Sherman Lee

1918 - 2008

A renowned expert on Asian art, Sherman Lee served as a Lieutenant in the Naval reserve from 1944 until 1946, when he began working as an advisor to the MFAA in Tokyo. Unlike in Europe, the Monuments Men were not sent to Japan until after hostilities ended in 1945, and even then there were only a handful of Monuments Men and several Japanese assistants and colleagues charged with inspecting cultural property across Japan. Their mission was to inventory all Japanese art and monuments, including buildings, gardens, and national parks, to evaluate war damage, and also to promote exhibitions of Japanese art and living artists. Through Lee’s negotiations with the Japanese government, the collection of the Shosoin Imperial Repository in Nara was exhibited publicly in 1947 for the first time in history.

Lee used the experience of working as a Monuments Man in Japan to further his career as well, "I took every opportunity to avail myself of the chance, and such knowledge as I now possess I owe to our Japanese representatives in the field." In recognition of his service, the Japanese Government awarded Lee the Order of the North Star and the Order of the Sacred Treasure. He also received the Legion of Honor.

(photograph by Yousuf Karsh)

Prior to his military service, Sherman received both his Bachelors and Masters of Arts from American University, and his Doctorate degree from Case Western University in 1941. He became Curator of Far Eastern Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1941. From 1948 until 1952 he taught at the University of Washington and also was Associate Director at the Seattle Art Museum. In 1952, Lee began his long career as Chief Curator of Oriental Art, Assistant Director, and Associate Director, becoming Director in 1958. As director, he greatly expanded all areas of the museum’s collection, and highlighted the role of educational programs, adding an education wing in 1971. Lee retired from the Cleveland Museum in 1983 and began teaching as an adjunct professor of art history at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art was founded in his honor at the Clark Center near Fresno, California.

(Visiting with Sherman Lee in 2006. Robert M. Edsel Collection)

Sherman Lee is survived by his wife, Ruth, daughter Katherine Lee Reid, former director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Elizabeth Lee Chiego and her husband Bill, Director of the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, and Margaret Gray Bachenheimer, and one son, Thomas Weaver Lee.

This weekend marks the Fourth of July celebration, a moment marked by celebration, time with family, and relaxation. Parades, fireworks, barbeques….all are part of the composite profile we think of at this time of year. But it does have a more serious side to it (I know, leave it to me to point that out). July 4th, 1776, 232 years ago, Congress approved the Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. John Adams stated “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival.” And he was right although, one wonders sometimes if the celebrations are pausing for a moment to include the original intent of our Founding Fathers.

As you might expect, General George Washington spent the day with his troops and provided them a double ration of rum and an artillery salute in 1778. Of more recent interest, an independence day of another sort occurred: On July 4th, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur announced that the Philippines had been completely liberated!

(John Adams)

Two other fascinating events took place on this date in our nation’s history, one of which I didn’t know until I did a little research, courtesy of Wikipedia:
In 1941 the residents of Vicksburg, Mississippi, celebrated Independence Day for the first time since July 4th, 1863, when the Siege of Vicksburg ended with a Union victory during the Civil War. The other is almost too strange a coincidence to believe, but it is fact: Both John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, two of the great thinkers and libertarians of our time, both Founding Fathers and the only two men who signed the Declaration of Independence to become President of the United States, died on the same day, July 4th, 1826. Five years later, President Monroe died on July 4th, 1831.

(Thomas Jefferson)

My thoughts this holiday will be with our troops abroad who can’t be here to celebrate with their families. Every day, they make a huge sacrifice to protect us. These holidays are especially difficult for them because they bring into acute focus where they are—and where they are not but would like to be. It is to them that we say “thanks” for providing us a safe day to celebrate all those who came before them and helped build this great nation we too often take for granted.

Happy Fourth to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The legacy of the world’s greatest theft during World War II by Hitler and the Nazis remains with us in so many tangible ways. Few reminders are more stark than looking at an auction catalogue from Sotheby’s or Christie’s. Rarely is there a sale of any magnitude that doesn’t include at least one painting or other work of art stolen by the Nazis at some point in time during their chokehold on Western Europe. Most of those times the painting was stolen for Adolph Hitler’s planned Führer Museum in Linz.

There are two major events that occur in London each July, both of which are near and dear to my interests. The first is, of course, The All England Championships, or Wimbledon as it is more widely known. The other are the Old Master Sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s which always follow the week after bringing most all the painting dealers from around the world together as well as many private collectors. These sales are particularly interesting this year as Sotheby’s has four paintings for sale that were looted during World War II, all subsequently restituted and now being sold by the current owners, while Christie’s has one. (These numbers pertain to their “main event” evening sales respectively; there may be other examples in their lesser sales.)

The phrases included in the provenance listings are enough to curl your blood: “Confiscated by the Nazi authorities in 1939 for the planned Führer Museum in Linz”; “Looted during the Second World War”; “Forced Sale of Liquidation Stock”; “Secured by the Nazi authorities and confiscated by the Vugesta (the Gestapo looting authority)”; and “Confiscated by the Russian Army”. I underscore that all paintings were subsequently restituted to their rightful owners, some shortly after the war, others only recently. But this underscores the current nature of this remarkable period in history as items once considered the prize of the Nazi thieves reenter the commercial market voluntarily rather than under threat or theft. These are exciting times.

What kind of men — many who were just boys — rushed the sandy beaches under artillery barrage and machine gun fire, certain that many among them would die? Who listened to and followed such orders? Why did so many challenge fate further just to save a wounded buddy?

The carnage and confusion of that early morning amphibious landing 64 years ago will forever remain the sina qua non act of bravery in my book. A general staked his career (and many of his men’s lives) on a decision to "go", clutching in his pocket the scripted remarks he had prepared in the event of failure; his commanders bristled at not being with their boys in the line of fire in the greatest of our nation’s military traditions; and the men followed their orders until they didn’t work, then improvised and overcame nearly impossible odds. Rent and watch the first 30 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan": you will have an idea of the bravery of which I speak. Where did we find such men?

Waiting in the wings were a few dozen men, mostly middle aged, who could never have imagined being soldiers under fire, for they were scholars, educators, artists. Yet they were there, awaiting their chance to land on the continent to do their job. They had everything to lose with careers established, families half-raised at home, life put on hold: yet they volunteered. It was a different type bravery than the men that landed on the Normandy beaches, but no less honorable. Where did we find such men?

A woman who serves her nation’s Congress does so out of duty, not financial gain. She takes a risk and speaks out for others too old and overlooked by history, men too humble to speak about their achievements of long ago. Two other women work 15 hour days, toiling in obscurity, constantly deferring credit for their work on another. Still, they work harder. Better paying jobs abound, but their remuneration comes in the form of eternal satisfaction and pride. They, too, are humble and seek not attention for themselves. Where do we find such women?

Our Nation is blessed in ways so abundant it makes for an embarrassment of riches. Yet too few pause to remember, to say "thanks", to wonder how they can do their part to perpetuate this remarkable legacy. Too few know that there are 9,387 American men and women whose spirits watch over those landing beaches in France. An appalling number of Americans don’t even know what "D-Day" is. Where do we find such citizens?

This is a day for praise, to give thanks, to let all veterans know they are a constant "thank you" in our collective memory. Help us change the "forgetting". Help us restore "remembering". Help others be the citizen of the past, the one who sacrificed, the one who toiled in the trenches, the one who said "thanks" over and again. Help us lead by example to restore the collective citizenship which was and remains the cornerstone of our democracy. And thank every veteran you can because they gave years of their lives to provide us with the chance to live ours quite differently.

(Monuments Men (from left to right): Bernard Taper, James Reeds, Harry Ettlinger, and Horace Apgar)

One year ago I had a sleepless night at the business center of a really crummy hotel in Washington, D.C. Through the wee hours of the morning I drafted and redrafted the speech I would deliver later that day — the 63rd Anniversary of the D-Day landings - -at the Senate Ceremony to recognize and honor the Monuments Men of all 13 nations.

Events of June 6th, 2007 unfolded in the most dignified manner befitting the contribution of these men and women during World War ll. That this would be the last trip taken by my father before his death earlier this year was something I sensed might happen. So his presence, in particular the visit on June 5th with the Monuments Men and their spouses to the World War ll Memorial, made this the experience of my life.

How did we pull it off? Angels, pure and simple. Congresswoman Kay Granger and her staff invested countless hours helping us. We will always hold her special for she was the first person to ask, "how can I help?". Others followed, Senators, members of Congress, staffers, organizers, and others whose help made our plans a reality. But behind the scenes, two people stand alone without whom we would not have succeeded.

(Karen Evans)

Christy Fox and Karen Evans love these men. Every waking hour has been spent helping me do my job, helping me garner the recognition they deserve. I, alone, have received the media attention, but their toil in the trenches has enabled us to experience the success attendant to this project. Karen spent a week in Washington preparing to receive the Monuments Men and their families while looking over my parents and all the details of the lunches and private dinners we hosted. Not a detail was overlooked. Such has been her dedication to these men and one woman these past 4 years, day in and day out. She regularly speaks with them, offers words of encouragement when illness strikes, finds little ways to show them the respect and love she feels for who they are and what they did. No amount of recognition would be too great for her endless dedication to them.

(Christy Fox)

Christy Fox once commented about my respect for elderly people. I can’t recall a more rewarding compliment. But it is Christy who sets the example. The depth of her respect and love for these men is immeasurable. She helped me carry 100 copies of my book, 6 at a time, each of which weigh 4.6 pounds, into the Senate buildings which took us three full days. We personally delivered each one to a Senator and explained who the Monument Men were and why they were important as part of our effort to gain support for the Senate Resolution. Her credibility with the media allowed her to obtain coverage few organizations of any size could ever obtain. Her pitch was genuine, well prepared, and timely in every instance. She hates the limelight as does Karen, yet without her the events of a year ago wouldn’t have happened.

It is wise to remember our achievements and the hard work that went into making aspirations realities. But it is essential that we also recognize two people whose dedication and sacrifice produced the results that followed. In honoring these heroes they did themselves honor. On behalf of the Monuments Men, we salute you both!!!

(Congratulating the Monuments Men of all 13 nations at the Senate Ceremony on June 6, 2007)

Anne d’Harnoncourt, the world famous and beloved director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, died quite unexpectedly Sunday evening at her home in Philadelphia. She was just 64 years of age. Art and culture were imbued in her soul.

Rene, her father, was not only a painter and scholar on Mexican and Native American art, but also served as the director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City from 1949-1968. Anne earned her master’s degree from the Courtauld Institute, where she was a classmate of my dear friend, Ted Pillsbury. Ted went on to greatness as the director of the Yale Center for British Art and later the Kimbell, while Anne worked briefly at the Tate Gallery before beginning her storied career in Philadelphia in 1967 as an assistant. After a brief stint as the assistant curator of 20th century art at the Art Institute in Chicago, Anne returned to Philadelphia where in 1982 she became the museum’s director and eventual CEO.

During her tenure she did it all, designing innovative installations, developing blockbuster exhibitions that staked a permanent claim for the city of Philadelphia among the elite of art museums in our Nation, and energizing a donor base who in turn oversaw astonishing growth of this remarkable institution. She walked with kings and paupers with equal comfort and understood the museum’s responsibility to appeal to all citizens of the city–those that loved art as well as those yet to discover it. All the while, she preserved the time honored tradition of — and continually redefined respect for — the object. "What we want is for new things to be great of their kind, and for each new work to have conversations with the rest of the collection."

I was in Philadelphia Monday and Tuesday at the invitation of National Endowment for the Humanities’ Chairman Dr. Bruce Cole and the ongoing roll-out of the PICTURING AMERICA program. As often happens the greatest supporters of the arts are also those first in line to assist Dr. Cole and the NEH’s innovative programs. Thus it was no surprise to meet a remarkable group of volunteers and civic leaders at the truly one-of-a-kind home of Martha McGeary Snider, where I was asked to briefly speak about the Monuments Men. It was, however, a bittersweet occasion.

