Type | Not-for-profit organization |
---|---|
Industry | Cultural Preservation |
Founded | June 6, 2007 |
Founder | Robert M. Edsel |
Headquarters | Dallas, Texas |
Website | https://www.monumentsmenandwomenfnd.org/ |
The Monuments Men and Women Foundation, formerly known as the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, is an American IRS-approved 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, [1] which honors the legacy of those who served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program during and after World War II, [2] [3] more commonly known as the Monuments Men and Women. Today, the foundation continues their mission by recovering Nazi looted artworks, documents, and other cultural objects and returning them to their rightful owners. Raising public awareness is essential to the foundation's mission of "Restitution, Education and Preservation". [4]
It was founded in 2007 [5] by Robert M. Edsel, author of Rescuing Da Vinci , [6] The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, [7] [8] Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis, [9] [10] and The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History: the Story of the Monuments Men. [11] The film The Monuments Men, scripted, directed by, and starring George Clooney, is based on Edsel's best-seller and was released in February 2014 and has been shown in over 100 countries. [12] The film was also privately shown at the White House for members of President Barack Obama's administration. [13]
The organization was one of the recipients of the 2007 National Humanities Medals presented by President George W. Bush. [14] On October 22, 2015, after nine years of tireless work, the foundation succeeded in having the United States Congress present the Monuments Men and Women, of all 14 nations, with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the United States. [15] Four living members of the MFAA attended the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony, including Monuments Man Harry Ettlinger and Monuments Woman Motoko Fujishiro Huthwaite. [16]
The creation of the Monuments Men Foundation was announced by Robert M. Edsel during a ceremony on June 6, 2007, the 63rd anniversary of D-Day, that celebrated Senate and House concurrent resolutions honoring the Monuments Men. [17] [18] [19]
The foundation's mission and accomplishments have received bipartisan recognition by President George W. Bush, President Barack Obama, [20] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Speaker of the House John Boehner [21] and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; as well as many other members of Congress and celebrities.
Robert M. Edsel is the foundation's current chairman of the board. In November 2019, Anna Bottinelli (an alumna of the Courtauld Institute of Art and John Cabot University) was nominated the foundation's new president. [22] [23]
The foundation launched the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network in 2021. [24] Participating institutions have a direct connection to a least one member of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program —known as the "monuments men and women" —and include the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Courtauld Gallery, and the Berlin State Museums. [25]
In March 2022, the foundation announced the creation of WWII Most Wanted Art™ playing cards, [26] [27] featuring 52 works of art that are still missing today—to engage the public in the search and return of these paintings, sculptures, and other cultural objects.
During the course of their research into the whereabouts of lost art, Edsel and the staff of the Monuments Men and Women Foundation discovered four large, leather-bound photograph albums which documented portions of the European art looted by the Nazis. [28] [29] [30] The albums were in the possession of heirs to an American soldier stationed in the Berchtesgaden area of Germany, in the closing days of World War II. [29]
The albums were created by the staff of the Third Reich's Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), a special unit that found and confiscated the best material in Nazi-occupied countries, to use for exploitation. [28] In France, the ERR engaged in an extensive and elaborate art looting operation, part of Hitler's much larger premeditated scheme to steal art treasures from conquered nations. [28] The albums were created for Hitler and high-level Nazi officials as a catalogue and, more importantly, to give Hitler a way to choose the art for his art museum, the Führermuseum, which was planned to be built in Austria. [28] A group of these photograph albums was presented to Hitler on his birthday in 1943, to "send a ray of beauty and joy into [his] revered life". [31] ERR staff stated that nearly 100 such volumes were created during the years of their art looting operation.
