German officers and museum director Mates looted the museums of Krasnodar and Taganrog

Talk of wartime vandalism is often reduced to a few simple psychological regularities, which tie together the humble origins of the common soldier, the hardships of army life, the constant fear of death and the sight of war's horrors, all leading to dehumanisation. It is often said that this process is more pronounced on the lower rungs of the army hierarchy. But not every atrocity was committed by the hands of uneducated privates.

Thus Professor Mathes, director of the Hamburg Archaeological Museum, plundered the Krasnodar Museum, from which he personally stole a great number of Scythian gold ornaments. It is hard to fathom how a historian and museum man could go against the very principles by which he had lived for the greater part of his life (had he lived by them?). There are known cases of Soviet students of history and art history who, serving as common soldiers, rescued paintings from the fires and ruins of German cities at the risk of their lives...

The Taganrog Museum of Local Lore was plundered by Krause, the Gestapo chief, and Labert, head of the propaganda department of the German army. They shot the museum's curator, Professor V. M. Bazilevich, who had tried to hide part of the collection from looting. Other members of the museum's staff also died defending paintings, sculptures, porcelain and furniture. As for the German officers, they carried off the loot and gave the exhibits away to Nazi officials.