Robert Edsel's Blog

Lt. James Rorimer (kneeling, at left) and Louvre curator Germain Bazin pose in front of Goya’s painting Time, which had been successfully protected during the war at the Château de Sourches in France. Photo Courtesy of NARA.

While tens of thousands of Allied troops were flooding the beaches of Normandy on D-Day (June 6, 1944), the Monuments Men were impatiently waiting to cross the English Channel for their chance to contribute. For Monuments Man James Rorimer, and future director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the gravity of the situation gripped him that day:

“We are told that the invasion of Western Europe by overwhelming forces is underway…Now I am thinking of the combat troops and the task which is theirs. We older men are anxious on the one hand to help deal the death blow to tyranny, and on the other we think of our families at home and the obligations which we have as husbands, fathers, sons, and members of the peace-time community.”
-James Rorimer Letter to his Family, June 6, 1944

While conducting research for my books (The Monuments Men and Rescuing Da Vinci) and reading the hundreds of letters the Monuments Men wrote to their families, one of the first things that struck me was the extent to which the thoughts and feelings conveyed in these letters reflected their age and maturity. The Monuments Men had an average age of 40; a few had even fought in World War I. For the most part, these heroes were not the fearless young men who went to war before their adult lives had really begun. In contrast, these men had accomplished careers, they had wives and children, they had learned lessons from life’s experiences, and they had everything to lose. Rereading their letters always reminds me about their commitment to saving the cultural world and its great artistic treasures we all cherish, and the courage of their convictions in volunteering to serve.

Robert Posey’s wife, Alice, sent him this military cartoon featuring “Private Buck” during the last week of May 1945. The cartoon was no doubt inspired by the huge Nazi repository found at Merkers, Germany, which received a large amount of media attention. It makes me wonder though, did Alice even know yet that Posey had been at Merkers ?! Likely not, considering the strict censorship rules on mail and the weeks of lag time between writing and receiving letters. I imagine Alice simply wanted her husband to know that the American public was paying attention to the daunting task of the Monuments Men.

Since its founding almost 3 years ago the Monuments Men Foundation has been working to encourage museums and collectors alike to comply with best practices guidelines. Simply stated, that means “know your collection” and where the objects were during the reign of the Nazis:  1933-1946.  Many museums, and some collectors, have embraced these guidelines. Some have been slow to catch up. A few continue to ignore the matter.

Belo’s Dallas station, WFAA, an ABC affiliate, broadcast a piece last evening highlighting a recent case we discovered several years ago at SMU’s Meadows Museum in conjunction with research on my first book, Rescuing Da Vinci.  Officials at the Meadows are now aggressively engaged conducting key provenance research on their collection as a whole and the two paintings covered by the story in particular, to their credit.

This case highlights one aspect of the work of the Foundation and the tangible results we continue to obtain while trying to work with important institutions like the Meadows Museum.

You can view the story by clicking on the following link:

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Art-Stolen-by-Hitler-Found-at-SMU-Meadows-Museum.html

This month’s Monuments Men Newsletter focuses on the efforts of Dwight D. Eisenhower regarding his victory in Europe and protecting cultural property. We also highlight the role of Germany in this last chapter of World War II. Please click on the link to read the newsletter.

Robert M. Edsel speaking at 65th Anniversary of "V-E Day" hosted by Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection

This weekend I was honored to be one of two speakers at the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, known as “V-E” Day or Victory in Europe.  The other speaker was Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who took the opportunity to make a major policy statement about the urgent need for  Defense Department budget cuts citing warnings from General Eisenhower years ago about controlling the costs of post-war military spending.

Secretary of Defense Dr. Robert Gates speaking at the 65th "V-E Day" Anniversary hosted by Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection.

