Robert Edsel's Blog

On May 26, 1944, days before the D-Day invasions, General Eisenhower issued an order outlining his instructions for the protection of historic monuments in war areas. He had issued similar orders in Italy in December 1943, but within just a few months General Eisenhower had learned the importance of issuing protection orders before the battle had begun. There is no doubt that because of Ike’s support for the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives commission, countless buildings of cultural importance and works of art were saved from destruction.

Full Text of May 26, 1944 Order

1. Shortly we will be fighting our way across the Continent of Europe in battles designed to preserve our civilization. Inevitably, in the path of our advance will be found historical monuments and cultural centers which symbolize to the world all that we are fighting to preserve.

2. It is the responsibility of every commander to protect and respect these symbols whenever possible.

3. In some circumstances the success of the military operations may be prejudiced in our reluctance to destroy these revered objects. Then, as at Cassino, where the enemy relied on our emotional attachment to shield his defense, the lives of our men are paramount. So, where military necessity dictates, commanders may order the required action even though it involves destruction of some honored site.

4. But there are many circumstances in which damage and destruction are not necessary and cannot be justified. In such cases, through the exercise of restraint and discipline, commanders will preserve centers and objects of historical and cultural significance. Civil Affairs Staffs at higher echelons will advise commanders of the locations of historical monuments of this type, both in advance of the front lines and in occupied areas. This information, together with the necessary instructions, will be passed down through command channels to all echelons.

(signed)

Dwight D. Eisenhower

General, U.S. Army.

Anne Popham Bell (Photo Courtesy of Anne Popham Bell's Collection.)

We speak so frequently of “Monuments Men” we oftentimes create the wrong impression that these heroes were all men.  In fact, there were 29 women who served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section during its eight years of existence. Fortunately, one of these women is still with us:  Anne Popham Bell.

Anne Popham was well prepared for work with the MFAA, as she studied art history at the Courtlauld Institute from 1934 to 1937. Her father, A.E. ‘Hugh’ Popham was a distinguished authority on Italian drawings, and Keeper of the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, which collection was transferred for safety to Wales in advance of the German Blitzkrieg on London. Anne Popham’s ‘war work’ began in 1941 when she joined the Ministry of Information as a research assistant, first in the Photographs and then in Publications Divisions, largely concerned with the production of informative booklets on the British war effort published by His Majesty’s Stationary Office. In 1945 she transferred to the MFAA Branch of the Control Commission for Germany, and from October was stationed at Bunde in Westphalia, the Divisional Headquarters where she acted as coordinator to the work of the Branch’s officers on the ground. Her detailed diaries of her daily activities are preserved in the Imperial War Museum in London.

Following her return home from Germany in 1947, Popham joined the Art Department of the Arts Council of Great Britain, where she was engaged in the preparation of major exhibitions in London and the provinces, and in editing their authoritative catalogues. In 1952, she married Quentin Bell, who was to become Professor of History and Theory of Art at both Leeds and Sussex Universities. He was the son of Clive and Vanessa Bell (the artist), central figured in the ‘Bloomsburg Group’, of which Vanessa’s sister, Virginia Woolf, was a participant. After raising three children, Anne worked closely with her husband on the research for his acclaimed 1972 biography of his aunt Virginia Woolf, and thereafter undertook the editing of her complete Diary (5 volumes), for which she was appointed FRLS and given two Honorary Doctorates.

Anne Popham Bell filmed on December 3, 2007. (Photo Courtesy of Agon Arts & Entertainment, LLC.)

Anne Popham Bell is a charming woman who, like the other Monuments Men I have interviewed, defers all praise for her work and contribution to the MFAA. She is a distinguished and accomplished member of the arts community. Her love for the arts is so apparent, her desire to preserve history so evident. It has been a great pleasure to get to know Anne and her family and to understand her perspective on World War II and the men and women who made up the “Monuments Men”.