Gottfried Reimer

Hermann Arthur Gottfried Reimer (* 18th February 1911 in Döbeln , † 1987 ) was a German art historian and during the Second World War at the Special Mission Linz played a key role.

Activity until 1945

After studying philosophy and history in Dresden and Würzburg , he received his doctorate in 1935 . From 1939 Gottfried Reimer worked as a scientific assistant under Hans Posse , the director of the Gemäldegalerie Dresden and “special representative of the Führer” Adolf Hitler for the museum in Linz. On June 1, 1941, Gottfried Reimer became a consultant for the Linz project and moved to Weesenstein Castle near Dresden. After Posse's death in 1942, Hermann Voss succeeded him as “Special Representative of the Führer”. Reimer retained his function and was responsible for the selection, purchase and collection of works of art for the Führermuseum. From 1943 Reimer was in charge of the evacuation and storage of art treasures in the Altaussee salt mine .

Activity after 1945

Even before the end of the war, Reimer von Altaussee returned first to Dresden and later to Döbeln. At the end of 1945 he was commissioned by the state administration of Saxony to search castles and manors in the Döbeln district for hidden art and cultural treasures. In February 1946, the State Collections for Art and Science in Dresden hired him as a research assistant and entrusted him with the supervision of the Saxon copper engraving cabinet. Arrested by the Soviet military administration , Reimer managed to disguise his role in the Linz special project. After his release, he returned to Döbeln and worked as a monument conservator in the Döbeln district . He practiced this profession until the mid-1970s, after which he worked as a freelance art expert and created expert reports.

Around 1980 Reimer came into the focus of the state security. The Ministry of State Security investigated the whereabouts of the Amber Room .

Reimer died without revealing what he might know.

Works

• The use of water in garden art from the Middle Ages to the present in Germany. J. Thomm, Bad Mergentheim 1935 (dissertation: Julius-Maximilians-Universität zu Würzburg, 1934).

literature

• Birgit Schwarz: Hitler's Museum. Böhlau, Vienna et al. 2004, ISBN 3-20-577054-4 .
• Manfred John, Gabi Liebegall: Hidden secrets. On the trail of the Amber Room in Saxony. Tauchaer Verlag, Taucha 2008, ISBN 978-3-89772-140-1 .
• Mario Morgner: Bernsteinzimmer is a secret: In the eye of the Ministry for State Security. Taucha 2012, ISBN 978-3-89772-214-9 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Gottfried Reimer in the catalog of the German National Library