Hitler saw himself as an artist and tried to sell his art before WW1, but critics thought of him as a poor artist and not very good. When he took over Germany he viewed art as a means of Propaganda and wealth. He began with censorship of art and books by burning them and removing them from shops and homes. Then, began collecting art from all the countries that were invaded. The art that was stolen from people and museums were going to be used for a national museum of the Third Reich to be built after the war. Gobbles and others took art and hid it in salt mines, castles, and other places. Much of it had Jewish owners like the Kimet painting "Woman in Gold." Art museums like the Louvre in Paris hid their best works in underground tunnels below Paris. Some of the art is still lost from the war and every so often is found.