Hermann Göring (1893–1946) was one of the most powerful political figures in the Nazi regime. He joined the Nazi Party in 1922. In 1933 Hitler appointed him prime minister (Ministerpräsident) of Prussia, in 1935 he became Supreme Commander of the German air force (Luftwaffe), and from 1936 he was in charge of the Four-Year Plan for the German economy. In July 1941 Göring issued instructions for the preparation of the ‘final solution to the Jewish question’.

Göring built up an extensive collection of cultural property through looting, extortion, and acquisition – second only to the collection amassed by Hitler. He stored the most valuable artworks at Carinhall, his country residence to the north of Berlin.

As one of the main defendants at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Göring was sentenced to death in 1946, but he evaded execution by committing suicide.