A painting by Leonardo da Vinci, stolen; another by Caravaggio, destroyed; a portrait by Raphael—along with thousands of other works of art—still missing; this is the legacy of Hitler, Göering, and other Nazis’ looting of Europe and Russia during World War II. Hitler diverted attention from the prosecution of the war to the systematic theft of Europe’s greatest art. His dream of building the world’s greatest museum, the Führer Museum in his hometown of Linz, Austria, obsessed him to the bitter end.
Museum officials and volunteers in Europe took extraordinary measures to protect priceless art from Hitler and the ensuing war. When U.S. forces landed in Europe, they assembled a special group of American and British museum directors, curators, and art historians known as the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section. These “Monuments Men” attempted to minimize damage to European monuments and architecture, then track down stolen works of art. Their effort would become one of the greatest treasure hunts in history. In the end, Allied Forces located more then 1,000 repositories, in mines and castles, many of which contained art, sculpture, furniture, and other treasures stolen by the Nazis. This magnificent book is a testament to the brave Allied soldiers who rescued Europe’s most precious art; it includes over 460 rarely published photographs from the period.
320 pages, 60 color, 400 b+w | 13.5 x 10 inches
