art treasures in war

A classic now back in print and enriched with new imagery, James J. Rorimer's riveting first-hand account takes readers on a treasure hunt as he follows the Allied troops across France and Germany to save Nazi-stolen masterpieces of art. James J. Rorimer, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, became a leading figure in the art recovery unit known as the Monuments Men, an elite group imbedded in the US Army, who risked their lives during World War II to save Europe's greatest artworks from Hitler's grasp. In the film Monuments Men, Matt Damon's character is based on Rorimer as he embarks on the world's most dangerous real-life hunt for stolen artworks with the goal of locating, seizing, and returning the works to their original holders, including museums and private collectors. This new edition of a book first published in 1950 includes the original illustrations from the first edition plus a wealth of new imagery and ephemera uncovered during extensive research, including WWII photo-graphs, many taken by Rorimer himself, that are accompanied by gorgeous reproductions of many of the Old Masters Rorimer helped save by artists such as Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Bruegel, Vermeer, Goya, Velazquez, and van Eyck. Maps created specially for this volume, and other facts about WWII history and geography, add new dimension to a remarkable story of courage, perseverance, and ultimately, triumph.

"As the most destructive war in history ravaged Europe, many of the world's most cherished cultural objects were in harm's way. 'The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History' recounts the . . . true story of eleven men and one woman who risked their lives amidst the bloodshed of World War II to preserve churches, libraries, monuments, and works of art that for centuries defined the heritage of Western civilization. As the war raged, these American and British volunteers--museum curators, art scholars and educators, architects, archivists, and artists, known as the Monuments Men--found themselves in a desperate race against time to locate and save the many priceless treasures and works of art stolen by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Robert M. Edsel . . . brings this story to young readers for the first time in a[n] . . . adventure detailing [the] . . . treasure hunt"--Provided by publisher.

Presents the true story of how the curators at the Louvre risked their lives to evacuate priceless art and antiquities during World War II.

"As the most destructive war in history ravaged Europe, many of the world's most cherished cultural objects were in harm's way. 'The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History' recounts the . . . true story of eleven men and one woman who risked their lives amidst the bloodshed of World War II to preserve churches, libraries, monuments, and works of art that for centuries defined the heritage of Western civilization. As the war raged, these American and British volunteers--museum curators, art scholars and educators, architects, archivists, and artists, known as the Monuments Men--found themselves in a desperate race against time to locate and save the many priceless treasures and works of art stolen by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Robert M. Edsel . . . brings this story to young readers for the first time in a[n] . . . adventure detailing [the] . . . treasure hunt"--Provided by publisher.

Presents the true story of how the curators at the Louvre risked their lives to evacuate priceless art and antiquities during World War II.

"As the most destructive war in history ravaged Europe, many of the world's most cherished cultural objects were in harm's way. The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History recounts the astonishing true story of eleven men and one woman who risked their lives amidst the bloodshed of World War II to preserve churches, libraries, monuments, and works of art that for centuries defined the heritage of Western civilization. As the war raged, these American and British volunteers--museum curators, art scholars and educators, architects, archivists, and artists, known as the Monuments Men--found themselves in a desperate race against time to locate and save the many priceless treasures and works of art stolen by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Robert M. Edsel, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Monuments Men, brings this story to young readers for the first time in a sweeping, dynamic adventure detailing history's greatest treasure hunt"--.

Discusses the efforts to recover the art stolen by the German Army and government.

"The world was stunned when eighty-year old Cornelius Gurlitt became an international media superstar in November 2013 on the discovery of over 1,400 artworks in his 1,076 square-foot Munich apartment, valued at around $1.35 billion. Gurlitt became known as a man who never was - he didn't have a bank account, never paid tax, never received social security. He simply did not exist. He had been hard-wired into a life of shadows and secrecy by his own father long before he had inherited his art collection built on the spoliation of museums and Jews during Hitler's Third Reich. The ensuing media frenzy unleashed international calls for restitution, unsettled international relations, and rocked the art world. Ronald reveals in this stranger-than-fiction-tale how Hildebrand Gurlitt succeeded in looting in the name of the Third Reich, duping the Monuments Men and the Nazis alike. As an "official dealer" for Hitler and Goebbels, Hildebrand Gurlitt became one of the Third Reich's most prolific art looters. Yet he stole from Hitler too, allegedly to save modern art. This is the untold story of Hildebrand Gurlitt, who stole more than art-he stole lives, too"--.

"By the end of World War II, the Nazis had plundered roughly one-fifth of the entire art treasures of the world. This work explores the history and formation of the Nazi art collection and the methods used by Hermann G?ring and his party to strip occupied Europe of a large part of its artistic heritage"--Provided by publisher.

Presents an account of those who were part of a special force of American and British curators, art historians, museum curators, and other experts who risked their lives to prevent the destruction of cultural artifacts and structures while also trying to locate missing items that had been stolen by the Nazis during World War II.