Franz Rademacher, who served as the assistant director for the Landesmuseum in Bonn since 1936, joined the Nazi party in May 1933. From November 1940 onwards, Rademacher was the permanent expert advisor and deputy to Dr. Hans-Joachim Apffelstaedt (1902-1944), who served as head of the department for the preservation of culture and monuments of the provincial administration of the Rhine Province (Leiter der Abteilung Kultur- und Denkmalpflege der Provinzialverwaltung der Rheinprovinz). From November 1940 to August 1944, Rademacher was significantly involved in the purchase of looted artworks, primarily from France and worked together with art dealers such as Postma, Rochlitz and Plietzsch. His primary interest was the acquisition of Dutch and Flemish paintings.