Robert Edsel's Blog

Robert Edsel
Author Event:

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

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I spoke at the annual gathering of the Southern Independent Book Association membership this past Friday evening in Greenville, SC.  What a group of passionate and dedicated people!  I had numerous discussions with individuals who told me about their love of books, their passionate commitment to encourage others to read, and most flattering of all their love of the Monuments Men story.  An incredibly literate and very down to earth crowd, I really enjoyed getting to know everyone I met.

Saturday morning I had a taxi driver, a fellow from South Carolina, drop me off at several bookstores to sign my book before taking me to the airport.  On the way there he asked me about what I did, what it was like writing a book, then launched into a bit about his life.  Very affable and sweet, he told me he hadn’t had much education…”books with words longer than 6 letters scare me to death!”…and he then proudly told me how he and his wife had raised 3 kids, put them all through college, one of whom was a librarian, one was a medical technician, and the third was in advertising.  He then said, “I guess I’m kinda pattin’ myself on the back cause me and my wife done pretty good”.  I’ll say.  Great American success stories like this abound when you start listening to others.  Meeting him was a wonderful reminder.

German poet Heinrich Heine said: “Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bucher verbrennt, verbreent man auch am Ende Menschen.” (“This was only foreplay. Where books are being burned there will eventually be humans burned.”)  That was in 1821!!!!  How did he foretell the events that 110 years later would lead to the greatest war the world has ever known?

Of course, the gap between burning books out of fear and ideology and the taking of human lives is thinner than any of us want to consider.  Events in Nazi Germany proved that point in painful detail.  Heine could have also expanded his observation to include the burning of paintings because that, too, was part of Hitler’s determination to influence how people thought, what they believed in, and who they obeyed.

The importance of Heine’s observation is timeless:  they are words of warning to us all…to pay attention…to think for ourselves, and to speak up and act when the very freedoms all people of good will cherish are under attack.

It was one of the highlights of my recent years speaking to this great group of people and in the magnificent space of our nation’s World War ll Museum this past Saturday evening.  They expected 200 people would attend: by the time I walked to the podium there were 400 people present.  As testament to the “untold” aspect of these heroes’ story, the Museum, for it enormous breadth and depth of collection, has nothing about these remarkable men and women who distinguished themselves and our nation in the protection of the world’s great cultural treasures during war.

Dr. Nick Mueller, President of the National World War II Museum provided me a wonderful tour of the museum's new expansion space which will be dedicated on November 5-7, 2009.

Dr. Nick Mueller, President of the Museum and lifelong friend of the late Dr. Stephen Ambrose, whose vision Dr. Mueller and his fine team has shaped and developed, introduced me with very kind remarks about the exciting story of these heroes and the importance of their achievements.  I was deeply humbled to be among so many veterans and to have my mom and aunt present, both of whom were married to veterans.  In fact, my father, Ray, was a combat veteran of the Pacific having served as a young marine in Saipan and Nagasaki, bayonet fixed.

This American aircraft is just one of many incredible items on display for visitors to the Museum.

There is a lot more to tell about this amazing experience and I will do so in the days ahead leading up to the broadcast of this event on C-SPAN within the next couple of weeks.  Stay tuned!

It was an honor to speak at our Nation’s World War II Museum in New Orleans this past Saturday evening.  There were more than 400 people in attendance, twice the size audience that was expected.  This has happened repeatedly in my travels lecturing:  audiences everywhere are interested in the story of how a handful of 40 year old men managed to save so much of the art we all enjoy today.  Dr. Nick Mueller, President of the Museum and lifelong friend of the late Dr. Stephen Ambrose, whose vision it was to build this magnificent museum, shared with the audience his determination to in time incorporate the telling of this story about the Monuments Men into the Museum’s comprehensive presentation of the story of World War II.   There could be no greater evidence of how “untold” the story of the Monuments Men is than the fact that there is NOTHING about it in the Museum’s detailed and in depth coverage of the war.  Dr. Mueller has been quick to see the power of this story and what an important part it is to the telling of the war experience, especially in the years that followed the end of the war as the Monuments Men remained in Europe for more than 6 years finishing the job they started.

This presentation was taped by C-SPAN and will be aired nationally in the coming days.  Stay tuned for broadcast details and photos from the event!

Tomorrow night I’m honored to speak at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans at 7:30pm, September 19^th. There will be hundreds of veterans in attendance – my favorite audience! If you are in the area please join us. Admission is free.

September 11th and December 7th will forever be linked in our memory and remembrances.

More than 5,000 people lost their lives on those two days in surprise attacks that shocked the nation and commenced two very different types of war.  While there was horror in the loss of so many people and the surprise of each attack, there was also great heroism that emerged in the hours and days that followed.

It was fitting that the formal launch of The Monuments Men took place last Friday, September 11th in the shadow of these two epic moments in American history, and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where museum directors gathered 68 years ago just days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  The creation of the Monuments Men was the most significant consequence of those meetings.

It serves as another reminder that these defining events, often-time tragic as they may be, provide unique opportunities for man to demonstrate the best and highest qualities that survive long after the crisis passes.  It is but another of the legacies left us by the Monuments Men and those whose vision led to their creation.

Tonight I will be making a few brief remarks and then signing books at the Legacy Books in Plano at 7pm.  For those of you who haven’t been to this amazing book store you are in for a real treat.  It is a magnificent space with more attractions than anything you’ve seen at a normal book seller.  Your visit will be well-rewarded!  I hope to see a lot of familiar faces there along with many new ones.  Please stop by and introduce yourself.

See you tonight!

Legacy Books Official Website

I will be the guest on “THINK”, a wonderful program on PBS hosted by Krys Boyd, discussing my new book The Monuments Men.  The show will be broadcast today at 1pm on KERA, 90.1 for those in the North Texas listening area.  I appeared on this program several years ago when my first book Rescuing Da Vinci was released.

I hope you’ll have an opportunity to tune in and hear about my new book and these heroes, The Monuments Men.

I’ve been in New York City all week for the launch of The Monuments Men. The big event of the week is our launch party tomorrow evening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Today I have been giving television and radio interviews across the country from a studio in Manhattan. Chris Evert, an acquaintance from my days playing tennis and working for Lamar Hunt’s World Championship Tennis tour, is in the studio next door taping a program.

It is very gratifying to hear the reaction of others to reading these heroes’ story.  Still, this is a process, a marathon race, not a sprint.  “Miles to go before I sleep…”, but we’re off to a good start!