Robert Edsel's Blog

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

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.

Tonight PBS will broadcast to the nation our documentary film, The Rape of Europa. This wonderful film will be seen by millions of people unfamiliar with the subject of Hitler and the Nazis’ premeditated looting of Europe and their use of art as a weapon of propaganda to promote their racial theories. Making any film is a challenge. Making a great film, one good enough that PBS would allocate such a prominent slot for its airing during “sweeps” week, is a rare achievement which speaks to the importance of the subject matter. While this is a significant milestone, it is only the first of several that will follow.

We are very excited about providing that PBS audience, and of course people everywhere, the opportunity to learn more about this important story…about the heroes who saved so much of the art, the Monuments Men…about the behind the scenes stories we filmed…about the lessons learned, and those that were ignored…about how the events of World War II should have prepared us for the events that unfolded after the looting of the Iraq National Museum in 2003. These stories couldn’t be told in just two hours and for that reason, and for that reason we created The Rape of Europa Collector’s Edition which contains almost 7 additional hours of interviews, archival footage, and in-depth analysis of key events that were only briefly covered in the two hour film. One example of this extended content is our interview with Corine Wegener, a retired Army major who served in Iraq working to repair the damage to not only their national museum, but our country’s image. This unique DVD is only available on Amazon and is being offered at a special introductory price for a limited time. You can link to order that DVD by clicking on http://www.rapeofeuropa.com.

Of far greater importance is our educational program which is named The Greatest Theft in History Educational Program! This Educational Program is innovative and comprehensive providing a resource not currently available to educators and students. It provides on-line lesson plans customized for classroom instruction by our nationally acclaimed group of educators under the supervision of our Educational Advisory Board members. (To see the names of our team of educators and Educational Advisory Board and their CV’s, please click on the following links: http://www.greatesttheft.com/advisoryboard and http://www.greatesttheft.com/writingteam). This program will enable teachers to concentrate their time on teaching, not on looking for materials to teach. By making clips from our Educational DVD and other material we will be continually adding to the website along with other unique features, we have constructed a “one-stop does all” destination for anyone interested in learning more about the protection of cultural resources during armed conflict, the events of World War II and how critical a factor art was to Hitler and the Nazis’ plans, and of course the heroes of the story, the Monuments Men. Our hours of extended interviews and other materials will allow students and interested parties of all ages to participate in the writing of this final chapter to World War II. The students of today will be the ones assisting us in solving the remaining riddles and mysteries of this amazing chapter of the war including developing clues as to the whereabouts of so much of the still missing art and other cultural treasures stolen during the war.

We have constructed this Educational Program with affordability in mind by pricing the entire program at $35/ program which includes the almost 9 hour Educational DVD and access to the custom designed website which contains lesson plans and other teaching resources making it accessible for people of all ages and interests. Already the responses from teachers and other organizations has been gratifying and rewarding…but it is just the beginning.