Robert Edsel's Blog

Anthony van Dyck, Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, c. 1637-38. Oil on canvas, 3.7 x 2.9m (12 ft 2 in x 9 ft 6 in). The National Gallery, London. (Photo Courtesy of National Gallery, London.)

On a visit to the National Gallery this weekend I walked directly into the room with a magnificent painting by Anthony van Dyck, Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, an enormous canvas measuring about 12 by 10 feet. This great work, painted in 1637, was just one of thousands of works of art at the National Gallery and other London museums that were at risk during World War II.

In preparation for war, museum officials packed up tens of thousands of paintings, sculptures, and other priceless treasures and began the complicated process of transporting them to famous but remote country estates and castles for safekeeping. Some would remain there for the duration of the war, but in many cases others had to be relocated again to quarries and mines in the Wales region where they were stored underground.

Movement of the van Dyck was a particularly cumbersome problem due to its enormous size. After being loaded onto this truck and secured to a large wooden panel, the painting was then covered with a tarpaulin for added security. Seems simple enough, right?

This vehicle, carrying a custom crate containing the portrait of King Charles I, was in transit to Manod for underground storage. Officials had to lower the level of the road to create sufficient passage-way. This was but one of many types of problems confronting museum officials as they rushed to protect their national heritage. (Photo Courtesy of National Gallery, London.)

In fact, the well-mapped out road to its intended destination overlooked one crucial detail: road overpass height! As such, the vehicle couldn’t pass beneath the bridge above, even after deflating the tires. These kind of problems bedeviled art officials in allied countries over and over again.

In this instance, officials actually lowered the road a sufficient depth to allow passage. The painting ultimately arrived to Manod Quarry where it safely sat out the war. All this effort was tragically rewarded: the National Gallery, along with most of London’s main museums, were damaged by German bombing and subsequent fires during the blitz of the great city. That we can visit today this incredible museum and enjoy such wonderful works of art is a credit to the museum officials — and Monuments Men — who worked so diligently at protecting these treasures of civilization for us all.

Monuments Man Ronald Balfour (1904 - 1945). (Photo Courtesy of Kings College Archive Center, Cambridge)

Major Ronald Balfour of the First Canadian Army, was from Oxfordshire, England. He was a historian at Cambridge University, a “gentleman scholar”, a bachelor dedicated to the intellectual life without ambition for accolades or position.

Before heading off to combat in August 1944, Balfour succinctly and beautifully made the compelling case of the importance of the task confronting the Monuments Men in a speech he planned to deliver to his men. He said: “No age lives entirely alone; every civilisation is formed not merely by its own achievements but by what it has inherited from the past. If these things are destroyed, we have lost a part of our past, and we shall be the poorer for it.”

Balfour also explained for his men the word “monuments”:

When we invade Europe, we shall be going into countries which are full of churches and other buildings, of museums and pictures and other works of art, of libraries and archives. These things are all valuable and many of them irreplaceable. It will be the same wherever we go, whether it is France or Belgium or Holland or Norway. To avoid repeating the whole list — churches and other buildings, museums and pictures and other works of art, libraries and archives — every time we speak of them , we use the word monuments to cover them all. So don’t be misled into thinking that when I speak of monuments I mean only statues and tombstones.

Sadly, Monuments Man Ronald Balfour was unable to deliver in person these remarks and others he had prepared. Still, the work he accomplished as a Monuments officer, not to mention the friendships he made and high esteem in which he was held by his comrades, is a testament to this great man and all he did to preserve the things “inherited from the past” he so cherished.

Montgomery wearing his famous beret with two cap badges. (Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia.)

On August 13, 1942 Bernard Montgomery took command of the British Eighth Army in North Africa. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made the appointment, encouraged by his chief military advisor and Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Alan Brooke. Earlier in 1942, when Churchill was originally searching for a replacement for General Claude Auchinleck as commander of the Eighth Army, Brooke strongly recommended Bernard Montgomery. Churchill ultimately chose Lt. Gen. William Gott, however he was killed in a plane crash shortly thereafter. Montgomery took command after all, and “Brooke would later reflect upon the tragic event which led to the appointment of Montgomery as an intervention by God.”[1] While Montgomery was often seen as an egotistical and controversial leader, this appointment arguably played a decisive role in the outcome of World War II.

