The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
Description
While Adolf Hitler's armies conquered Europe, they systematically looted the continent's greatest artistic treasures, cataloguing masterpieces for the Nazi regime while marking others for destruction as "degenerate" works. In a desperate race against time, a remarkable group of American and British museum directors, curators, and art historians—known as the Monuments Men—ventured behind enemy lines, often unarmed, to prevent the annihilation of thousands of years of cultural heritage. This gripping account follows six of these unlikely heroes through the eleven-month period between D-Day and V-E Day as they undertook an impossible mission to save the world's most precious artworks from Nazi destruction. Combining meticulous historical research with compelling personal narratives, Robert M. Edsel reveals how ordinary men with extraordinary courage risked their lives to preserve civilization's greatest treasures. A thrilling testament to the power of culture and the lengths people will go to protect it, this is the untold story of one of World War II's most vital—and least known—operations.
Available Editions
paperback
Center Street
Published Jan 1, 2009
473 pages
ISBN: 9781599951492
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Details
First Published
2009
Language
eng
Content Warnings
Content and trigger warnings for The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel.