Robert Edsel's Blog

From left to right: Dr. Hans-Martin Hinz from the DHM (Deutsches Historisches Museum), Mr. Florian Scheurle from the BADV/Ministry of Finance, and Robert M. Edsel. Photo courtesy of Deutsches Historisches Museum.

Last week’s return of the Gemäldegalerie Linz Album XIII to the DHM (Deutsches Historisches Museum) in Berlin was another milestone achievement in our efforts to actively preserve the legacy of these remarkable men and women who saved so much of our cultural heritage during and after World War ll.  We honor their memory and underscore the modern day need to continue their work with events such as this.

We were so warmly received by Dr. Hans-Martin Hinz and his team at the DHM, a remarkable museum filled with more objects and knowledge about German history than anyone could ever fully study.  Much like our National Archives, the DHM team has made history interactive and fun for people of all ages, especially foreign visitors.  I encourage anyone visiting Berlin to allocate a half day minimum to see some of its remarkable displays.

From left to right: Dorothee Schneider, Dr. Birgit Schwartz (art historian), Dr. Hans-Martin Hinz (DHM), Robert Edsel, Dr. Matthias Miller (head of the library and curator of Old Master Prints DHM), Translator, Mr. Max Maldacker (Foreign Ministry, Head of Department for Culture and Communication), Ms. Maja Schweitzer (Foreign Ministry, Department for Culture and Communication), Mr. Harald Konig (BADV/Finance Ministry). Photo Courtesy of Deutsches Historisches Museum.

After the return ceremony we were given a brief tour of just the reading room in their library.  Remarkably this room appears largely as it did when constructed more than a hundred years ago.  It contains many old and priceless manuscripts including the first edition of Goethe’s “Faust” dated 1808, a 1200 year old handwritten document called the “Heliand fragment” written in an old Saxonian dialect now extinct, and even a first edition of the German children’s book ”Max & Moritz” from 1865, which sold at auction in Germany for about 125,000 Euro.”

These cultural exchanges of good will between countries won’t change our world, but each step, no matter how small, further and strengthen the ties that bind us.  These alliances are essential to overcoming the challenges of our new world.

View of the Brandenburg Gate and Pariser Platz. Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection.

Seven months ago I promised an aging Army veteran I would see to it that his service to our nation was honored while helping put to its proper use a seemingly insignificant object he had taken during the war as a souvenir.  Yesterday, with the return ceremony at the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin, that promise was kept, and mission accomplished. Museum officials, alongside representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States, expressed their deepest gratitude for the return of the Gemäldegalerie Linz XIII Album after believing it was destroyed 65 years ago. They assured me, repeatedly, that the discovery of this Album would allow them to return to the rightful owners still missing works of art stolen during the war.

Mr. John Pistone and Robert M. Edsel, Founder and President, Monuments Men Foundation. Photo Courtesy of Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art.

WASHINGTON - JANUARY 22: (L-R) Deputy Secretary of State for Resources Jacob Lew, Baden-Wuerttemberg Minister of the Interior Heribert Rech, Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art founder Robert Edsel, German Ambassador to the United States Klaus Scharioth and American World War II veteran John Pistone. Photo Courtesy of Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

This is a heartwarming story for the American, Mr. John Pistone, who entrusted the Monuments Men Foundation – and me – with an object of emotional significance no words can convey. In the time we possessed it, the Gemäldegalerie Linz XIII Album was seen at the United States State Department by Germany’s Ambassador to the United States, the Honorable Klaus Scharioth, and Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew and other invited guests; more than 90,000 people at the special exhibit we organized with the assistance of our friends at the National World War II Museum in their magnificent museum; and most recently at a special two day exhibit at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of “V-E Day”.

Robert M. Edsel standing in front a statue of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection.

And now, after the many peregrinations of its travels, it is home where it belongs at the Deutsches Historisches Museum, where people of good will can continue their dedicated work to make something good happen out of the horrible events of the past. In the process, we honor the work of the Monuments Men 65 years ago in not only returning millions of stolen items to their rightful owners, but establishing a legacy concerning the protection of cultural items of all nations that will serve us well in the future.

The National Cathedral of Haiti devastated by the recent earthquake. (Photo Courtesy of Polaris Images)

I’ve often said that perhaps the most redeeming aspect of the historic work of the Monuments Men is one of hope…that in the face of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man, and amidst the great human suffering and devastation to homes, towns, and ways of life as a consequence of World War II, a small group of volunteers emerged to risk their lives and everything they had accomplished to rescue and preserve the cultural legacy of civilization for future generations.  This story is certainly filled with heroism, valor, and harrowing close calls in which western civilization’s most beloved works of art and monuments were in jeopardy of being destroyed.   But the story is also one of hope that the lessons of the Monuments Men during World War II would enable future generations to be better prepared to deal with similar situations.

