Monument Men

Perhaps my first introduction to the art thievery conducted during WW II by the Nazis was from watching the great John Frankenheimer film starring Burt Lancaster, The Train.

The movie was based on a true story and no doubt did much to create a wider awareness of the importance of preserving cultural artifacts. During the war, and in the times that followed, there were already those that didn't need that lesson.

From 1942 until 1951, 365 men and women serving in the Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives division (MFAA) of the Allied forces.............. Known simply as the Monuments Men, they recovered Nazi records from bombed-out cathedrals and followed leads across the continent in a bid to recover Europe's most splendid treasures.

Now comes a book that relates the work of seven of these important people. I have not read it yet, but the subject matter puts it high on my wish list. It should be intriguing, if told right and truthfully.

Worth noting, the work isn't finished yet, some of the stolen pieces have not been found, but that may soon change according to the book's author Robert Edsel.

I think over the next 15 to 20 years many of those things that are missing will surface. As the WW II generation passes over the next five to 10 years, these things in attics and basements and on walls will pass on to younger generations, and they might try to sell them. Buyers will want to know what they are buying and where it came from — and that could lead to answers.

Let's hope so.