Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 156 Special Ticket

"Private artworks?" Most of the workers were confused when this was mentioned, while Genevieve de Gaulle's face showed resentment.

Seeing that expression, Qin Hao knew that the young woman had understood what he meant.

Art looting.

Historical records indicate that between 1940 and 1944, Germany looted more than 100,000 works of art from France, at least half of which are now missing.

These artworks include paintings, sculptures, furniture, and ancient books.

Some of the items were forcibly taken from the museum by the German army, while others were plundered indirectly through free trade at prices less than one-tenth of their original value.

This plundering was partly driven by the state and partly by the individual actions of some high-ranking German officials.

As it turns out, even the Third Reich at its zenith could not solve the problem of corruption, especially among high-ranking military officers, whose corruption was even more severe than in other periods of German history.

Imagine if a general or marshal bought some "local specialties" in France and planned to bring them back home. Would any ignorant soldiers or officers bother to check them?

However, the identity behind this tiger skin needs to be carefully considered; it should at least be able to intimidate the vast majority of people.

Qin Hao had a very suitable name in his memory—Hermann William Göring.

This absolute veteran of the Nazi Party was not only the Air Force Commander and the head of the Gestapo, but also controlled the German economy for a period of time, and his greed is also historically notorious.

This man, from the very first day of his occupation of France, began to abuse his private power to plunder vast amounts of French art and property. He also seized a considerable amount from the Jews.

Oh, calling it robbery seems a bit unfair to this Marshal, since he clearly bought it—one mark per piece.

Between 1940 and 1944, he acquired more than 1500 different works of art from France, many of which were subsequently shipped abroad.

Ironically, despite his notorious record during the war, this second-in-command of Germany received VIP treatment before the Nuremberg Trials because of his vast "hidden wealth."

Not only was he allowed to temporarily return to Zell-sur-Lake, but he was also allowed to share a dinner with U.S. Army Brigadier General Robert Stark, and he could listen to records and drink champagne while serving his sentence.

The Allied high command was being cautious, and anyone with a bit of standing knew it.

Unfortunately, no one found out the whereabouts of all these artworks before his suicide, perhaps because there were so many that even the marshal himself couldn't remember where they were.

Because of his previous business dealings, Qin Hao happened to come into contact with a batch of artworks left by Göring that were discovered in Switzerland, and knew about their unique emblems and methods of concealment.

This is the perfect excuse to use it now.

“Miss de Gaulle, we are very pressed for time this time,” Qin Hao said, looking at the tall woman in front of him.

"Within three days, we need to pack a batch of fake artworks, smuggle them onto the German train, and have Anna hide in the carriage. The two of us will take turns looking after her."

The librarian opened her mouth slightly, and it took her a while to bring her thoughts back. "But, but where are we going to find so many fake artworks? Empty boxes are easy to spot, aren't they?"

"Hmm~ I can give that a try."

"Miss de Gaulle, do museums have many old picture frames?"

"what?!"

Even at night, the small warehouse was still brightly lit.

when!when!when!when!
The sound of a small hammer constantly striking wood filled the air as the caretaker watched as the man disassembled the oak picture frames one by one, then pieced them together with blank scrolls, even attaching metal sheets to the corners of some of them in a seemingly professional manner.

A dozen or so blank picture frames were stacked together, stuffed into a large wooden crate, and placed together. The whole action was done in one go, and it looked like someone who did this kind of work often.

Before long, the room was filled with several large wooden crates.

"Sir, what if someone checks before we board? Wouldn't it be obvious if there's only an empty picture frame?" the female attendant asked疑惑地.

"It's okay, not all the frames are empty."

The man in front of me took out his oil paints and turned to set up his easel.

"Go to sleep first, we'll probably be working very late tonight," the man said, then began mixing the dyes together to create a color.

"He wouldn't be thinking..."

A ridiculous thought flashed through Miss Gao Le's mind, but she shook her head vigorously to banish it.

"No, no, how could anyone do such a thing?"

Although she was curious, the whole day's running around and the fear had left Miss de Gaulle exhausted. She simply leaned against a box and fell into a deep sleep the next second.

As dawn broke, faint sunlight streamed through the cracks in the window, and the shifting light and shadow caused the young woman's eyelashes to flutter slightly.

Half-asleep, a hazy light and shadow unfolded before my eyes. In the distance, there seemed to be a pool of azure water, upon which floated several quietly blooming water lilies. The interplay of colors made the water seem to come alive... Water lilies?!
Geneviève de Gaulle woke up abruptly, all sleepiness vanishing instantly.

