During World War II, tens of thousands of priceless paintings, sculptures + other art mediums (think: Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt…) were stolen by Nazi forces. Plucked off of walls, ripped out of the hands of private collectors, discarded in rubble, burned in bonfires.. and yet, today, many of the stolen works are safely and legally hanging on the walls of museums. How were these priceless artworks rescued? Enter: “Protect what’s left. Find what’s missing.” — That was the motto of the Monuments Men, a group of men and women who risked their lives during wartime to recover the stolen artwork. And today on Found Objects, I share their heroic, often unknown, story.

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SOURCES:

allthatsinteresting.com/looted-okinawa-artifacts.

encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/degenerate-art-1.

www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/02/07/the-true-story-behind-the-monuments-men.

www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/provenance-research-resources/monuments-men. Accessed 12 Apr. 2024.

www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-monuments-men-180949569/.

www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2002/summer/nazi-looted-art-1.

www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/monuments-men.

historycollection.com/10-pieces-art-stolen-nazis-still-missing-today/.

www.dailyartmagazine.com/the-story-of-the-lost-raphaels-portrait-of-a-young-man/.

www.britannica.com/topic/Volk