 1947 by the Munich Spruchkammer, sentenced to 10 years in prison, and had his entire fortune confiscated. Werner Friedman called him one of

5082-451: Was acquired in 1736 by Aaron ben Ẓevi Dessau whose publications included the Shulhan Arukh ( Ḥoshen Mishpat ) with commentary (1742). The press was sold in 1748 and transferred in 1749 to Roedelheim . At the beginning of the 20th century, the spa of Homburg became a meeting place of Russian-Jewish intellectuals. The Jewish population numbered 604 (7.14% of the total population) in 1865, declining to 379 in 1910 (2.64%), and 300 in 1933. Of

5159-470: Was chosen as the seat of the financial administrative centre. On 23 July 1947, the Bizone Economic Council instituted the "Special Money and Credit Centre" here in preparation for currency reform. The centre was managed by Ludwig Erhard . After the Federal Republic of Germany—- West Germany—- was founded with its capital in Bonn , the Federal Debt Administration ( Bundesschuldenverwaltung ), the Office for Security Adjustment ( Amt für Wertpapierbereinigung ) and

5236-461: Was constantly refining. Hitler asked that the photographs be destroyed, a request which Hoffmann did not honor. Many artworks looted from persecuted Jewish collectors passed through Hoffmann. Restitution claims were met with resistance. In 2020, following years of negotiations, Jan van der Heyden 's painting View of a Dutch Square was restituted to the heirs of Gottlieb and Mathilde Kraus, who fled Vienna in March 1938. Hoffmann had received it as

5313-445: Was deeply involved in Nazi-looted art. As early as 1959, architect Erich Schelling drew up plans for a museum to house the collection. A later design by Mies van der Rohe was rejected when the Schweinfurt city council declined to assume the cost of maintaining the museum. The plans were later adapted for the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin . The city of Schweinfurt and the Schäfer family finally came to an agreement on housing

5390-481: Was granted in 1903 but is said to date from the 15th century on the basis of seals known from that time, although they show a saltire rather than the two adzes seen today (the saltire might be two unclear adzes). The reason for the adzes in the arms is not known; it is possibly dialectal canting . The colours, with silver adzes in a blue field, have been in use at least since 1621. Baseball club Bad Homburg Hornets play in Germany's 2. Bundesliga , having competed in

5467-507: Was in the party that went to the Soviet Union when Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop secretly negotiated the Non-Aggression Treaty with Vyacheslav Molotov in 1939, which enabled Hitler to invade Poland . Hitler specifically asked Hoffmann to take a close-up photograph of Stalin's earlobes, by which he thought he could determine if the Soviet leader was Jewish or not. Earlobes that were "attached" would indicate Jewish blood, while those that were "separate" would be Aryan. Hoffmann took

5544-484: Was launched in 2016 after the museum received Nazi-era linked restitution claims for 23 artworks. Provenance researcher Sibylle Ehringhaus investigated the collection for three years but resigned in 2020, saying that she had identified several plundered works, but that no one at the museum seemed to have any plans to return them to the heirs of the original Jewish owners. Carl Blechen's "Klosterhof mit Kreuzgang" (Monastery Courtyard with Cloister) appeared as lost property in

5621-599: Was often a guest; it was he who introduced the Homburg hat and turned-up trousers. Edward took fasting cures at Homburg 32 times. The Bad Homburger Golf Club in the Röderweisen in Dornholzhausen – now part of Bad Homburg – is Germany's oldest golf club . It had its beginnings in the Bad Homburg spa park, where the old clubhouse and even playable parts of the old golf course can still be found. Not far away stands

5698-510: Was originally part of the jurisdiction of the rabbinate of Friedberg but began to appoint its own rabbis in the 19th century. A Hebrew printing house was located in Homburg by Seligmann ben Hirz Reis from 1710 until 1713, when he relocated to Offenbach am Main . Among other items, he published Jacob ibn Ḥabib 's Ein Ya'akov (1712). Hebrew printing was resumed there in 1724 by Samson ben Salman Hanau but lack of capital limited his output. The press

5775-637: Was released from prison in 1950. In 1956, the Bavarian State ordered all art under its control and formerly possessed by Hoffmann to be returned to him. Hoffmann was born in Fürth and grew up in Regensburg . He trained as a photographer from 1901 to 1903, in the studio of his father Robert (born 1860) and his uncle Heinrich (1862–1928). Until 1909, he found employment in Heidelberg , Frankfurt am Main , Bad Homburg , Switzerland, France and England. In 1909 he founded

5852-592: Was taken by the US Army's historical division to the United States, where it was given to the US National Archives and Records Administration . The collection of 280,000 images remains an important source for scholars of Nazi Germany. These photographs are in the public domain in the US owing to their status as seized Nazi property, otherwise their copyrights would first expire on 1 January 2028. These photos were later

5929-598: Was with Hoffmann on a trip from Munich to Hamburg when the Führer got word that his niece, Geli Raubal – whom he adored and who accompanied him to almost all social events – had committed suicide by shooting herself. In his post-war memoir, Hitler Was My Friend , Hoffmann expressed the opinion that Raubal killed herself because she was in love with someone other than Hitler, and could not take Hitler's rabidly jealous control of her life, especially after he found out that she had had an affair with Emil Maurice , Hitler's old comrade and chauffeur. When Hitler became

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