On the easel before me lay an oil painting, its paint still wet, the background a replica of Monet's masterpiece, "Water Lilies."

Although it is called a forgery, the colors of the painting are extremely similar. The reason why I can tell it is a forgery at a glance is that only the upper third of this oil painting is completed, and the rest is blank space that has not been touched.

"That's enough. As long as you can see the top half of the things you put in the box, you can use the time saved to draw a few more pictures." Someone sat down next to the young woman and handed her a plate of breakfast.

"Did you paint this?" Geneviève de Gaulle covered her mouth in surprise.

She works in the arts and is very familiar with the requirements of copying. Because composition and fine shading need to be taken into account, even a skilled art student would need more than 50 hours to copy a painting from the original.

Although only a portion of the painting "A Pond of Water Lilies" was completed in just one night, it demonstrates the artist's exceptional skill and profound understanding of the original work.

The man before me is like a book; every turn of the page reveals new surprises.

"Although it's a temporary emergency measure, I imagine the soldiers conducting spot checks at the train station haven't seen anything major before, so this level of equipment should be sufficient."

The man continued talking to himself, removing the drawing from the canvas and replacing it with a new one.

After a moment's thought, he picked up the pen with one hand.

In the afternoon, a portrait of a woman was also nearing completion.

Matisse's "Woman in Blue"

Another night passed, and what appeared on the easel was a landscape.

Cézanne's "Mont Sainte-Victoire"

Three days later, six forged paintings were placed on top of the wooden box. The man took out a small square box, fiddled with it for a few moments, and then stamped the [ERR] mark on the large box.

"What is this?" the caretaker asked from the side.

"The Rosenberg Special Task Force, a special German unit dedicated to collecting art."

"And this?" The woman pointed to an even smaller string of characters on the box: [KG 42]

"It refers to Karin Palace, Göring's private estate. Even if the Gestapo wanted to inspect it, they would avoid it upon seeing it."

“Alright, now only the most difficult part remains.” The man closed the box, clapped his hands, and took out a set of officer uniforms captured in the town of Moncornet.

"How can we convince our little princess to play hide-and-seek for a longer period of time?"
-
On June 17, at the San Lazar station, a man and a woman carrying suitcases walked towards a train carriage, while a dozen workers struggled to load several large wooden crates onto the train.

The man at the head of the group was wearing a major's uniform, and every step he took exuded the coldness of a soldier. He seemed to be injured, with obvious bandage marks on his face and traces of blood visible on the gauze. Only one eye was visible on his face.

The woman beside him was dressed in civilian clothes, wearing an armband issued by the provisional government. However, she did not look as composed as her companion, and her eyes were filled with timidity as she looked at the soldiers around her.

The SS officers on guard duty nearby seemed unfazed; they were a mid-level officer and his temporary entourage hired in Paris.

Many French people have chosen to cooperate in order to make a living, and he has seen many such people this week.

"The woman in front of me is quite attractive; we might even have that kind of relationship," someone thought to themselves.

When checking the documents, the man's documents had several bloodstains in key areas, but he spoke fluent German with a Ruhr accent, which made the guards unsure of what to do.

Just as the soldier was hesitating, the leading officer noticed the distinctive "ERR" markings on his luggage.

The Rosenberg Special Task Force is directly under Field Marshal Göring and now wields considerable power, making them even more difficult to deal with than the Gestapo.

The officers and soldiers, who were temporarily transferred from the field army and didn't want any trouble, muttered a few words to each other, saluted the officers, and let them pass. They even told their colleagues behind them not to cause any trouble.

The workers behind them shouted as they carried the wooden crate onto the train. As the last person entered the carriage, the crate moved almost imperceptibly.

“Sir, we’re coming in.” Geneviève de Gaulle’s voice was soft, but it was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Miss, from now on please speak German to me, and please don't forget."

"I'm sorry, I understand." The female administrator lowered her head and apologized in German, then straightened her body and tried to calm herself down.

The vehicle was delayed, so the two could only wait while constantly observing the wooden crates in the distance.

Why is the train so late?!

Unbeknownst to them, shortly after they boarded the train, the platform in the distance was already under martial law. Manstein stepped off the car and looked at the large, fat man holding a marshal's cane in front of him.

"Your Excellency Göring, I'm sorry, I didn't know you had come to Paris in person."

(End of this chapter)