In Haiti, a natural disaster of war-like scope has devastated the nation and its people and suspended the normal functioning of their society.  The deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, and more importantly all ongoing efforts to save the lives of others while creating a stable safe living environment must be the paramount concern.  This will be years in the doing; no quick fix exists.  Haiti’s long history of poverty and decades of kleptocratic leadership have created that reality despite noble efforts, and some signs of progress, these past few years.   Because of the protracted time that rebuilding even a modicum portion of the infrastructure will require, hope—and all its symbols—will have an added significance.

Hope buys time…hope buys patience…hope can provide a reason to fight for life just one more day until improvement comes, no matter how slight. Hope can bring a sense of confidence about there being tomorrows.  And in my judgment, the people of Haiti need hope as desperately as they need medicine, doctors, and financial aid.  What then can be done that would bring a disproportionate benefit to the aid dollars and individual acts of mercy?  Let us for a moment look to the past as a guide.

Rouen Cathedral damaged by bombing in 1944 (Photo Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration)

The thousands of discoveries during World War ll made by the Monuments Men of hidden paintings, stained glass, pieces of sculpture, and other art objects too often overshadows their initial assignment which was to protect monuments, i.e., churches, libraries, museums, and other important historical structures, hence the nickname “Monuments Men.”   The Monuments Men were not responsible for restoring these buildings, but they did oftentimes implement crucial temporary repairs that mitigated damage and enabled restoration at a later date.  They also made key determinations about which structures were damaged beyond repair and those that, while severely damaged, could in fact be rebuilt using as much of the original materials and structure as possible.

Many examples of the results of their work and other people of good will exist, but two that are prominent and serve to illustrate the point are the great cathedral in Rouen, and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin.  The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen was severely damaged in April 1944 by Western Allied bombing, and again during the D-Day invasion two months later.  It was repaired after the war and remains one of Europe’s great gothic cathedrals, dating back to 1202!  The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, built in honor of Germany’s Emperor (1858-1888), was nearly destroyed in a Western Allied air raid on November 23, 1943.  As late as May 24th, 1953, the church was still unrepaired with parishioners attending services in the ruins of the structure.  Repairs to the church didn’t begin until 1959 and required 4 years to finish.

The National Cathedral of Haiti before the earthquake (Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia Images)

And After (Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia Images)

Haiti’s great church, the National Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, was severely damaged by the earthquake.  Built between 1884 and 1914, the Cathédrale de Port-au-Prince is a Roman Catholic Church of hugely symbolic importance to Haitians, more than 90% of whom are Catholic. It is, along with the presidential palace, the most identifiable structure in the nation.  (To put this into perspective, imagine the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. being destroyed, or St. Patrick’s in New York City.)  While the roof collapsed, much of the structure’s walls remain standing, in fact eerily similar to the scenes of destruction to the Rouen and Berlin churches.  Those churches were rebuilt:  the National Cathedral in Port-au-Prince should be also.

Imagine the impact on these shattered Haitian lives to see this revered structure rebuilt and done so in a way to withstand future earthquakes? And not rebuilt for them, but rebuilt BY THEM combining their physical participation with the technological assistance of experts in such matters, and the funding and support of kindred organizations such as the Vatican, the World Monuments Fund, and others.  The symbol of hope and reassurance to the people of Haiti that there WILL be a tomorrow would be immense and inspirational.  With guidance and assistance from those in the United States, including our government, it would send a message to the world that the leaders of this nation understand the importance of respect for the preservation of cultural property in a way our actions in the aftermath of the looting of the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad in 2003 did just the opposite. This was the very essence of why the Monuments Men were created, the core objective of their mission.  It worked in war torn Europe after the deaths of 60 million people.  Why then should it not work in Haiti?

On the night of August 24, 1940, German bombs fell on London for the first time during World War II.

The Luftwaffe began bombing industrial targets in England in early July, and had recently increased night bombing runs. Perhaps worried that Churchill would be even less likely to negotiate, or out of fear that British bombs would fall on Berlin in retaliation, Hitler had been ignoring his military advisor’s urgings to bomb the capital itself. However on the night of August 24, 170 Heinkel HE 111s set out to bomb oil installations at Thameshaven and an aircraft factory in Rochester, but veered off course and bombed parts of London by mistake.

It might not have been an intentional military maneuver, but the first bombings of London marked a turning point early in the war. Churchill angrily ordered the bombing of Berlin, which had also been avoided until this point. On the night of August 25-26, the RAF Bomber Command sent 95 planes to hit industrial targets in the German capital, most notably the Tempelhof Airport and the Siemensstadt area of factory buildings. 81 of the planes dropped bombs on Berlin that night. Five more raids on Berlin occurred within the next two weeks, but damage was minimal.

Hitler was in turn angered by the retaliation bombing, and decided to proceed with a sustained attack on London. He was convinced that the terror bombing would make the British more likely to negotiate after all, and ordered “for disruptive attacks on the population and air defenses of major British cities, including London, by day and night.”