You have probably heard about the big-budget movie but may not have thought about the Monuments Men book that inspired the film. Both are based on true events. The author of the book released in 2009, Robert Edsel, has also written a sequel entitled Saving Italy. Although the Allied group of real life heroes was disbanded in 1951, the effort to retrieve stolen art objects continues to this day.
Robert Edsel has dedicated his personal fortune and his time in recent years to bringing attention to the World War II effort to return looted art to its rightful owners. He has produced a documentary, written a best-seller and its sequel, and founded a non-profit organization to educate and engage the public. It's a fact that many stolen treasures are still missing, and that others are still being discovered and returned.
The story is true and truly amazing. In 1943, a group of art historians, museum curators, architects, and other scholars dedicated to art were sent behind enemy lines to do what they could to preserve western culture. These were mostly middle-aged men and women, not professional soldiers. One was a veteran of World War I. They left their families and careers to risk their lives for a seemingly impossible mission.
Two of the real-life members of the force died in this attempt, which succeeded in recovering over 5 million cultural objects. Although the mission was begun in 1943 to try to protect historic architecture from aerial bombing, the unit quickly began to track down stolen paintings, sculptures, and other treasures. The War was still going on, and there was real risk involved with this mission.
The fact that many items remain hidden was highlighted by the recent discovery of more than 1400 valuable objects in a Munich apartment. The man who hoarded these treasures claims they are rightfully his by inheritance. His father was an art dealer commissioned by Hitler to dispose of art considered 'degenerate'.
Robert Edsel himself spotted two listed paintings in a Dallas museum. They did turn out to be the paintings cataloged by the Nazis as objects taken from the Rothschild family. The documentation on the paintings is missing, however; they may have been returned to their rightful owner and later sold legally.
The Foundation continues to locate missing objects, some of which may have come to America with servicemen who looked at them as souvenirs. Recently two books, over 400 years old, were returned by the veteran who had brought them home. Edsel hopes that more people will examine the contents of their homes now that the subject has been dramatized by a major Hollywood film.
The book inspired the movie, which is a light-hearted look at this true story of heroism and sacrifice. However, for more in-depth information, get the book and its sequel and check out the website for the Monuments Men Foundation. You might want to look at the photos of still-missing masterpieces, too, in case you have the Van Gogh or the Raphael on your wall.
Robert Edsel has dedicated his personal fortune and his time in recent years to bringing attention to the World War II effort to return looted art to its rightful owners. He has produced a documentary, written a best-seller and its sequel, and founded a non-profit organization to educate and engage the public. It's a fact that many stolen treasures are still missing, and that others are still being discovered and returned.
The story is true and truly amazing. In 1943, a group of art historians, museum curators, architects, and other scholars dedicated to art were sent behind enemy lines to do what they could to preserve western culture. These were mostly middle-aged men and women, not professional soldiers. One was a veteran of World War I. They left their families and careers to risk their lives for a seemingly impossible mission.
Two of the real-life members of the force died in this attempt, which succeeded in recovering over 5 million cultural objects. Although the mission was begun in 1943 to try to protect historic architecture from aerial bombing, the unit quickly began to track down stolen paintings, sculptures, and other treasures. The War was still going on, and there was real risk involved with this mission.
The fact that many items remain hidden was highlighted by the recent discovery of more than 1400 valuable objects in a Munich apartment. The man who hoarded these treasures claims they are rightfully his by inheritance. His father was an art dealer commissioned by Hitler to dispose of art considered 'degenerate'.
Robert Edsel himself spotted two listed paintings in a Dallas museum. They did turn out to be the paintings cataloged by the Nazis as objects taken from the Rothschild family. The documentation on the paintings is missing, however; they may have been returned to their rightful owner and later sold legally.
The Foundation continues to locate missing objects, some of which may have come to America with servicemen who looked at them as souvenirs. Recently two books, over 400 years old, were returned by the veteran who had brought them home. Edsel hopes that more people will examine the contents of their homes now that the subject has been dramatized by a major Hollywood film.
The book inspired the movie, which is a light-hearted look at this true story of heroism and sacrifice. However, for more in-depth information, get the book and its sequel and check out the website for the Monuments Men Foundation. You might want to look at the photos of still-missing masterpieces, too, in case you have the Van Gogh or the Raphael on your wall.
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