Everyone had tears in their eyes over the loss of Anne d’Harnoncourt. Everyone. The measure of loss was palpable and hung over yesterday’s otherwise great PICTURING AMERICA ceremony. Several people I met could not speak as the wound was so great. Indeed, Anne’s loss is truly immeasurable. Few people are truly irreplaceable: she is an exception. Her passing highlights the crisis in our museum leadership ranks, a subject I will be addressing in a lengthy blog next week.

The great city of Philadelphia, which Anne loved so much, will recover, and in time her legacy advanced by the same group of supporters she cultivated and who cultivated her over many years. But those challenges ahead belong to tomorrows. Today we mourn the loss of this great friend and champion of the arts.

Our nation’s extraordinary gallery of works of art is blessed in so many ways. The most recently built of the world’s great national museums, it contains an encyclopedic collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and many other cultural items. But many people do not know it also serves as the custodian for important select documents which it has received through gift or bequest over the years. The documents of greatest interest to me are of course the papers of some of the Monuments Men and women, many of whom worked at the National Gallery during some part of their career. In fact, the National Gallery and its staff served as the headquarters for the early work which led to the Roberts Commission from which emanated the Monuments Men.

I was at the research facility for almost a week recently conducting research for my next book on the Monuments Men. The research area is wonderful to work in and incredibly well organized. Headed by a team of experts in document preservation — Maygene Daniels, Anne Ritchie, Michele Willens and Jean Henry, our work was greatly aided by their thorough preparation for our visit. As taxpayers, we have a lot of benefits for the money we pay that may not be obvious when writing that check to the Internal Revenue Service. Use of our National Gallery and the admission price — IT’S FREE — are but one great example.

While there I was comfortably ensconced in a beautiful wooden chair. Only on the fourth day did I actually stop for a moment to examine it. Wouldn’t you know: it, too, was gift of the Mellon family in 1999. Their benevolence and generosity to our nation is truly immeasurable. Paul Mellon’s father, Andrew Mellon, not only developed the idea for a national museum, he also donated the funds ($10 million in the 1930’s!!!) needed to build it. There was more: he donated his incomparable collection to the nation which now graces the building’s beautiful rooms. Realizing the critical needs at that formative stage, Andrew used his contacts and influence to encourage the nation’s other great collectors — Sam Kress, Joseph Widener, and Chester Dale — to donate their collections to the nation too.

I was hardly surprised then when I saw the plaque nearby that told me about these great chairs…and what an appropriate part of history they play in this great institution.

Thanks to the open generosity of the National Gallery Archives team with our work.

(Mrs. Edith O’Donnell, Ms. Serena Rich, Director of Arts Program at O’Donnell Foundation, and NEH Chairman Dr. Bruce Cole at the Nasher Sculpture Garden for the announcement of Picturing America.)

On April 16 I was proud to be the master of ceremony at the Nasher Sculpture Garden in Dallas for the announcement of the National Endowment for the Humanities newest educational initiative, Picturing America. NEH Chairman Bruce Cole, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, Loriene Roy, President of American Library Association, Dr. Michael Hinojosa, Superintendent of Schools of Dallas Independent School District, and others participated in the ceremony to introduce this exciting program. In fact, Dallas was the very first city of six (Atlanta, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco) to receive this program.

Picturing America will provide forty iconic American images - from Gilbert Stuart’s incredible painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware to James Karales’s unforgettable photograph of the 1965 civil rights march to Selma. These forty images plus lesson plans and teacher’s guides will be gifted to schools and libraries across the nation at no cost! By the day of our announcement, more than 30,000 schools had already applied to receive Picturing America.

This creative program brings museums and art galleries into the classrooms of our nation’s schools by affording kids and their teachers the opportunity to experience images works of art in a first hand, tactile way. It creates an innovative solution to the practical difficulties of getting all our school kids into museums to be exposed to these masterpieces. (To learn more about the Picturing America program please click on the following link: http://picturingamerica.neh.gov.

The NEH has allocated substantial funds to enable thousands of schools to receive Picturing America at no cost. However, like all organizations, the NEH doesn’t have limitless capital. For that reason, the ability to fund this great program for all schools and libraries that apply will ultimately depend on private donors. Wealthy cities such as Dallas have the resource base to seek and obtain such financial support: many smaller towns and communities in our country do not. For that reason, I was so please that the O’Donnell Foundation of Dallas stepped forward to make an important donation to the National Trust for the Humanities to help underwrite Picturing America. Edith and Peter O’Donnell have been such great philanthropist to our nation, in particular in the arts and educational arena. I hope their act of wisdom and generosity encourages others to come forward and support this wonderful program.

For those interested in learning how they can help support Picturing America please contact Ms. Mindy Berry, Senior Advisor to the Chairman, at mberry@neh.gov.

(Another happy day with my friend, Dr. Bruce Cole.)

(From left to right: Lieutenant Colonel McGarrity, Staff Sergeant Ramus, Staff Sergeant Rabe, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Martinez, Warrant Officer 1 Gochenauer,
Sergeant Hammontree, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Mullen, and Major Stinson
Kneeling: Staff Sergeant Torres and Master Sergeant Hunter - Bagdad, Iraq)

In case anyone doesn’t know, the men and women who protect our nation every day serve voluntarily. They could be doing a lot of different things with their time. Almost any of those choices would entail little or no risk which stands in stark contrast to the peril many face each day in uniform. Meanwhile, because of their sacrifice, those of us in the United States have the luxury of going about our day, enjoying life, seeing friends, building careers, raising families, and all too often having days pass with nary a thought about how lucky we are and who is making this luxury we too often take for granted possible. Ask yourself, when is the last time you stopped for a moment and thought about how lucky you are to have the freedom to do all the things you did yesterday?

I’ve had many great moments with military folks, more so with Veterans of World War II and than current soldiers, but on each occasion I have come away wondering how I can in some way do something that would say to them, “thanks” for all you have done to make our nation better and safe. To wit:  I was recently contacted by Chief Warrant Officer Ely Martinez, who is an Army man serving our nation in Baghdad. Ely had, somehow, heard about my book Rescuing Da Vinci, and wanted to know if he could get a signed copy as he was really moved to learn about the role of the Monuments Men during World War II. His email opened up a dialogue between us, which I have greatly enjoyed. One think lead to another, and in short order we sent him a gift of not one but twelve signed books, each inscribed to officers and fellow soldiers who were important to him and his life. To all readers: you can send a Fed Ex to Baghdad just as easy as you can to New York City (in fact, we used Media Mail due to the weight of the books), so don’t let that be an excuse for not contacting a veteran in theater.

A few weeks later I received confirmation from Ely that the books arrived safely and quite an expression of gratitude. He was happy; I was very happy to do something, anything, no matter how small, to say “thanks” to these remarkable young Americans. Hardly much a sacrifice on my part, but it made me feel good, plain and simple.

(Chief Warrant Officer 4 Greg Boen and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Curtis Harcus)

This morning I returned to my office after a long road trip of lectures and research to find a box sitting under my desk. In it was an American flag that was flown on the 25^th of March by Bravo Company, 603^rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3^rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3^rd Infantry Division, on a combat mission over Baghdad in my honor. They also gathered and sent me several photos holding my book….well, the photos speak for themselves as all good photos do. Talk about speechless….I never left my office or home to do this small gesture: these men and women haven’t seen their homes in months, in some cases longer. Still, I am SO grateful to Ely and his teammates for their thoughtful gift. I shall cherish it all my life.

To the brave men and women of Bravo Company, and all their compatriots, THANK YOU FOR “WALKING THE WALL”, FOR KEEPING US SAFE AT HOME. WE OWE YOU A DEBT WE CAN NEVER REPAY.

Yesterday I addressed an audience of about 150 people as part of a symposium entitled "Protecting the Past: the Fate of Cultural Property in Times of Armed Conflict". It was befitting that this event was held at the headquarters of the National Trust for the Historic Preservation. In addition to the important role that organization plays in the preservation of our nation’s cultural history, the building was once an elegant apartment for Andrew Mellon, in my view our nation’s most benevolent patron of the arts.

