The Artwork Actually was in Danger
During the war, Third Reich leadership had a Fuhrermuseum planned to display artworks captured from Allied territory. They even placed certain artworks like the Mona Lisa on a priority list. But in 1945, Hitler issued the Nero Decree, or the Demolitions on Reich Territory decree. If he died or Germany lost the war, all the captured art in Nazi possession would be destroyed (along with other Reich assets such as factories and anything else the Allies could benefit from).
Despite both conditions of the decree actually coming true, Project Nero never happened. By chance, Hitler’s Minister of Armaments Albert Speer received orders to carry out the decree, but he refused to do so. He no longer aligned with Hitler and convinced Nazi units not to carry out the destruction, believing it would be easier for Germany to rebuild after the war if infrastructure remained in place.
