Max Amann (24 November 1891 – 30 March 1957) was a high-ranking member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

, a German politician, businessman and art collector, including of

looted art Looted art has been a consequence of looting during war, natural disaster and riot for centuries. Looting of art, archaeology and other cultural property may be an opportunistic criminal act or may be a more organized case of unlawful or unet ...

. He was the first business manager of the Nazi Party and later became the head of (Eher Publishing), the official Nazi Party publishing house. He was also the ''

Reichsleiter ' (national leader or Reich leader) was the second-highest political rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), next only to the office of ''Führer''. ''Reichsleiter'' also served as a paramilitary rank within the NSDAP and was the highest position attaina ...

'' for the press. After the war ended, Amann was arrested by Allied troops. Amann was deemed a (Prominent Guilty Party) and sentenced to ten years in a labour camp. He was released in 1953. Amann died in poverty in Munich.

Early life

Amann was born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

on 24 November 1891. After attending

volksschule The German term ''Volksschule'' generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend. In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primary (' ...

and a business school, he worked for a few years as a commercial office apprentice and a salesman. He then enlisted in the 1st Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment in October 1912. When the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out he was transferred to the 16th Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment and obtained the rank of ''

Feldwebel ''Feldwebel '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupi ...

'' (equivalent to the US Army

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

). Amann was

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's company sergeant, and was thus an early acquaintance of Hitler long before his rise to prominence in German politics. He was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

second class during the war. He was discharged in December 1919.

Nazi career

Amann joined the

(NSDAP) in October 1921, as the Party's first business manager, and held NSDAP membership number 3. After 1922, he also led the Nazis' sole publishing house,

Eher Verlag Franz Eher Nachfolger GmbH (''Franz Eher and Successors, LLC'', usually referred to as the Eher-Verlag (''Eher Publishing'')) was the central publishing house of the Nazi Party and one of the largest book and periodical firms during the Third Rei ...

. Eher Verlag published, among other imprints, the anti-semitic satirical magazine ''

Die Brennessel ''Die Brennessel'' (German: ''Stinging Nettle'') was a weekly satirical magazine which was published in Munich, Germany, between 1931 and 1938. It was one of the publications which were established to gain popularity among Germans in favor of the ...

'' and the SS magazine ''

Das Schwarze Korps ''Das Schwarze Korps'' (; German for "The Black Corps") was the official newspaper of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). This newspaper was published on Wednesdays and distributed free of charge. All SS members were encouraged to read it. The chief edit ...

'' ("The Black Corps"). Amann took part in the November 1923

Beer Hall Putsch The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...

and in April 1924 was sentenced to four-and-a-half months in

Landsberg prison Landsberg Prison is a penal facility in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west-southwest of Munich and south of Augsburg. It is best known as the prison where Adolf Hitler was held in 1924, a ...

. During the period when the Nazi Party was banned, Amann was a leading member of the Greater German People's Community, a Nazi

front organization A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gro ...

headquartered in Munich. In November 1924 he was elected as a NSDAP candidate to the Munich city council, serving until 1933. When the Nazi Party was reestablished on 27 February 1925, Amann immediately rejoined it. Amann's most notable contribution was persuading Hitler to retitle his first book from ''Viereinhalb Jahre (des Kampfes) gegen Lüge, Dummheit und Feigheit'', ("Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice") to ''

Mein Kampf (; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germ ...

'', ("My Struggle") which he also published. The book became a major source of Eher-Verlag's income and Amann oversaw the book through many editions. He helped Hitler become a wealthy man. Amann also enriched himself through many Nazi publications. Amann published the daily '' Volkischer Beobachter'', the weekly ''Illustrierter Beobachter'' and the ''Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte''. After the

Nazi seizure of power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

, Hitler appointed him a ''

'', the second highest political rank in the Nazi Party on 2 June 1933. On 15 November 1933, Hitler named Amann the president of the Reich Press Chamber (''Reichspressekammer'') and Reich Press Leader. Also on that day, Amann was elected to the '' Reichstag'' from electoral constituency 24,

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

. Amann joined the SS on 15 March 1932 with the rank of SS-''

Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire de ...

'', was promoted to SS-''

Obergruppenführer ' (, "senior group leader") was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissio ...

'' on 30 January 1936 and was assigned to the staff of the ''

Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-servi ...

''. Amann pursued a dual-pronged strategy to establish Nazi control over the press industry. In his official role as president of the Press Chamber, Amann had the power to seize or close down any newspapers that either ran counter to the Nazis' wishes or did not fully support the Nazi regime. Then, as head of the Eher-Verlag, he bought them at a substantial discount–often at "auctions" at which the Eher-Verlag was the sole bidder. By 1942, Amann controlled 80% of all German newspapers through his publishing empire. Combined with the proceeds from ''Mein Kampf,'' this made the Eher-Verlag the largest newspaper and publishing company in Germany, and one of the largest in the world. His income increased from in 1934 to in 1944. As a party official Amann lacked talent, being a poor speaker and debater. In addition, his handwriting was illegible, thus his Chief of Staff and deputy, Rolf Rienhardt, performed these duties for him. Poor handwriting can be attributed in part to the loss of his left arm in an accident with a firearm while hunting with

Franz Ritter von Epp Franz Ritter von Epp (born Franz Epp; from 1918 as Ritter von Epp; 16 October 1868 – 31 January 1947)Lilla, Joachim: Epp, Franz Ritter v.'. In: Staatsminister, leitende Verwaltungsbeamte und (NS-)Funktionsträger in Bayern 1918 bis 19 ...

on 4 September 1931. Arrested by Allied troops after the war ended, Amann was deemed a ''Hauptschuldiger'' (Prominent Guilty Party) and sentenced to ten years in a labour camp on 8 September 1948. He was released in 1953, but was stripped of his property, pension rights and practically all of his fortune. Amann died on 30 March 1957, in Munich.

Nazi-looted art

In 2014, the

Bavarian State Painting Collections The Bavarian State Painting Collections (german: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen), based in Munich, Germany, oversees artwork held by the Free State of Bavaria. It was established in 1799 as ''Centralgemäldegaleriedirektion''. Artwork includes ...

discovered in the

Pinakothek der Moderne The Pinakothek der Moderne (, '' Pinakothek of the Modern'') is a modern art museum, situated in central Munich's ''Kunstareal''. Locals sometimes refer to it as the ''Dritte'' ("third") ''Pinakothek'' after the Old and New. It is one of the world' ...

's collection 14 art works that they suspected had belonged to Amann. The Pinakothek received the artworks in 1945 and could not detail their

provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...

enough to say whether they were looted or not. The German Lost Art Foundation listed the 10 paintings and 4 sculptures, which included works from Gabriel Mäleßkircher,

Franz von Stuck Franz von Stuck (February 23, 1863 – August 30, 1928), born Franz Stuck, was a German painter, sculptor, printmaker, and architect. Stuck was best known for his paintings of ancient mythology, receiving substantial critical acclaim with '' The ...

Friedrich Kaulbach Theodor Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Kaulbach (8 July 1822 – 17 September 1903) was a German painter from Bad Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont. His father was Christian Kaulbach (1777–1847), a cabinet maker in Arolsen. ...

and others, in the lostart.de database.

References

Sources

* Hale, Oron. J, ''The Captive Press in the Third Reich'', Princeton, 1964 * * *

External links