[MSN] Little-known heroes hunted art treasures stolen by Nazis

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Feb. 12, 2007 
CULTURE
Little-known heroes hunted art treasures stolen by Nazis
MARIA RECIO 


WASHINGTON, D.C. - It was the greatest art theft in history. It was also the
greatest rescue. The looting of Europe's public and private collections by
the Nazis beginning in the 1930s propelled a small army of art experts,
under the auspices of U.S. forces, to search for and rescue art pieces that
had been stored in salt mines, caves and castles to protect them from the
ravages of war.

The "Monuments Men," as they were known, tracked down, identified and
catalogued millions of works of art and cultural artifacts by such masters
as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Vermeer, for the purpose
of returning them to their owners. They also identified historical and
cultural sites to prevent Allied forces from bombing them.

"Rescuing Da Vinci: Hitler and the Nazis Stole Europe's Great Art, America
and her Allies Recovered It" (Laurel Publishing, $55), by Dallas author
Robert Edsel, puts the spotlight on these little-known heroes, who hailed
from many nations. It also identifies 12 living members of the 350-member
team.

During World War II, U.S. art experts and organizations won the support of
President Franklin Roosevelt for a national effort to preserve art in the
European theater. The president established a commission, headed by Supreme
Court Justice Owen Roberts, that led to the creation of a monuments, fine
arts and archives branch of the Allied armies in 1943.

European institutions already had swung into action following Germany's
attack on Poland in 1939. Louvre museum curators moved 400,000 works of art
out of Paris within a few weeks, stripping the walls bare, and kept moving
them throughout the war.

Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," the most famous painting in the world, was moved six
times during the war. From its home in the Louvre, it was first moved to a
chateau outside of Paris, traveling by ambulance to better disguise the
occupant. The back of the ambulance was sealed to protect the painting, but
"the curator who went with it almost fell out when they got there from lack
of oxygen," Edsel said.

Much of the thousands of pieces of war booty that the Nazis confiscated were
for Adolf Hitler himself. The Nazi leader was obsessed with collecting the
finest art for his museum, which he designed to be built in Linz, Austria,
near his birthplace. Hitler's "most coveted work of art," according to
Edsel, was Vermeer's "The Astronomer," which was among hundreds of works
that the Nazis took from Jewish banker Edouard de Rothschild's collection in
Paris. It's now at the Louvre.

The Monuments Men discovered a stash of more than 6,500 works being held for
the Linz museum at Alt Aussee, a salt mine near Salzburg. Edsel said one of
the most breathtaking moments of his research occurred when he found a
swastika-embossed leather-bound book in Krakow that was made for Hitler. It
listed the "available" art in the occupied region for him to peruse and
select.

Da Vinci's "Lady with an Ermine," originally part of a private collection in
Krakow, was the subject of a tug-of-war between Hans Frank, the Nazi
governor general of Poland, and Hermann Goering, Hitler's second in command,
who had a fondness for art looted from the occupied countries.

The tales of the Monuments Men gripped Edsel when he was living in Europe a
few years ago. A wealthy former Texas oil and gas executive and onetime
professional tennis player, Edsel turned into a self-taught art historian as
he became obsessed with the history of the art treasures rescued and
restored after the war.

"In the sense of civilization, it's irreplaceable," he said.

Edsel poured about $2 million of his own money into researching and digging
for photos in archives, churches and museums; he ended up publishing the
book himself. The book became available on Amazon.com and in major
bookstores in early January.

Hollywood has taken notice, and producers are talking to Edsel about a
movie. He already helped co-produce a documentary, the "Rape of Europa,"
based on a scholarly book by Lynn Nicholas about the looted art.

For Edsel, honoring the Monuments Men is a race against time. He met with
98-year-old S. Lane Faison last fall to hear his story. Faison, who had a
long career as an art professor at Williams College, had never spoken
extensively about his role in saving Western art.

"I've been waiting to meet you all of my life," he told Edsel.

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