George Clooney to Direct, Star In 'Monuments Men' About Stolen Nazi Art (Exclusive)

Because the relatives of the people who owned the art have been asking for it back, but because all the ownership paperwork has been destroyed (thanks to a war and genocide) they can't prove it was theirs.

I haven't read the book that this particular story was based on (perhaps someone who has can step in here) but it's well documented. The Germans went into private homes and galleries and took what they wanted and had it sent to Berlin.

What do you think is hiding behind this?

lelacorb wrote:I hope that he recognizes that the more the country was deprived of his works of art that is all 'Italy!

Atalante wrote:I don't expect Clooney to dig that deep, he's from Kentuuuuuuuuuucky, ellow !

Maggy wrote:Sirius12, your are an interesting person.

This movie 'Monuments Men' is going be a winner. I like everything I'm reading about it.

Because the relatives of the people who owned the art have been asking for it back, but because all the ownership paperwork has been destroyed (thanks to a war and genocide) they can't prove it was theirs.

Sirius12 wrote:Not discounting what is written here, but consider this: what happened during Versailles? The Germans were not stolen from, any history text states they were.”

Sirius12 wrote:Then one must go all the way back, way beyond the tragedy of this war to sort things out. Everyone knows that Hitler was created at Versailles. Is that cause & effect, or a misunderstanding?

Katiedot wrote:Thanks so much for that explanation, Ello. Really interesting and helpful to have the background.

Ello wrote:
It will be very interesting to see the perspective that George takes with the film. To play it as a straight wartime adventure would be to miss a number of more interesting stories.

Sirius 12,
It has been argued that after losing World War I, Germany was penalized at the Treaty of Versailles. The economic losses some believe is what allowed Hitler to come to power, to restore German Pride. Fears that Nazi officials would raid museums for their private collections, and that their residences would be bombed and the art destroyed, were valid. It has always been a question of where valuable pieces should be displayed. Some pieces are rotated between different museums and individual owners, for maximum enjoyment.

Ello wrote:Thanks Mel!
Macs, the prospect of a big budget movie fills me with foreboding too. The bigger the budget, the more pressure on Clooney to avoid controversy, particularly examination of the dubious motivations of the allied governments. The Hurt Locker demonstrated that a huge budget isn't necessary to make a top quality war movie, but then Saving Private Ryan is an example of vast amounts of cash used well. I can see the attraction of a big production to Clooney, considering the shoestring he usually has to work with.

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Seventy years ago, a group of men more suited to working in museums than fox holes thumbed their way along war’s front lines to rescue da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine,” Vermeer’s “The Astronomer,” Michelangelo’s “Bruges Madonna” and other great art treasures of the western world – spoils earmarked for Adolph Hitler’s Third Reich and his Fuhrermuseum as he systematically emptied Europe’s museums and the collections of private citizens.

Working in an office virtually unknown outside a handful of people, their department severely underfunded and their objective facing nearly insurmountable odds, these men turned out to be exactly suited to the task at hand – and ultimately successful in their mission.

This fall, the National World War II Museum in New Orleans is presenting “In the Footsteps of the Monuments Men,” a bucket list adventure that will trace the path of these largely unsung heroes, the scholar/soldiers who raced across conquered Europe to save millions of art treasures – paintings, sculptures, drawings, church bells, sacred scrolls – from obliteration in the chaotic final days of the war.

The tour program, scheduled for September 14 to 23, 2012, is based on Robert Edsel’s The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. The 2010 nonfiction book tells the story of that special force of American and British museum directors, curators and art historians – the Monuments Men – who sleuthed through war-torn and occupied towns to rescue and return the more than 5 million art objects stolen by the Nazis, stashed in caves, castles and salt mines – and rigged for explosion when Hitler realized he had lost the war.

“The Monuments officers’ original assignment was to protect monuments, churches and buildings, but no one took into account what happened – cultural theft on a scale Napoleon could have only dreamed of,” said Edsel. The Texas author also wrote Rescuing da Vinci, a story on the same topic published in 2006; co-produced the 2006 Emmy-nominated documentary film, “The Rape of Europa”; and is the founder and president of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, a recipient of the National Humanities Medal.

“These men were put into the role of cultural detectives. Most of the officers spoke a second language, many of them three or four. Many had been schooled in Europe and had as part of their curriculum vitae positions as museum directors or art historians.”

