WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

00:00:03.934 --> 00:00:07.334
-So, now we are in the new room,
and I just, again,

00:00:07.334 --> 00:00:09.234
wanted to give
a few instructions

00:00:09.234 --> 00:00:12.133
before I put Robert on camera,

00:00:12.133 --> 00:00:14.634
and that's, actually,
for all of you out here.

00:00:14.634 --> 00:00:17.734
So what we'll be doing is,
in this program,

00:00:17.734 --> 00:00:21.601
we will have about 5 minutes
or so of introductions

00:00:21.601 --> 00:00:24.234
and then 15 minutes
or so of Robert

00:00:24.234 --> 00:00:25.701
talking about
"The Monuments Men,"

00:00:25.701 --> 00:00:30.467
and showing us
the many images and artifacts

00:00:30.467 --> 00:00:33.467
related to "The Monuments Men."

00:00:33.467 --> 00:00:36.000
During that time, what I want
you teachers and students

00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:39.667
to be doing, you all see
the Q&A pod right below me.

00:00:39.667 --> 00:00:42.901
In the Q&A pod, you can
type in questions for Robert,

00:00:42.901 --> 00:00:45.934
and some great questions
you could ask him about

00:00:45.934 --> 00:00:48.934
are the history
of "The Monuments Men,"

00:00:48.934 --> 00:00:52.100
his research and his process
to writing these books

00:00:52.100 --> 00:00:54.734
and also about the film,

00:00:54.734 --> 00:00:57.200
and so please type
in those questions

00:00:57.200 --> 00:00:59.567
as we go throughout the program.

00:00:59.567 --> 00:01:01.100
When you're typing in
those questions,

00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:03.267
we'd love to know
what grade you're in,

00:01:03.267 --> 00:01:05.100
your city and your state
so I can announce

00:01:05.100 --> 00:01:10.167
that when Robert is answering
some of these select questions,

00:01:10.167 --> 00:01:12.868
and we will be doing that
after he's done overviewing

00:01:12.868 --> 00:01:14.167
"The Monuments Men."

00:01:14.167 --> 00:01:16.167
We will be going to
your student questions,

00:01:16.167 --> 00:01:19.534
and that's how that'll
pretty much run for today,

00:01:19.534 --> 00:01:21.467
and so, actually,

00:01:21.467 --> 00:01:23.601
now you all can see
the museum on the screen,

00:01:23.601 --> 00:01:25.267
or one of the buildings
of the museum.

00:01:25.267 --> 00:01:28.067
This is the US Freedom Pavilion
at Boeing Center,

00:01:28.067 --> 00:01:29.868
and for those of you
who haven't been to the museum

00:01:29.868 --> 00:01:31.033
in New Orleans,

00:01:31.033 --> 00:01:33.300
this is one
of our brand-new buildings,

00:01:33.300 --> 00:01:35.901
and we have been open
since about 2000,

00:01:35.901 --> 00:01:38.901
and we actually started as
the National D-Day Museum,

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and in 2004,
we were designated by Congress

00:01:41.234 --> 00:01:44.767
as now the National
World War II Museum.

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And what I do here
on a regular basis

00:01:47.033 --> 00:01:50.033
is I connect with students
all across the country,

00:01:50.033 --> 00:01:52.667
and so we are so excited
to be doing that again

00:01:52.667 --> 00:01:54.133
during this webinar,

00:01:54.133 --> 00:01:57.767
and now I'm actually
going to bring up --

00:01:57.767 --> 00:01:59.501
Before we get started
and introduce Robert,

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I want you guys thinking.

00:02:01.100 --> 00:02:03.634
I'm going to bring up
a quick poll question,

00:02:03.634 --> 00:02:06.434
and I want to see which
of these you most agree on.

00:02:06.434 --> 00:02:09.400
So let me actually
drag it out here.

00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:11.334
All right,
so here's the poll for you all.

00:02:11.334 --> 00:02:14.133
Which of these three
do you most agree?

00:02:14.133 --> 00:02:18.000
A, that fighting for art
is worth risking one's life.

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B, I'd fight passionately for
other things, but not for art.

00:02:21.434 --> 00:02:24.000
Art is important, but it's not
worth risking your life,

00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:28.634
or C, no lofty idea is ever
as important as a human life.

00:02:28.634 --> 00:02:31.634
And I will give you all
a little bit to vote on that,

00:02:31.634 --> 00:02:35.133
and then, actually, this
question will seem familiar.

00:02:35.133 --> 00:02:37.033
I'll be seeing how you feel

00:02:37.033 --> 00:02:39.667
at the end
of this program, as well.

00:02:39.667 --> 00:02:41.968
So I'll give everybody
maybe another 30 seconds

00:02:41.968 --> 00:02:46.400
to get their vote in.

00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:48.067
All right.

00:02:48.067 --> 00:02:50.767
It looks like it's going back
and forth a little bit.

00:02:54.968 --> 00:02:56.267
All right.

