Have you heard of the Monuments Men?
The Monuments Men were a group of men and women– museum directors, curators, art scholars and educators, artists, architects, and archivists, from thirteen nations who volunteered for service to save the art culture of Europe during World War II. As Hitler was attempting to conquer the western world, his armies were methodically pillaging the finest art in Europe, from Michelangelo and Da Vinci to Van Eycks and Vermeers, all stolen for the Führer.
The Monuments Men book written by Robert M. Edsel inspired the film.
The movie focuses on an unlikely World War II platoon as they move throughout Europe attempting to rescue art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their owners. The script is not perfect and the film has not received the best reviews but go see it anyway! The production was well done and is simply a fascinating look at this part of WWII history.
After you watch that film then go deeper and watch the excellent documentary, The Rape of Europa. This film gets into the details of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Third Reich and the Second World War. Mind blowing and heart wrenching. It is viewable on Netflix.
Spalenka Eye 