In November 2007, at a ceremony with Archivist of the United States, Allen Weinstein, Edsel announced the discovery of the first two photograph albums and, separately, donated the albums to the National Archives. [28] Weinstein called the discovery "one of the most significant finds related to Hitler's premeditated theft of art and other cultural treasures to be found since the Nuremberg trials". [32]
Based in part on the research of the foundation, it was established in 2009 that two paintings on display at Southern Methodist University's Meadows Museum, [33] created by Spanish master Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618–1682) were stolen from the Rothschild family in Paris in 1941. [34] [35] The paintings are of Seville's two patron saints, Saint Justa and Saint Rufina, and are estimated to be worth more than US$10 million. [34] [36]
The foundation's research confirmed the existence of ERR cards for both paintings. ERR cards were a crucial part of the Nazi cataloguing system of looted works and are evidence that the paintings were indeed taken as part of the Third Reich's systematic looting process. [34] The Nazi ERR code is still visible on the stretcher of Saint Justa, while it appears to have been rubbed off from the same position on the stretcher of Saint Rufina. [34] [37] The discovery was covered by the Dallas Morning News and other notable outlets. [38] [39] [40] Edsel noted that University and museum officials had "publicly acknowledged the correct provenance of these two paintings by Murillo, and more importantly, have now, by recognizing the Nazi theft of the artwork on the museum's website, contemporaneously endorsed the 'best practices' guidelines of both the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD)." [36] [35]
On December 16, 2016, the foundation, in conjunction with Dr Nick Mueller and the National World War II Museum, facilitated the return to Germany of a 16th-century Burgundian tapestry, referred to as "Hitler's Tapestry", that once hung in Adolf Hitler's Kehlsteinhaus or Eagle's Nest, in Berchtesgaden, Germany. [41] [42]
Edsel first saw the tapestry in the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, where it had been donated by Cathy Hinz, the daughter Lt. Col. Paul Danahy of the 101st Airborne. [43] In collaboration with the museum and Hinz, Edsel and his team established that Danahy had removed the tapestry from the Eagle's Nest and subsequently sent it home as a souvenir where it hung in the family dining room. [44]
Further research by the foundation's team located Konrad Bernheimer, the grandson of the Jewish, Munich-based art dealer who sold the tapestry to Hitler's architect in 1938. [45] Bernheimer told Edsel directly that he believed its sale was not forced as the full price was paid. [44] [46] Thomas R. Kline, a Washington D.C.-based attorney who specializes in art restitution, advised the foundation on the case and said multiple factors can go into determining if a sale was forced. [47] Kline suggested that some Jewish gallery owners decided to sell collections for fear the Nazis would inevitably confiscate the works if they refused to sell. [48] Since Bernheimer ultimately made no claim to the tapestry, it was returned to the Bavarian National Museum, the official heir to property once owned by Hitler, Göring, and the Nazi Party. [43] [44]
The Monuments Men and Women Foundation is one of the recipients of the 2007 National Humanities Medals. [49] The award cited it for "sustained efforts to recognize the contributions of the scholar-soldiers of the Second World War". [50] The award was presented by the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush. [51] [52] [53] [54]
The Foundation's good work helps commemorate the Monuments Men's efforts to rescue and preserve priceless artworks during World War II.
— President George W. Bush [55]
The Monuments Men and Women received the Congressional Gold Medal on October 22, 2015, after President Barack Obama signed the initial bill in June 2014. [56] [57] Speaker of the House, John Boehner served as the Master of Ceremony at the event which took place in Washington D.C. Additional speakers at the event included then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Monuments Man Harry Ettlinger, Monuments Woman Motoko Fujishiro Huthwaite and Robert M. Edsel. [58] [59]
The foundation worked alongside officials from the United States Mint and their team of artists on the design of the Congressional Gold Medal honouring the Monuments Men Foundation; featuring a quote from General Eisenhower. [16]
The foundation launched the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network in 2021. [60] The international network was created to recognize the pre and postwar contributions of the Monuments Men and Women, who influenced the growth and success of member institutions. [61]
The 2014 film The Monuments Men is loosely based on the non-fiction book The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel and Bret Witter. [12] [62] It follows an Allied group from the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program who are tasked with finding and saving pieces of art and other culturally important items before Nazis destroy them during World War II after the "Nero Decree". [63] The film stars an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Cate Blanchett. [12] A formal portrait was taken of the cast with Robert M. Edsel and Monuments Man Harry Ettlinger as part of the film's promotional material. [64]
Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol was a French sculptor, painter, and printmaker.
Jeu de Paume is an arts centre for modern and postmodern photography and media. It is located in the north corner of the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. In 2004, Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Centre national de la photographie, and Patrimoine Photographique merged to form the Association Jeu de Paume.
Nazi plunder was the stealing of art and other items which occurred as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Nazi Party in Germany.
Rose Antonia Maria Valland was a French art historian, member of the French Resistance, captain in the French military, and one of the most decorated women in French history. She secretly recorded details of the Nazi plundering of National French and private Jewish-owned art from France; and, working with the French Resistance, she saved thousands of works of art.
Rescuing Da Vinci is a largely photographic, historical book about art reclamation and preservation during and after World War II, written by American author Robert M. Edsel, published in 2006 by Laurel Publishing.
The Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA) under the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the Allied armies was established in 1943 to help protect cultural property in war areas during and after World War II. The group of approximately 400 service members and civilians worked with military forces to safeguard historic and cultural monuments from war damage, and as the conflict came to a close, to find and return works of art and other items of cultural importance that had been stolen by the Nazis or hidden for safekeeping. Some of them are portrayed and honored in the 2014 film The Monuments Men.