Montgomery invigorated the discouraged Eighth Army, declaring “The bad old days are over, a new era has dawned. We will fight the enemy where we now stand; there will be no withdrawal and no surrender. If we cannot stay here alive, then let us stay here dead!”[2] This proved to be exactly the kind of motivation the Eighth Army needed, just two months later they defeated Erwin Rommel’s German forces in the Second Battle of El Alamein, the “first large-scale, decisive Allied land victory of the war.”

Montgomery in a Grant tank in North Africa, November 1942. His aide (shown behind him looking through binoculars) was killed in action in 1945. (Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Under the command of General Eisenhower, General Montgomery’s Eighth Army and General George Patton’s U.S. Seventh Army successfully invaded Sicily in the summer of 1943. Their personalities clashed, but Montgomery had clearly proven his skills as a military leader. General Eisenhower employed the same strategy for the Monuments Men section, i.e., combining American and British officers in joint operations on the front lines. It was a daunting task.

Weeks later, Montgomery led his troops in the invasion of mainland Italy. British Eighth Army landed on September 3 in southern Calabria. General Mark Clark led his Fifth Army in Operation Avalanche, invading Salerno on September 9.  The plan was for Eighth Army to fight its way up along the eastern coast of Italy, and Fifth Army would be responsible for the western coast. The battle for Italy proved difficult and bloody, moving slowly, and the Allies were hindered by strong German defenses and terrible winter weather. Montgomery was pulled out of command on December 23, 1943 and returned to Britain where he took control of British Twenty-First Army Group in planning the Normandy invasion.

Montgomery led the Twenty-First Army Group on D-Day, and was the Ground Forces Commander in Chief through the Battle of Normandy until Gen. Eisenhower took over. (British Monuments Man Ronald Balfour was part of the Twenty-First Army Group, serving with the First Canadian Army in France, Belgium and Holland). Montgomery was promoted to Field Marshal and continued to lead Twenty-First Army Group through Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge, ultimately crossing the Rhine into Germany on March 24, 1945 and accepting the German surrender of Denmark, the Netherlands, and Northern Germany on May 4, 1945. When the Allies claimed victory on May 8, 1945, Field Marshal Montgomery had commanded an army in nearly every major campaign of the war in Europe, from North Africa, Sicily and Italy, to D-Day, northern Europe, and the surrender of Germany.

[2] Carlo D’Este, Eisenhower: A Soldier’s Life. (New York, 2002), 409.

Waterloo Daily Courier, August 14, 1945. (Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection.)

Sixty-four years ago this was but one of the newspaper headlines as the world awoke to read about the end of World War II. Victory in Japan, “V-J” Day, August 15, 1945.

Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration calling for their unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945 (August 14 in the United States) marked the end of World War II, three years, eight months, and seven days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. While the official signing of the surrender took place on September 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, victory was celebrated in the United States, Britain, and Australia with a two day holiday beginning on August 15. Soldiers and civilians alike rejoiced in the streets of cities across the United States and Europe. When the announcement came at 3 a.m. in Hawaii, every ship in Pearl Harbor set off its store of rockets.

President Truman informs reporters of Japan's surrender at a press conference in the Oval Office. August 14, 1945. (Photo Courtesy of Time Life)

Amidst the celebrations, the gravity of the situation was not to be forgotten. King George VI addressed the British people from Buckingham Palace, saying:

“Our hearts are full to overflowing, as are your own. Yet there is not one of us who has experienced this terrible war who does not realize that we shall feel its inevitable consequences long after we have all forgotten our rejoicing today.”

These consequences are still felt today. Of the almost 300,000 American combat deaths during World War II, more than one-third occurred in the Asia-Pacific Theater. This “Victory in Japan” Day should serve not only as a day to remember the final Allied victory, but also as a day to remember those who so nobly lost their lives fighting and winning the war in the Pacific Theater.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is showing people their connection to the story of the Monuments Men. And what a living, current day story it is!

On Stage with President George Bush is the founder of the Monuments Men Foundation, Robert M. Edsel, and "Monuments Men" James Reeds, Seymour Pomrenze, Harry Ettlinger and Horace Apgar (Photo courtesy of White House.)

