English Translation

13 collected art collection by Oskar Bondy "saved a sum of RM 1 million for the purchase. On February 8, 1940 lawyer Ernst Egger recorded a visit to Herbert Seiberl that he had generally encouraged a state purchase. Herbert Seiberl, however, sees the "main difficulty" in the fact that the present painting certainly enjoys Adolf Hitler's special pleasure, but he apparently underestimates it and therefore is not inclined to "grant exorbitant individual prizes." Since, according to Herbert Seibert's Adolf Hitler only reckons with a price of "a few hundred thousand marks", a state purchase is prevented. The lawyer Ernst Egger held against this that Jaromir Czernin had to expect the net result of the failed sale to Philipp Reemtsma, therefore an amount of more than RM 1.5 million. On February 12, 1940, Hans Heinrich Lammers informed the (Vienna) Ministry of Internal and Cultural Affairs that Adolf Hitler had not made a final decision on the purchase of the painting, but that there would be no concern if negotiations on the acquisition were to be conducted with the aim of obtaining concrete price proposals. On 1 March 1940, Jaromir Czernin's lawyer Ernst Egger negotiated the sale at the (Vienna) Ministry of Internal and Cultural Affairs and stated that Jaromi Czernine would agree to a purchase price of around RM 1.7 million if he was assured that Eugen Czernin would bear half of the inheritance taxes. The following day, Friedrich Plattner reported to Hans Heinrich Lammers that the purchase amount "cannot be calculated without consideration of the inheritance fees", because Jaromir Czernin wants to achieve a "remaining balance of 1 1⁄2 million RM" by selling it. According to the (Austrian) tax regulations, the inheritance fees are a post-tax, which is determined on the basis of an agreement between the competent tax authority and the heirs. For the sale of the present painting by RM 2 million, a tax of RM 550,000,-- was envisaged by the Chief Financial Officer in Vienna. On March 12, 1940, Friedrich Plattner proposed that Hans Heinrich Lammers buy the present painting from Reichsmittel for the amount of RM 1.75 million and assign it to the Kunsthistorisches Museum. On 1 April 1940, lawyer Ernst Egger wrote to the (Vienna) Ministry of Internal and Cultural Affairs and the Central Office for Monument Protection that Jaromir Czernin was still willing to sell the painting, "with an amount of about 1.5 million RM and that the question of the inheritance fee was settled without further burden on the heir, or the purchase price for the payment of the fee