A trained art historian, Dr. Göpel officially started acquiring artworks for the Sonderauftrag Linz in May 1943. Together with Bruno Lohse, Göring’s agent at the Jeu de Paume in Paris serving as deputy director of the ERR in France, Göpel played a leading role in the acquisition of the Schloss collection. In April 1943, and in the absence of Dr. Hermann Voss, Director of the Sonderauftrag Linz, he took charge by authoring a lengthy telegram to Martin Bormann on the collection’s cultural value, its seizure, and its importance for the Sonderauftrag. Together with Lohse, Göpel selected 262 paintings for the Sonderauftrag and was charged with working on an inventory after the collection had reached the Jeu de Paume on 3 November 1943. In early December 1943, Göpel personally accompanied the transport of the collection to Munich, which was subsequently received by Hans Reger, the architect in charge of the Führerbau. In March 1944, Göpel secured two more paintings from the Schloss collection.