The monuments men book is a story by Robert Edsel about a group determined to rescue as much fine art as possible from capture or destruction during the way with Hitler. The group also includes women and the aim was to save cultural treasures that were about to be destroyed by Nazi fanatics. They had to work fast because there were racing against time.
The process of rescuing and recovering the treasure was complicated by the absence of guiding maps that would give directions to where treasures were hidden. They had to physically visit ruined museums and cathedrals as well as peruse through private notes and journals to get hints. The contribution of Rosa Valland who worked at the French museum was crucial. She got leads from dentists during root canal procedure as well as along rail yards.
It is a story of sacrifice where family men in their middle age desert successful careers to secure cultural treasures. The treasures were by famous artists like Vermeers, Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Van Eycks among others. These artists produced the best paintings in Europe and the world at the time.
The mission to rescue the art involved a lot of risk including exposing their lives to danger. Everything was at stake as long as they could save artifacts from pillage or destruction during war. Such loss would have been detrimental for the culture and art of that generation. Understanding such a delicate matter and choosing to do something about it was phenomenal. The team was made up of educators, curators, art scholars, archivists, architects and museum directors.
The mission had the support of President Roosevelt and General Eisenhower. The support was not substantial considering that it did not include the vehicles needed, authority during war, typewriters and gasoline for the mission. Despite such difficulty, the determination and understanding of the gravity of the matter kept the group going. They aimed at protecting the structures that housed the art from bombing but adopted a different approach when it became impossible. They turned to rescuing the artifacts.
There was something unique in the character of each individual involved within the mission group. This is what kept them going and led to the ultimate sacrifice required for such a task. Some of the people lost their lives in the process.
Hitler aimed at creating a huge museum in his home town and thus wanted to plunder what the world offered. His target when he invaded Poland included private art collections, museums and churches. These were the areas where he would get the best art that the world had to offer. He used secret mines and remote castles to keep away the loot as he waited for the war to come to an end. He wished to show Jewish artists that they were not superior to Aryans.
The different dimension of the Second World War as exposed in The Monuments Men Book diverts from known history. What is known during war is aimless destruction, but a group comes up to save artifacts that have no monetary value. A movie with a similar title has already been released.
The process of rescuing and recovering the treasure was complicated by the absence of guiding maps that would give directions to where treasures were hidden. They had to physically visit ruined museums and cathedrals as well as peruse through private notes and journals to get hints. The contribution of Rosa Valland who worked at the French museum was crucial. She got leads from dentists during root canal procedure as well as along rail yards.
It is a story of sacrifice where family men in their middle age desert successful careers to secure cultural treasures. The treasures were by famous artists like Vermeers, Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Van Eycks among others. These artists produced the best paintings in Europe and the world at the time.
The mission to rescue the art involved a lot of risk including exposing their lives to danger. Everything was at stake as long as they could save artifacts from pillage or destruction during war. Such loss would have been detrimental for the culture and art of that generation. Understanding such a delicate matter and choosing to do something about it was phenomenal. The team was made up of educators, curators, art scholars, archivists, architects and museum directors.
The mission had the support of President Roosevelt and General Eisenhower. The support was not substantial considering that it did not include the vehicles needed, authority during war, typewriters and gasoline for the mission. Despite such difficulty, the determination and understanding of the gravity of the matter kept the group going. They aimed at protecting the structures that housed the art from bombing but adopted a different approach when it became impossible. They turned to rescuing the artifacts.
There was something unique in the character of each individual involved within the mission group. This is what kept them going and led to the ultimate sacrifice required for such a task. Some of the people lost their lives in the process.
Hitler aimed at creating a huge museum in his home town and thus wanted to plunder what the world offered. His target when he invaded Poland included private art collections, museums and churches. These were the areas where he would get the best art that the world had to offer. He used secret mines and remote castles to keep away the loot as he waited for the war to come to an end. He wished to show Jewish artists that they were not superior to Aryans.
The different dimension of the Second World War as exposed in The Monuments Men Book diverts from known history. What is known during war is aimless destruction, but a group comes up to save artifacts that have no monetary value. A movie with a similar title has already been released.