Almost two years ago, the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art was honored to receive the National Humanities Medal for its work preserving the legacy of the Monuments Men and women. This is the United States’ highest honor for work in the humanities. The award was presented by President Bush at the White House in a beautiful ceremony that took place in the ornate East Room and was attended by four of the living Monuments Men.

Also presented that day were the National Medals of the Arts awarded to such luminaries as artist Andrew Wyeth, arts patron Roy Neuberger, and guitarist and innovator, Les Paul.

My son, Diego, was with us that day and being an outstanding guitarist himself, Diego knew exactly who Les Paul was and was beside himself with excitement at the opportunity to meet him. In fact, after the ceremony concluded there was a reception in an adjoining room where those in attendance greeted the medal recipients and congratulated them. It was a great moment for me as a father to watch the enthusiasm my son had when he walked over at his own initiative and introduced himself to Les Paul, who couldn’t have been more gracious and kind to this fourteen year old boy. It said a lot about the quality of the man over and above his achievements.

Les Paul and Diego Edsel. (Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection)

Les Paul died yesterday at the age of 94. He is best known for his work developing the electric guitar and numerous recording studio innovations. His was a life well lived.

To read more about his life, see his obituary in the New York Times: NY Times Obituary

Chief Archivist of the United States, Professor Allen Weinstein and Robert M. Edsel standing before one of the two "Hitler Albums" (Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection)

Hundreds of thousand of works of art and millions of cultural treasures, including library books, manuscripts, and religious objects, stolen by Hitler and the Nazis, or taken by others during World War ll, remain missing.  The collective value of these items is well into the billions of dollars! Does anyone really believe they were all destroyed during the war?

Two years ago we located the Hitler Albums, two albums filled with photographs of paintings stolen by the Nazis from French collectors, many of whom were Jewish, that were presented to Adolph Hitler for his enjoyment and selection of the best works for his Führermuseum in Linz.  These albums were found in his home – the Berghof – in Berchtesgaden by an American soldier and taken as war booty.  They had been sitting in the attic of his home ever since.

Years later they surfaced when a family member contacted us seeking assistance with determining what they were and their importance. In time they expressed a desire for us to put them to their best use.  We – me personally and the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art – subsequently donated them to the National Archives at a ceremony in Washington in 2007.  Allen Weinstein, Chief Archivist of the United States, hailed their discovery as “the most significant find related to Hitler’s premeditated theft of art and other cultural treasures to be found since the Nuremberg trials.”

I believe there are many more such albums that will surface in the coming years along with missing paintings, drawings, books, and tens of thousands of other items displaced by the war or stolen during those years.  As the World War II generation passes, their belongings will be distributed to family members and, in many cases, sold.  During this sorting and identification process, many missing items from the war will surface.

The internet is also proving invaluable in helping both claimants and others seeking to find such stolen items recover their belongings.  Still, there is much to be done, by certain governments, museums, collectors, even the public at large.  It begins, however, with a far greater public awareness of the volume and importance of what is missing from World War II.

Everyone can participate!  Everyone can help us write the final chapter to this amazing story, the final chapter to this part of World War II, and in so doing, complete the mission of the Monuments Men.

To learn more about how you can help please contact me.

A group of Monuments Men and Women standing in front of the Munich Collecting Point in 1945. From Left to Right: Capt. Marcelle Minet, France; Lt. Craig Hugh Smyth, US; Capt. Hubert de Brye, France (above); Lt. Col. Alphonse Vorenkamp, the Netherlands (below); Lt. Doda Conrad, US; Lt. Jean Lemaire, Belgium; Lt. Charles Parkhurst, US; and Maj. Pierre Duchartre, France. (National Gallery, Washington, D.C.)

I am frequently asked by people, “who are the Monuments Men and if they are so important, why haven’t we heard about them before now?” It’s an excellent question with a simple but seemingly improbable answer.

First, who they were. The Monuments Men were a group of museum directors, curators, artists, architects, and scholars who volunteered for service during World War ll to protect the most important cultural treasures of Europe from the destruction of the war and theft by Hitler and the Nazis. This was an unprecedented effort to fight a war and at the same time mitigate damage to cultural items during combat. (If anyone has any doubt about why this is an important concept, consider the damage to the reputation of the United States and its allies over its handling of the aftermath of the looting of the National Museum of Iraq after the invasion of Baghdad in 2003!)