The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War is a 1994 book by Lynn H. Nicholas and a 2006 documentary film. The book explores the Nazi plunder of looted art treasures from occupied countries and the consequences. It covers a range of associated activities: Nazi appropriation and storage, patriotic concealment and smuggling during World War II, discoveries by the Allies, and the extraordinary tasks of preserving, tracking, and returning by the American Monuments officers and their colleagues. Nicholas was awarded the Légion d'Honneur by France.
Robert Morse Edsel is an American businessman and author. He has written three non-fiction books - Rescuing Da Vinci (2006), Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History (2007); and Saving Italy (2013) - chronicling the recovery of artwork stolen by Nazi Germany during World War II. A film based on his book, The Monuments Men, directed by and starring George Clooney, was released in February 2014.
Art theft and looting occurred on a massive scale during World War II. It originated with the policies of the Axis countries, primarily Nazi Germany and Japan, which systematically looted occupied territories. Near the end of the war the Soviet Union, in turn, began looting reclaimed and occupied territories. "The grand scale of looted artwork by the Nazis has resulted in the loss of many pieces being scattered across the world."
Deane Keller BEM was an American artist, academic, soldier, art restorer, and preservationist. He taught for forty years at Yale University's School of Fine Arts and during World War II was an officer with the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program.
Kunstschutz is the German term for the principle of preserving cultural heritage and artworks during armed conflict, especially during the first and second world wars, with the stated aim of protecting the enemy's art and returning after the end of hostilities. It is associated with the image of the "art officer" (Kunstoffizier) or "art expert" (Kunstsachverständiger).
The Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce was a Nazi Party organization dedicated to appropriating cultural property during the Second World War. It was led by the chief ideologue of the Nazi Party, Alfred Rosenberg, from within the NSDAP Office of Foreign Affairs. Between 1940 and 1945, the ERR operated in France, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Greece, Italy, and on the territory of the Soviet Union in the Reichskommissariat Ostland and Reichskommissariat Ukraine. Much of the looted material was recovered by the Allies after the war, and returned to rightful owners, but there remains a substantial part that has been lost or remains with the Allied powers.
The Monuments Men is a 2014 war film directed by George Clooney and written and produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov. The film stars an ensemble cast including Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Cate Blanchett.
Heinz Ludwig Chaim "Harry" Ettlinger was one of the Monuments Men. On October 22, 2015, Ettlinger and Richard Morton Barancik, a fellow Monuments Man, were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Ettlinger also worked closely with the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art and its founder Robert M. Edsel to continue the mission of the MFAA and preserve their legacy.
Dr. Hans Posse was a German art historian, museum curator, and, for over three years, from June 1939 until his death, the special representative of Adolf Hitler appointed to expand the collection of paintings and other art objects which Hitler intended for the so-called "Führermuseum" in Linz, Austria. The museum, which was never built, was to be the core of a cultural center which was part of a planned general rebuilding of the city intended to have it surpass Vienna and rival Budapest.
Adolf Hitler's art collection was a large accumulation of paintings which he gained before and during the events of WWII. These paintings were often taken from existing art galleries in Germany and Europe as Nazi forces invaded. Hitler planned to create a large museum in Linz called the Führermuseum to showcase the greatest of the art that he acquired. While this museum was never built, that did not stop Hitler and many other Nazi officials from seizing artwork across Europe. The paintings that the Nazis acquired were often stored in salt mines and castles in Germany during World War II. Eventually, many of these works of art would be rescued by a group called the Monuments Men. While this task force of art dealers and museum specialists were able to retrieve many of the stolen works of art, there are still many paintings that have yet to be found. In 2013, Cornelius Gurlitt, a son of one of Hitler's art dealers, was found with an apartment full of paintings which his father had kept from both the Nazis and the Monuments Men. This discovery of paintings has brought to light once more many paintings that were thought as lost.
National Museum Recuperation is the French state organization that manages the looted artworks recovered from Nazi Germany and returned to France after the Second World War. Of 61,000 looted artworks returned to France, 2143 remain in custody of the MNR.
The Art Looting Investigation Unit (ALIU) was a special intelligence unit during World War II whose mission was to gather information and write reports about Nazi art looting networks. Composed of only a few handpicked men, the small unit conducted interrogations and investigations in Europe starting in 1944 and focusing mainly on Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Their mission was different from but related to that of the Monuments Men. After the war, the reports the ALIU wrote were marked secret and forgotten for many years until the late 1990s when they began to be declassified. The reports remain an important source for research into the history of the origin of works of art and for the restitution of looted art from the Nazi era.