00:02:56.267 --> 00:02:58.200
Looks like most of our choices
are actually for.

00:02:58.200 --> 00:03:01.734
Let me broadcast the results
so you all can see them, too.

00:03:01.734 --> 00:03:06.701
For A and B, looks like
A has a slight lead on B,

00:03:06.701 --> 00:03:08.667
or now, actually, they are tied.

00:03:08.667 --> 00:03:10.300
So after listening
to this program,

00:03:10.300 --> 00:03:12.601
and I want you guys to think
about this question again,

00:03:12.601 --> 00:03:17.000
and I will be asking it
of you again in the end.

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All right.

00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:22.200
Okay.

00:03:22.200 --> 00:03:25.200
So now, actually, I am going to
turn over the program

00:03:25.200 --> 00:03:26.968
to Mr. Robert Edsel.

00:03:26.968 --> 00:03:28.467
You all might know him.

00:03:28.467 --> 00:03:31.367
You might have his book,
this book right here,

00:03:31.367 --> 00:03:34.133
in your classroom about
"The Monuments Men."

00:03:34.133 --> 00:03:36.467
He is the author of a couple
other books, as well,

00:03:36.467 --> 00:03:38.133
"Rescuing Da Vinci," of course,

00:03:38.133 --> 00:03:41.100
"The Monuments Men,"
and "Saving Italy,"

00:03:41.100 --> 00:03:44.100
all three which
you can see on-screen.

00:03:44.100 --> 00:03:47.300
He's also the co-producer
of the film "Rape of Europa."

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That was produced in 2007,

00:03:49.767 --> 00:03:51.601
and he is the founder
and president

00:03:51.601 --> 00:03:54.467
of the Monuments Men Foundation
for the Preservation of Art,

00:03:54.467 --> 00:03:57.868
and he's also on
our museum's board of trustees.

00:03:57.868 --> 00:04:01.234
And, as many of you know,
just being released

00:04:01.234 --> 00:04:02.734
February 7th,

00:04:02.734 --> 00:04:06.501
"The Monuments Men" is being
adapted into a feature film,

00:04:06.501 --> 00:04:08.934
directed and starred
by George Clooney,

00:04:08.934 --> 00:04:11.033
so you can actually ask Robert
all about that

00:04:11.033 --> 00:04:12.334
as well in the Q&A pod.

00:04:12.334 --> 00:04:14.701
So now, actually,
I turn it over to him.

00:04:14.701 --> 00:04:15.734
Thanks, Robert.

00:04:15.734 --> 00:04:17.334
-Good morning.

00:04:17.334 --> 00:04:18.834
-Yep.
-Good morning.

00:04:18.834 --> 00:04:21.434
Good morning, and it's great
to have all of you all here

00:04:21.434 --> 00:04:24.801
and talk about this remarkable
group of men and women,

00:04:24.801 --> 00:04:28.234
museum directors, curators,
art historians, artists,

00:04:28.234 --> 00:04:30.100
artists themselves

00:04:30.100 --> 00:04:32.267
that volunteered for service
during World War II

00:04:32.267 --> 00:04:35.634
to try and save the great
cultural treasures of Europe.

00:04:35.634 --> 00:04:38.734
This name, "Monuments Men,"
sounds kind of confusing.

00:04:38.734 --> 00:04:41.567
Originally, the idea
was that with the war

00:04:41.567 --> 00:04:42.934
being fought in Europe

00:04:42.934 --> 00:04:46.200
and the great bombing
technology advances

00:04:46.200 --> 00:04:47.868
of not just destruction

00:04:47.868 --> 00:04:51.968
but the fires that resulted
from a lot of the bombing,

00:04:51.968 --> 00:04:55.033
these museum leaders
and others in this country

00:04:55.033 --> 00:04:58.000
recognized the great risk
to the destruction

00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:59.868
of so much of
Western Civilization's

00:04:59.868 --> 00:05:01.334
great cultural treasures,

00:05:01.334 --> 00:05:03.767
and they went to
President Roosevelt early on

00:05:03.767 --> 00:05:09.200
and lobbied to create this
special unit of men and women.

00:05:09.200 --> 00:05:11.501
Of course, only the men
were in combat,

00:05:11.501 --> 00:05:13.901
but the women performed
an important role,

00:05:13.901 --> 00:05:16.801
gathering maps that aided
the Monuments Men

00:05:16.801 --> 00:05:20.901
and advising Air Force
commanders on steering bombing

00:05:20.901 --> 00:05:24.467
away from some of
the great cultural centers.

00:05:24.467 --> 00:05:28.167
As the Monuments officers
arrived with troops in Europe,

00:05:28.167 --> 00:05:31.767
first in Sicily and then Italy
and on their way,

00:05:31.767 --> 00:05:34.667
then with the landings
in Normandy,

00:05:34.667 --> 00:05:37.467
they were trying
to affect temporary repairs.

