The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure… (2009)

Fascinating story of the Monuments Men, 350 allies from various countries, commissioned to protect, hide, and/or find artwork and pieces destroyed by or stolen by the Nazi party during WWII. This was an aspect of the war that I hadn't read much about. The book was a little dry, and slow in parts, but overall, a great read! Can't wait to see the movie. ( )

War is destructive. It destroys the future by prematurely ending the lives and potential achievements of thousands of individuals. The loss of a generation of their children who were never born can only be guessed at, not measured. War also destroys the past in the form of tangible objects of cultural significance: the art, architecture, and other artifacts that represent past cultures and that in some way have helped to define the present.

In The Monuments Men, Robert Edsel recognizes an under-appreciated group of World War II heroes, the 350 men and women who served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section. The MFAA's task was often overwhelming as the scope of Hitler's looting became clear. When faced with inadequate resources and the occasional hostility of fellow soldiers and officers, the MFAA improvised to recover stolen and looted cultural property and to protect monuments damaged during military action from sustaining further damage when the fighting ended.

This passage is illustrative of the MFAA's mission in Europe:

When the Allies arrived at Chartres, they found the cathedral at risk of being damaged and possibly destroyed by twenty-two sets of explosives placed on nearby bridges and other structures. Demolitions expert Stewart Leonard, who after the end of active hostilities would himself become a Monuments Man, helped defuse the bombs and save the cathedral. As he later explained to Monuments Man Bernie Taper over drinks in a Berlin apartment, “There's one good thing about being in the bomb disposal unit: No superior officer is ever looking over your shoulder.”

But was art worth a life, Taper wanted to know. Like all Monuments Men, it was a question that haunted him. “I had that choice,” Leonard said. “I chose to remove the bombs. It was worth the reward.”

“What reward?”

“When I finished, I got to sit in Chartres Cathedral, the cathedral I had helped save, for almost an hour. Alone.”

Since the MFAA's work in Western Europe began during and after the invasion of Normandy, this book covers roughly the same time period as Stephen Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers. Highly recommended for all World War II and art history readers. ( )

"The reconstruction of Europe after World War II was one of the most complicated and comprehensive international efforts of modern times. The identity and infrastructure of the nations of Europe had to be rebuilt and the restitution of artwork was a vital component. To say the war was the greatest upheaval of cultural items in history would be a grave understatement. In the end, the Western Allies discovered more than one thousand repositories in southern Germany alone, containing millions of works of art and other cultural treasures, including church bells, stained glass, religious items, municipal records, manuscripts, books, libraries, wine, gold, diamonds, and even insect collections."

This book tells the little known story of the Monuments Men, experts in the art field tasked with locating, recovering, preserving and repatriating art looted by the Nazis. This small band of men faced an almost insurmountable task. The amount of irreplaceable art and artifacts taken by the Nazis was staggering and whole of the Monuments Men consisted of less than 400 people to look after the entire western half of Europe.

What I loved about this book was how these men came from ordinary backgrounds and accomplished extraordinary things. They were architects and scholars, working in museums and universities; some had little to no training in the preservation and transportation of precious artwork. The odds were against them from the start but it's their dedication and the fact that they were willing to put their lives at risk to save mankind's art history that make you root for them. They are the ultimate underdogs where they not only fought against the Nazis but against the clock. "What if we win the war, but lose the last five hundred years of our cultural history on our watch?" Much of the art was stored in mines to protect them from bombing but these places were not always suitable for storing fragile works of art for years at a time. They were prone to cave ins and flooding while the art was also susceptible to moisture and looters.

I really liked the chronological nature of the book. As the war unfolded, so did the search for the art. I was caught up as much as the Monuments Men were and I found myself filled with anxiety over certain works that were missing. I also got to follow various members of the group as they tramped around Europe, following troops, striking out on their own, stealing supplies, commandeering vehicles, men and the help of local civilians if needed.

There are also some great photos and maps to illustrate what Edsel is talking about. A main character crew list with photos and short bios is included in the beginning which puts faces to the men the reader follows. I wish the art photos hadn't been clustered together though but rather interspersed throughout. For example, whenever the Ghent Altarpiece was mentioned I had to keep flipping back to the photo to remind myself what it looked like as there's a wide variety of works mentioned and it's tough to keep everything straight.

Learning about these men and everything they went through, I shared in their triumphs and failures. I worried about them and feared for their safety. Edsel made me feel like I was there. It was exciting and nerve-wracking and hearbreaking, a great read! If you like art history and WWII then this book is for you. ( )

This is an extraordinary story from World War II. What al story of great courage. These historians, curators and art experts made great sacrifice. I have studied WW II, but I did not understand the issues of looting Europe's great treasures along with preserving art from the destruction of war. ( )

I’ve read more books about World War II this year than I would ever have thought possible. I selected Monuments Men after I read about it on a list of suggested titles for the reading group at my public library. What an amazing story!

The Monuments Men were museum curators, art conservationists and others who were given the daunting task of locating and “saving” art work that had been confiscated by the Nazi regime during World War II – much of it from Jewish collectors and world-renowned institutions. And there were thousands and thousands of such pieces. Many were headed for a museum Adolph Hitler planned for Germany; many others would have wound up in personal collections of some of his henchmen.

A key figure was George Stout (age 47 at the time) of Winterset, Iowa. He was the man who pushed the military establishment to establish such a group, convincing a fairly recalcitrant bunch of career military men that saving art was important.

In the end, the Monuments Men (and some women) advised the generals who were commanding “boots on the ground” (and planes the air) about cultural items that were important to save, at times convincing them to alter bombing plans. Because of their intervention, many items – including churches and other buildings were spared bomb damage.

One of the most intriguing characters was Rose Valland, an unpaid volunteer at a Paris art museum – who, at great danger to herself, kept track of the movement of looted items and revealed them to one of the Monuments Men – someone who could help retrieve them. For her heroism, she received the French Legion of Honor and the US Medal of Freedom for her efforts.

While I was reading Monuments Men, I couldn’t help recall the systematic looting that took place in the early days of the Iraq War because there was no planning to save irreplaceable cultural artifacts. It was a shameful episode – and it could have been prevented!

The Monuments Men didn’t save 100% of the looted/bombed artifacts, but they were certainly heroes of the highest order. An amazing story, highly recommended. ( )