It was a great honor to join my friend Lynn Nicholas and other speakers who included András J. Riedlmayer, Bibliographer in Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture in Harvard’s Fine Arts Library, who discussed the destruction of cultural property during the Balkan Wars of the 1990’s, Hays Parks, U.S. Department of Defense, and a decorated Veteran himself, who made an excellent presentation on the 1954 Hague Convention, Corine Wegener, President, U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield, who served in Iraq in the aftermath of the looting of the National Museum and is herself a modern day "Monuments Man", John Russell, Professor, Massachusetts College of Art, who also served in Iraq as an advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Culture, and Richard Jackson, a retired Army Colonel who is now the Special Assistant to the Judge Advocate General for Law of War Matters.

This great group of experts, brought together by The Lawyer’s Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation, Andrews and Kurth law firm, and the George Washington University Museum Studies Program, put on a heck of a show. I took 18 pages of notes and learned much more detail about the pervasiveness of this problem in past and present conflicts. It was sad in so many ways to see how painfully expensive the cost to our nation and civilization as a whole for not heeding the lessons learned by the Monuments Men during World War II However, I remain hopeful because of the people I met who are deeply committed to seeing improvements in our performance as a nation and as a member of the global community in this vitally important area.

A copy of my remarks follows:

(Lynn Nicholas, Thomas Kline, and me)

THE MONUMENTS MEN: HEROES OF CIVILIZATION

Let it be said that the telling of history is a never-ending relay race run at inconsistent intervals. Each historian advances our knowledge of a particular subject. Someday, others follow and, building on that body of work, further the research and provide new insights and understanding. For those of us working in this arena of cultural property, we will always owe a debt of gratitude to Lynn Nicholas for her extraordinary achievement in researching and writing “The Rape of Europa."

President John F. Kennedy once said, “A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but the men it honors, the men it remembers.” We as a nation have done a very poor job honoring the accomplishments of the Monuments Men and women, and even worse when it comes to preserving and utilizing their rich legacy In these last few years our country has paid a horrible price. The wisdom of the ages tells us that those who ignore history are destined to relive it. Events in Iraq in April 2003 made sad proof of this timeless truth. How different it might have been!

Within weeks of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, key American museum personnel, scholars, and other respected officials in the cultural world set in motion actions that within less than two years resulted in the creation of the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas, known as the “Roberts Commission”. Under their aegis a section was created known as the Monuments, Fine Art, and Archives, or MFAA. These “Monuments Men”, initially a part of the Civil Affairs Division, were later attached directly to the various individual Allied Armies in the field of battle.

This small group of museum directors, curators, art historians and educators volunteered for service to protect cultural monuments and works of art, and assist with temporary repairs when possible. With no more than a dozen or so men working in Italy, and another dozen in France by D-Day plus 30, their task was seemingly impossible. Hitchhiking was a common mode of transport as they had almost no vehicles. The resources available to them to do their job were pitiful. So much of what they accomplished occurred as a result of personal initiative and ingenuity.

As the war progressed and the full scope of Hitler and the Nazi’s greatest theft in history became known, the Monuments Men’s attention shifted to locating and rescuing tens of thousands of the most treasured works of art including paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Leonardo da Vinci, and sculpture by Donatello and Michelangelo to name but a few. In the closing months of the war these Monuments Men, by that time numbering no more than 50 or so American and British officers and soldiers, located in more than 1500 hiding places—salt and copper mines, castles, and other structures above and below ground—paintings, sculpture, church bells, Torah scrolls and other religious artifacts, stained glass, the great libraries of Europe, the entire contents of the Reichsbank including gold worth in today’s dollars about $5 billion, and even the trolley cars from the city of Amsterdam. It was the greatest treasure hunt in history, a hunt that continues to this day.