According to Edsel, the major challenge for the Monuments Men was the lack of resources provided by the army.

“These were middle-aged guys who’d held positions of authority,” he said. “They were used to having no resources and having a big job. The army didn’t give them resources – but it also stayed out of their way.

“The Monuments Men took it upon themselves to get from place to place. They knew where the works of art should be, knew the collections of importance, and began tracking down clues. They’d find the museum curator, the bishop of the church or the vicar and ask questions. In some cases, the army would trip over these things; they’d go into a salt mine and find the art and call the Monuments Men. There was nothing glamorous about it.”

Early in his quest to learn more about the looting of Europe’s great art treasures during World War II, Edsel met Harry Ettlinger, a German Jew whose family had fled Nazi persecution in 1938 and wound up a soldier in the U.S. Seventh Army as an 18-year-old – and one of eight surviving Monuments Men.

In May of 1945, Ettlinger was tasked with traveling to the Castle of Neuschwanstein in southwest Bavaria, Germany, to inspect thousands of priceless treasures that had been looted by the Nazis. In September, he will return to the scene of the (Nazis’) crime, leading the “In the Footsteps of the Monuments Men” adventure with Edsel as the group embarks on a modern-day treasure hunt from Paris and the Louvre to the salt mines of Altaussee, Austria.

“It’s an amazing Indiana Jones type story, except it’s true,” said Gordon “Nick” Mueller, president and CEO of the National WWII Museum. “The most surprising thing participants will discover on this tour is how famous these works of art are. Who would have thought the ‘Mona Lisa’ was crated up and sitting in a salt mine or a castle in Germany? Everyone takes it for granted these works were always where they are in a museum, but they were in danger of being destroyed forever.

“The hiding places themselves will surprise,” he added. “The tour will go into these places and you’ll see the photographs at the moment of discovery.”

Tracking the clues the Monuments Men themselves followed 70 years ago, the tour will retrace their route to visit some of the artistic treasures saved from destruction. Stops will be made at the Louvre, Germany’s Residenz Palace in Wurzburg and the Church of Notre Dame in La Gleize, Belgium. Visits will also be made to sites where the Nazis had hidden their plunder, including Hitler’s Eagles Nest retreat at Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps and the salt mines of Altaussee – where the Monuments Men uncovered the greatest trove of stolen works, all destined for Hitler’s Fuhrermuseum.

“This was the mother lode,” said Mueller. “The Monuments Men were on a race against time to save the art, but Hitler had ordered the mine rigged for demolition: If he lost the war it was to be blown up. The troops got there just in time to save these works of art and return them to their museums and private owners.”

Edsel and Mueller call the story of the Monuments Men one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of World War II. In fact, actor/director George Clooney is currently making a big-budget movie based on Edsel’s book. Called “The Monuments Men,” it will tell the story of a hand-picked group of art experts chosen by the U.S. government to retrieve artwork stolen by the Nazis, according to TheWrap. Clooney is co-writing, directing and starring in the movie.

Said Edsel: “Those taking this tour are going to have a chance to see World War II through a lens no one has seen before – to see the great art treasures of Western civilization in the company of a hero [Ettlinger] who has gone through these places.

“From a cool factor, how neat would it be to walk in these steps knowing in a couple of years’ time or less there’ll be a feature film telling the story you’ve already told your friends?”

INFORMATION

Officially called the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives section under the auspices of the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the Allied Armies, the Monuments Men included approximately 345 men and women from 13 nations. Many were museum directors, curators, art historians, artists, architects and educators. Most were volunteers. In the closing months of the war, they tracked down artworks hidden in more than 1,000 locations. They remained in Europe until 1951 to oversee the return of more than 5 million artistic and cultural items.

According to Robert Edsel, author of The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, hundreds of thousands of works of art remain missing. In Poland alone, there are still 70,000 works listed in their missing database.

“Many of the things stolen, the gold coins, for instance, were melted down,” said Edsel, whose next book, Saving Italy, due in 2013, will narrate the story of two Monuments Men and their struggle to protect and save Italy’s greatest art treasures during World War II. “Glass objects were broken. Small paintings or canvases that could be taken, a tapestries – if they were portable – these types of things are probably still out there.”

The “In the Footsteps of the Monuments Men” journey, September 14-23, 2012, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will led by Edsel and Monuments Man Harry Ettlinger in advance of the George Clooney film currently in production. The tour, presented by the National