The campus like setting is beautiful with the museum and library buildings adjacent to Ike’s family home where he lived until leaving home for West Point.  There is a small chapel where Ike and his wife Mamie are buried alongside their son Doud who died at the age of 4.  In fact, one of the most touching moments of the weekend was seeing acclaimed political observer David Gergen make a point of visiting the chapel – the only member of a large media contingent to do so. He understood no doubt the historical importance of this great man and wanted to pay his respects.

From L to R: Robert M. Edsel; Karl Weissenbach, Director of Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum; Allen Cullum, Trustee, Monuments Men Foundation. Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection

Director Karl Weissenbach and his great team organized a fantastic celebration which began with my lecture Friday night. On Saturday he provided our group with a full tour of the archive and museum.  It was an honor to be surrounded by reminders of this great leader’s historic achievements – as a soldier, Supreme Allied Commander, President, and as a family man and friend.  The archives are overwhelmingly impressive with millions of documents involving all facets of Ike’s life and career and more than a half million photographs!  A researcher’s delight awaits.

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

General Eisenhower’s leadership saved our world from the greatest threat of the 20th century – perhaps ever. To be a part of honoring him and the millions of soldiers who fought to win the peace in Europe was an honor and experience I will forever cherish.

“Art” comes in many forms, especially today with technology offering avenues artists over the centuries couldn’t even have imagined. But an age old question remains: “what is art?”

The remarkable slide show you are  about to see depicts how art can be used to transform the mundane and functional to something beautiful. It speaks to the power of art to inspire, transcend, overcome. Enjoy – turn off your brain, turn up the sound and revel in man’s creative nature!

PowerPoint Slide show about Stockholm’s Subway

If anyone can correctly identify who assembled this slide show, we will gladly credit that person and give him/her a free copy of “The Monuments Men”.

Anyone that lives in the New York City area and wants to hear Robert Edsel talk about his latest book “The Monuments Men”. their fascinating story, and their relevance today, you are in luck. He is speaking at IFAR (International Foundation for Art Research) on Monday, April 26 from 6:00 – 8:00pm. The title of his talk is “The Invisible Heroes: The Monuments Men”.  Reservations are needed and is filling up fast, so don’t hesitate. The presentation is guaranteed to be entertaining, informative and thoroughly enjoyed by all that attend. Please click on the link below for more information and to make your reservations.

Details

Title: “The Invisible Heroes: The Monuments Men”

Date: Monday, April 26, 2010

Time: 6:00 – 8:00pm

Location: The Union League Club
38 East 37th Street (at Park Avenue), New York

Please Note: Reservations and pre-payment required. Also note: The Union League Club has a dress code; traditional business attire required.

The Invisible Heroes: The Monuments Men

James A Leach (Photo Courtesy of NEH)

One sure sign of demonstrable progress is the ongoing public recognition by key government officials of our efforts to recognize and preserve the legacy of the Monuments Men.  Last week the recently appointed Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, a great friend and supporter of the Monuments Men Foundation, Jim Leach, spoke at a conference on cultural heritage at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  One key aspect of his speech concerned the work of the Monuments Men and the role of the Foundation in making their story broadly visible.  Below is an excerpt of that portion of his remarks.  Those wishing to read the full text of his speech may do so by clicking on the following link: http://www.neh.gov/whoweare/speeches/04102010.html

As preservationists know, one of the most respectful cultural moments in our history came at a signal moment at the end of World War II when a small cadre of American military officers came to be cultural heroes. Subsequently dubbed the “Monuments Men,” they led in cataloguing and returning works of looted art from Nazi hands to countries of origin. It is only in the last dozen years or so that historians and filmmakers—one supported by the NEH—have begun to bring perspective to the unprecedented displacement of cultural artifacts that the Second World War precipitated. Unlike other nations that have too frequently absconded with art treasures as booty of war, the American military wisely recognized that cultural objects belonged to original owners rather than conquering armies. It would have been a public insult of unpardonable dimension to have taken a culturally punitive tack.

