Art Looting Investigation Unit

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The Art Looting Investigation Unit (ALIU) was a special intelligence unit during World War II that had been supporting the US military in the search for stolen and hidden works of art since late 1944 . Their task was, still during the war, information on the NS - art theft gather, the retrieval of the art treasures and also to a conviction in the post-war military court processes should lead. The small unit worked closely with the Monuments Men . Their interrogation and research results were summarized in several reports and are still the basis for research on the history of the origin of works of art ( provenance research ) and for the restitution of looted and looted art from the Nazi era .

literature

  • Tanja Bernsau: Spies for the Protection of Cultural Property - The Art Looting Investigation Unit , Akademiker-Verlag, 2016, ISBN 978-3-330-51011-1 .
  • Art Looting Investigation Unit: ALIU Reports 1945-1946 , National Archives (NARA) Fold3 WWII OSS Art Looting Investigation Reports, https://www.fold3.com/browse/114/hvMxROzkd .