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The Monuments Men
Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
Robert M. Edsel’s narrative history follows a small group of art specialists serving with the Allied forces during the final phase of World War II in Europe. Members of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program entered damaged cities, advised commanders about culturally important sites, inspected churches and museums, and pursued works stolen or displaced by Nazi agencies. Concentrating largely on the period from the Normandy invasion to Germany’s defeat, the book turns cultural preservation into a frontline story. Figures including George Stout, James Rorimer, Walker Hancock, Ronald Balfour, Rose Valland, and Harry Ettlinger reveal different parts of the undertaking: conservation, intelligence gathering, military coordination, documentation, and recovery. Their work raises a larger question about what victory means when buildings, archives, religious objects, and art embody the histories of communities. The result connects military history with art crime, restitution, museum pra…