At war’s end, when most of the western Allied Forces were being demobilized and sent home, the Monuments Men’s work had just begun.Collecting Points were created almost overnight to house the hundreds of thousands of cultural items and art treasures being located and removed from repositories throughout Germany and northern Austria. The Monuments Men needed everything: research assistants, photographers, typists, packers and shippers to name just a few of their personnel needs. Within a few months their ranks rose to a total number of about 350 or so men and women from 13 nations of which about 70 percent were American. Restitutions began almost immediately. Paintings and sculpture belonging to the great museums of Florence made a triumphant entry into Piazza Signoria in July 1945. In northern Europe, returns initially focused on the iconic works of art stolen from the key Allied countries. The great Ghent Alterpiece was first, followed by the Bruges Madonna and then token restitutions of select paintings to France and the Netherlands. The restitutions that followed took years and in fact, occupied a few of the Monuments Men and women until 1951 when the final Collecting Point was closed. By that time, more than 5 million cultural items had been returned to the countries from which they had been stolen.

The actions of the Monuments Men were without precedent. It was the first time an army attempted to fight a war while mitigating damage to cultural treasures.Historic orders were issued on numerous occasions by the Supreme Allied Commander, General Eisenhower, stating that “We are bound to respect those monuments so far as war allows.” At the end of the war, the policy of the Western Allied nations was clearly announced to the world: to the victors do NOT belong the spoils of war. That which was stolen was ordered returned.

More orders were issued:General Bradley stated, “we are a conquering army, but we are not a pillaging army”. The statements of these leaders during World War II stand in stark contrast to comments we heard from the Secretary of Defense in the aftermath of the looting of the National Museum of Iraq:“Freedom’s untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things…stuff happens.”

And lest you think all the attention of the Monuments Men was focused on Europe, consider that Monuments officer Langdon Warner, one of the world’s leading authorities on Asian art and a noted archaeologist, pleaded with the War Department to avoid bombing the key Japanese cities of Kyoto and Nara in the closing days of the war. He successfully made the case that destruction of these cultural centers would forever impair Japan from rebuilding. Today, in both cities, there stand shrines built by the citizens of those cities honoring Langdon Warner for his actions.

Several years ago an archeologist was interviewed about how Iraq’s treasures could have been better protected. In response to a suggestion from the reporter that perhaps such noted scholars could assist in the field, the archeologist demurred and said, “it is too dangerous; someone could be killed.” And during the fighting in World War II, two Monuments Men were killed: Major Ronald Balfour, a British officer who in civilian life was a noted Cambridge scholar; and Captain Walter Huchthausen, an accomplished American architect. Dangerous indeed. When asked ‘is art worth a life’, one of our 12 living Monuments Men, Lt. Bernie Taper, had the following to say:

In late 1945, in an act of ambition or ignorance, official word came from the United States ordering the removal from one of the Collecting Points in Germany to the National Gallery in Washington of 202 irreplaceable works of art formerly in the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum in Berlin on the grounds that the Monuments Men were not able to properly and safely protect these works of art. An outcry erupted. Perhaps the most eloquent words ever written on the subject of art looting and restitution were penned by a group of Monuments officers who then took the unprecedented step of signing this document under threat of court-martial and subsequently submitting it to their superior officer.

“no historical grievance will rankle so long, or be the cause of so much justified bitterness, as the removal, for any reason, of a part of the heritage of any nation, even if that heritage may be interpreted as a prize of war. And though this removal may be done with every intention of altruism, we are none the less convinced that it is our duty, individually and collectively, to protest against it, and that though our obligations are to the nation to which we owe allegiance, there are yet further obligations to common justice, decency and the establishment of the power of right, not of expediency or might, among civilized nations.”

Monuments Officer Captain Edith Standen would later write, “it is not enough to be virtuous, we must also appear so.” In time, all 202 works of art were returned to Germany.

I could extol the virtues of these brave men and women endlessly, and I fully intend to do so. Every time we walk into a museum, a church or library in Western Europe, we enjoy a timeless part of who we are as a civilization because of the sacrifices they made 63 years ago. They wrote the book on the protection of cultural property during armed conflict. They placed their lives and their careers at risk to stand on the principle that the cultural treasures of others should be protected and returned. They left us a legacy so replete with life affirming examples there can only be one action required of us: to find the courage to act.