As chairman of a House Committee with jurisdiction over banking matters, I held four years of hearings in the mid-1990s on the greatest mass theft in history, a subject which for decades had been historically slighted because Nazi avarice was so overwhelmed by its accompaniment with the greatest mass murder in history. What we unearthed in stories of victims and from perspectives applied by historians and philosophers to the shadowy corners of the Holocaust where greed reined was an axiom about the nature of evil: The genesis of evil may begin with perpetrators of violence and injustice, but complicity too frequently lies beyond the perpetrator with those who cloak themselves in the legitimacy of private business and genteel society. Indifferent to the most unpardonable ramifications of human prejudice, many of the seemingly best and brightest in civilization’s most advanced cultures manipulated with little compunction manifestly oppressive circumstances in furtherance of self-interest.

Our Congressional hearings helped galvanize many European parliaments to hold comparable reviews and led to an international conference which I chaired at the State Department on Holocaust era displacement of art. These hearings and the art conference, as well as the work of an extraordinary Under Secretary of State, Stuart Eizenstat, sparked increased attention not only to the war-time role of international banks and insurance companies where symbolic additional victim compensation packages were developed, but led to the drawing up of new national and international art provenance standards for museums.

Back in February, I had to cancel my lecture at the University of Pennsylvania Law School due to heavy snowstorms all along the eastern seaboard which made traveling, either by air or by land, impossible. This is still the only speaking engagement I’ve had to cancel (out of more than 50!).

Happily, I am pleased to announce that this lecture was rescheduled and will be held on April 21 from 4:30 – 5:30 in S-240A and is open to everyone. I will be discussing my current book, “The Monuments Men” which details the extraordinary experiences this small group of Allied soldiers encountered in protecting, saving and returning Europe’s priceless artistic treasures. This lecture is sponsored by Penn Law Association in the Arts.  A reception and book signing is to follow. For more information, please click on the link.

University of Pennsylvania Law presents lecturer Robert M. Edsel

Left to Right: Generals Bradley, Patton, and Eisenhower (Photo Courtesy of National Archives)

Having heard about the extraordinary discovery of most all of Nazi Germany’s gold reserves and paper currency, along with its vast cultural wealth from Berlin’s greatest museums and libraries, in a salt mine in Merkers, Germany, Generals Eisenhower, Patton and Bradley left SHAEF headquarters in Rheims, France and made a several day visit to see it firsthand.  As the Monuments Men, led by George Stout, were urgently crating the works of art for removal from the mine, the generals descended in a rickety elevator manned by a lone German operator.

Their sense of disconnection was palpable:  billions of dollars (in today’s currency) of gold bars and bagged coins sat stacked in one chamber adjacent to some of the world’s greatest works of art. Chests filled with gold fillings pulled from the mouths of murdered victims of the Nazi genocide sat idle, not yet smelted into bars to sit atop the Reichsbank horde.  Suitcases of silverware, another reminder of property stolen along with the lives of the owners, lined several walls.

General Eisenhower at Ohrdruf Concentration Camp (Photo Courtesy of National Archives)

Later that afternoon, the generals visited Ohrdruf, the first Nazi work camp liberated by American forces. Strewn before them were the corpses of the dead and emancipated figures of those near death.  General Patton, old “Blood and Guts”, had to lean against the side of one of the bunkhouse sheds as he was sick to his stomach from the horrors and stench of what he was witnessing.

President Franklin Roosevelt attending Yalta Conference in February 1945, less than 2 months before he died. (Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

After dinner, as the generals returned to their respective tents, General Patton overheard on the BBC the announcement of President Roosevelt’s death earlier that day.  At age 63, 12 years into his presidency, having led the nation through its most perilous fiscal crisis and a world war, Roosevelt was gone. He did not live to see the fruits of his leadership – victory – which would follow 26 days later in Europe, and 125 days later in Japan.

April 12:  a day that had momentous implications for our nation, the world, and the Monuments Men.  (For a more detailed account of this story, please read The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History).