The Monuments Men Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History

by Edsel, Robert M.; Witter, Bret

• ISBN13: 9781599951508
• ISBN10: 1599951509
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-09-17
• Publisher: Center Street

Summary

At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: "degenerate" works he despised. In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Monuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture. Focusing on the eleven-month period between D-Day and V-E Day, this fascinating account follows six Monuments Men and their impossible mission to save the world's great art from the Nazis.

Author Biography

Robert Edsel began his career in the oil and gas exploration business. In 1996 he moved to Europe to pursue his interests in the arts. Settling in Florence seeing some of the great works, he wondered how all of the monuments and art treasures survived the devastation of World War II. During the ensuing years, he devoted himself to finding the answer. In the process, he commissioned major research that has resulted in this book. Robert also coproduced the related documentary film, The Rape of Europa, and cowrote Rescuing Da Vinci, a photographic history of an art heist of epic proportions and the Allied rescue effort. The author lives in Dallas.

Bret Witter cowrote the bestseller Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World (Grand Central, 2008). He lives in Louisville, KY.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	p. xiii
Main Characters	p. xvii
Map	p. xx
The Mission
Out of Germany	p. 3
Hitler's Dream	p. 10
The Call to Arms	p. 16
A Dull and Empty World	p. 25
Leptis Magna	p. 32
The First Campaign	p. 37
Monte Cassino	p. 44
Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives	p. 50
The Task	p. 63
Northern Europe
Winning Respect	p. 70
A Meeting in the Field	p. 83
Michelangelo's Madonna	p. 97
The Cathedral and the Masterpiece	p. 102
Van Eyck's Mystic Lamb	p. 113
James Rorimer Visits the Louvre	p. 120
Entering Germany	p. 139
A Field Trip	p. 146
Tapestry	p. 155
Christmas Wishes	p. 164
The Madonna of La Gleize	p. 173
The Train	p. 177
The Bulge	p. 190
Champagne	p. 193
Germany
A German Jew in the U.S. Army	p. 209
Coming Through the Battle	p. 214
The New Monuments Man	p. 220
George Stout with His Maps	p. 230
Art on the Move	p. 239
Two Turning Points	p. 242
Hitler's Nero Decree	p. 250
First Army Across the Rhine	p. 253
Treasure Map	p. 259
Frustration	p. 270
Inside the Mountain	p. 280
Lost	p. 284
A Week to Remember	p. 287
The Void
Salt	p. 303
Horror	p. 309
The Gauleiter	p. 314
The Battered Mine	p. 316
Last Birthday	p. 322
Plans	p. 327
The Noose	p. 332
Discoveries	p. 339
The Noose Tightens	p. 344
The Race	p. 348
Final Days	p. 353
The Translator	p. 359
The Sound of Music	p. 362
End of the Road	p. 367
The Aftermath
Understanding Altaussee	p. 373
Evacuation	p. 382
The Journey Home	p. 391
Heroes of Civilization	p. 400
Cast of Characters	p. 427
Notes	p. 431
Bibliography	p. 447
Acknowledgments	p. 455
What Is Your Connection to the Story?	p. 459
Index	p. 461
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