Robert Edsel's Blog

New Orleans is the place to be….Saints mania abounds, and rightfully so!!!  But there’s another exciting event which has brought me here today:  the opening of the first exhibition by the Monuments Men Foundation!  And what more fitting location could there be:  the stunning National World War II Museum!  On display are two irreplaceable historic documents which are the smoking guns of Hitler and the Nazi’s greatest theft in history:  the Gemaldegalerie Linz Album XIII, and the ERR Album 6, both of which were removed from Hitler’s home in Berchtesgaden, known as the Berghof, by U.S. Army soldiers.

This is the first time these documents have been together since being in Hitler’s possession, and the only opportunity the public will ever have to see them together.  The ERR Album 6 contains photographs of paintings stolen by Alfred Rosenberg and his notorious Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg unit from the great collectors in France including families such as the Rothschilds, Seligmanns, David-Weill, and others.  It was presented to Hitler along with as many as 100 albums in that series.  Until the Monuments Men Foundation located Album 6, it was believed there were just 39 of these albums which, interestingly, were the chief prosecution exhibit at the Nuremberg Trials for the portion pertaining to Nazi theft of cultural property.

This 90 day exhibition marks the second leg of the journey home to Berlin for the Gemaldegalerie Linz Album XIII.  It began a week ago when I presented it to Germany’s Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Klaus Scharioth, at the United States State Department (for related story click here).  This Album, one of 31 such albums created of which only 19 were believed to have survived the war, is extremely important because it contains photographs of the works of art personally selected by Hitler for the museum he intended on building in his hometown of Linz, commonly referred to as the Führermuseum.  Album XIII is particularly significant because it contains works by German 19th century painters so beloved by Hitler.  Not only was this and the other still missing 11 albums thought to have been destroyed, but scholars believed their last known location was the Wolfsschanze or Wolf’s Lair, Hitler’s headquarters on the eastern front.  That this album was located at Berchtesgaden was quite a revelation and makes it increasingly likely others will eventually be found.

The Monuments Men Foundation believes that many of the missing albums from both series survived the war and will surface in the months and years ahead.  These documents are only the most recent examples of the millions of still missing works of art and other objects from the World War II period.  We encourage anyone with information about a missing object, or concern about some item in their possession, to contact the Monuments Men Foundation.

And an enormous “thanks” goes to all our friends at the National World War II Museum who have done such an outstanding job installing the exhibit and supporting this important display.  For all those who haven’t been to the Museum, it is truly one of the most amazing, interactive and fascinating museums in the world. For more information on the National World War II Museum visit http://www.nationalww2museum.org/.

With veteran John Pistone during our first visit

Today the Monuments Men Foundation announced the discovery of an album containing photographs of Hitler’s most beloved works of art by German painters destined for his Führermuseum in Linz, Austria.  This item, formally called the Gemaldegalerie Linz Album XIII, was taken by an American soldier from Hitler’s home in Berchtesgaden in early May, 1945.  The veteran, Mr. John Pistone, in a wonderful act of grace, has worked with the Monuments Men Foundation to identify what the album was and it’s return to Germany.

For the full story please click on the link to the Associated Press story. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_hitler_s_album)

Today’s news was extraordinarily well received.  In fact, it was the most popular, most viewed and most emailed news article on Yahoo! today.  I hope and believe that this news, and the example set by Mr. Pistone, will bring the much needed visibility to our efforts to finish the mission of the Monuments Men and assist others who may be in the possession of items “liberated” or stolen during the World War ll period.

Monuments Men Foundation Announces that Famous Murillo Paintings Stolen from Rothschild Family in Paris, later discovered by the Monuments Men during World War II, have been Identified at SMU’s Meadows Museum

Dallas, TX (October 22, 2009) — Based on new evidence about the systematic looting of art from Jewish owners in the course of hostilities in Europe during World War II, a pair of famous paintings on display at SMU’s Meadows Museum created by Spanish master Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1618-1682) of Seville’s Patron Saints Justa and Rufina, estimated to be worth more than $10 million, are believed to have been stolen from the Rothschild family in Paris in 1941. The Nazi ERR (Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg) code evidencing Rothschild ownership is still visible on the stretcher bar of one of the paintings; it appears to have been rubbed off the other. The Monuments Men Foundation, recipient of the 2007 National Humanities Medal for its work preserving the legacy of these unknown heroes, which it received from the President of the United States at a White House ceremony, is continuing its research to document conclusively whether both paintings were properly restituted to the rightful owners prior to donation to the Meadows Museum.

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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.

The legacy of the world’s greatest theft during World War II by Hitler and the Nazis remains with us in so many tangible ways. Few reminders are more stark than looking at an auction catalogue from Sotheby’s or Christie’s. Rarely is there a sale of any magnitude that doesn’t include at least one painting or other work of art stolen by the Nazis at some point in time during their chokehold on Western Europe. Most of those times the painting was stolen for Adolph Hitler’s planned Führer Museum in Linz.

There are two major events that occur in London each July, both of which are near and dear to my interests. The first is, of course, The All England Championships, or Wimbledon as it is more widely known. The other are the Old Master Sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s which always follow the week after bringing most all the painting dealers from around the world together as well as many private collectors. These sales are particularly interesting this year as Sotheby’s has four paintings for sale that were looted during World War II, all subsequently restituted and now being sold by the current owners, while Christie’s has one. (These numbers pertain to their “main event” evening sales respectively; there may be other examples in their lesser sales.)

The phrases included in the provenance listings are enough to curl your blood: “Confiscated by the Nazi authorities in 1939 for the planned Führer Museum in Linz”; “Looted during the Second World War”; “Forced Sale of Liquidation Stock”; “Secured by the Nazi authorities and confiscated by the Vugesta (the Gestapo looting authority)”; and “Confiscated by the Russian Army”. I underscore that all paintings were subsequently restituted to their rightful owners, some shortly after the war, others only recently. But this underscores the current nature of this remarkable period in history as items once considered the prize of the Nazi thieves reenter the commercial market voluntarily rather than under threat or theft. These are exciting times.