These men and women left their families and quite established careers to go into combat to save some of mankind’s most beloved works of art and other important items including paintings (by artists no less well known than Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo), sculpture, drawings, stained glass, church bells, religious objects, and of course some of the most important and famous structures in the world. They had virtually no resources allocated to them by the Army; creativity and resourcefulness was their guide. Their success was remarkable: within five years of the end of the war, they located and recovered more than 5 million cultural items stolen and/or hidden by the Nazis.

By the end of the war there were less than 60 Monuments Men in all of Europe. In fact, there had been only a dozen or so on the ground within a few months after the D-Day landings. Because such a few number of men and women were charged with the awesome responsibility of protecting the innumerable cultural riches of our western civilization, their service and mission was lost in the fog of history. They had no spokespersons to preserve their legacy so to speak…and it was almost lost. For that reason, few knew of the Monuments Men and fewer still wrote about them or their achievements until now.

Their heroic achievements didn’t end with the war either. As they returned home from combat, these gifted men and women helped build the cultural world we enjoy today, especially in the United States. In the United Kingdom their leadership impacted world renowned institutions including the British Museum, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Tate Gallery, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Courtauld Institute, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. In the United States these visionary leaders impacted the New York City Ballet, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the National Gallery of Art, the Frick Collection, the Nelson-Atkins Museum, and the San Francisco Legion of Honor, just to name a few.  We owe them all our respect and admiration, especially when we visit a museum whose existence today is due in part to their sacrifices of long ago.

I hope you will take a few minutes to delve further into our new website, watch the promo video for my new book on the Monuments Men, and WRITE ME to tell me about your connection to this amazing story. I will pick some of the most interesting responses to share with everyone in future blogs.

I am very excited to announce the launch of our new website as we prepare for the release of my new book entitled The Monuments Men:  Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History.  This site has been designed to provide visitors with an overview of the Monuments Men story and a sense of the excitement and heroism they experienced during their efforts to save the greatest and most beloved works of art and other cultural treasures from the destruction of World War II and from theft by Hitler and the Nazis.  It also provides an insight into just how big this story is becoming with links to our speaking engagement site and related activities.  We’ve included a fantastic one minute and a half promotional video about the book which shares the excitement of this unknown and hugely important story about World War II.

As a compliment to the incredible letters and documents included in my new book, this website provides visitors with many additional letters and documents from the Monuments Men and women, many never before seen since they were written in 1944 and 1945, oftentimes during combat.  Also included are additional authentic copies of Nazi documents and letters including orders issued by Hitler and Goering.  We have added a great collection of photos as well.

A complete list of all the 350 or so Monuments Men from 13 nations is included with those biographies we have assembled and photos of each man and women where we have them.  This is an important part of our ongoing story:  to gather and make publicly available a complete summary with photo of each of these heroes of civilization.  It is just one example of how the public can play a key role and make a significant difference by helping us write the final chapter of this story.

We have provided a number of links to related parts of this story and components that might be of further interest, such as Rescuing Da Vinci, a photographic telling of the Monuments Men story, Nancy Yeide’s recently released book about the collection of Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering entitled Beyond the Dreams of Avarice: The Hermann Goering Collection, and the 9 hour, 3 disc The Rape of Europa: Collector’s Edition.  We also have details on The Greatest Theft in History Educational Program. These are all unique and important resources to further the telling of this amazing story which we hope you will visit and share with others.

Today also marks my resumption of blog entries after quite a hiatus due to work on finishing the writing of The Monuments Men book.  OUR BLOG NOW ALLOWS FOR READERS TO PROVIDE THEIR COMMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS, OR TO SHARE SOME CONNECTION THEY HAVE TO THIS GREAT STORY.  We want to hear from you often.  The blog has been incorporated into our new web design to make it easy to read and participate in this story and all the events that continue to unfold each day, especially as we march towards the launch of the new book.  We have created a Facebook Fan page for those that follow Facebook with a prominent link to make it easy to participate….and Twitter for those that are connected to this new and rapidly unfolding medium.  New entries and content from me, every day, and lots of photos as I travel and continue with research for my next book!

So please visit and motor your way around.  We’re excited to present to you this historic and currently unfolding story using all the modern tools of communication available to us!!!  And don’t forget…we want your participation and involvement so please share your comments and reactions with us.