00:05:37.467 --> 00:05:41.501
There was a lot of damage
done to churches and museums

00:05:41.501 --> 00:05:45.100
and other important
cultural buildings,

00:05:45.100 --> 00:05:47.000
and since many of them
were architects,

00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:49.067
they wanted show
the local people

00:05:49.067 --> 00:05:50.734
that they cared
about these things,

00:05:50.734 --> 00:05:54.133
that there was respect for
the local cultural treasures,

00:05:54.133 --> 00:05:56.801
and they did so
by trying to fix the damage,

00:05:56.801 --> 00:05:58.300
at least temporarily,

00:05:58.300 --> 00:06:02.000
and this won over the support
of a lot of the people in Italy

00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:05.968
and France, Belgium,
Holland and other countries.

00:06:05.968 --> 00:06:08.968
As they moved further
into Europe,

00:06:08.968 --> 00:06:11.100
and in particular into Germany,

00:06:11.100 --> 00:06:13.601
the Monuments officers
were able to determine

00:06:13.601 --> 00:06:16.968
that there were hundreds
of thousands of works of art,

00:06:16.968 --> 00:06:20.968
library books, stained glass,
church bells,

00:06:20.968 --> 00:06:22.501
and other important treasures

00:06:22.501 --> 00:06:24.934
that had been looted
by the Nazis.

00:06:24.934 --> 00:06:28.601
And in the closing months of the
war, they started finding,

00:06:28.601 --> 00:06:32.100
hidden in salt mines
and caves and castles,

00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:36.000
hundreds of thousands
of works of art and museum,

00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:38.033
library books and so on.

00:06:38.033 --> 00:06:40.767
So it was the greatest
treasure hunt in history

00:06:40.767 --> 00:06:43.133
following the greatest
theft in history.

00:06:43.133 --> 00:06:46.367
The Monuments officers stayed
in Europe for about 6 years

00:06:46.367 --> 00:06:49.033
after the War trying to
sort through all these objects.

00:06:49.033 --> 00:06:52.234
You can imagine the difficulty
given the volume,

00:06:52.234 --> 00:06:54.367
and identify who were
the rightful owners.

00:06:54.367 --> 00:06:56.434
Which countries did
these things --

00:06:56.434 --> 00:06:58.400
should they be returned to so

00:06:58.400 --> 00:07:00.100
that the local countries
could try

00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:02.067
and find the rightful owner
and get it back to them,

00:07:02.067 --> 00:07:04.734
and they ultimately
did this successfully,

00:07:04.734 --> 00:07:07.200
returning some
5 million objects.

00:07:07.200 --> 00:07:08.534
Imagine that, 5 million.

00:07:08.534 --> 00:07:11.300
It's hard to even
get your head around it today.

00:07:11.300 --> 00:07:14.300
So this is the great achievement
of these Monuments Men,

00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:17.267
and I thought maybe
one of the things I could do

00:07:17.267 --> 00:07:20.601
is share with you some video
of what it looked like

00:07:20.601 --> 00:07:22.334
when they went into
one of these salt mines.

00:07:22.334 --> 00:07:25.133
It's a salt mine
in Merkers, Germany,

00:07:25.133 --> 00:07:28.000
just one of the many,
almost 2,000 places,

00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:30.801
the Nazis had hidden
works of art,

00:07:30.801 --> 00:07:35.901
and in this case, gold,
gold coins, gold bullion,

00:07:35.901 --> 00:07:39.067
and it was essentially
like discovering Fort Knox.

00:07:39.067 --> 00:07:45.534
The deposit of all of the great
financial wealth of Nazi Germany

00:07:45.534 --> 00:07:47.934
that had been hidden just in
the closing days of the war,

00:07:47.934 --> 00:07:51.434
and there alongside
all of these gold bars

00:07:51.434 --> 00:07:54.234
and coins and foreign currency

00:07:54.234 --> 00:07:56.133
were some of
the greatest paintings

00:07:56.133 --> 00:08:00.300
and other cultural objects
from the museums in Berlin.

00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:01.701
They had been taking there
to try

00:08:01.701 --> 00:08:03.367
and save them
from Allied bombing.

00:08:03.367 --> 00:08:04.901
Let's run this clip.

00:08:04.901 --> 00:08:07.868
-...Germany's fund reserve
hidden in a salt mine,

00:08:07.868 --> 00:08:09.934
gold and foreign currencies
worth millions.

00:08:09.934 --> 00:08:13.601
-We should have sound with that.

00:08:13.601 --> 00:08:16.467
So you see these soldiers
finding these gold bars,

00:08:16.467 --> 00:08:18.200
and there were just
bags after bags.

00:08:18.200 --> 00:08:21.133
There were these boxes filled
with paper currency

00:08:21.133 --> 00:08:23.434
that this soldier
is flipping through,

00:08:23.434 --> 00:08:26.133
and then, of course,
there were works of art,

00:08:26.133 --> 00:08:29.667
rack after rack of some
of the great paintings,

00:08:29.667 --> 00:08:31.968
the bust of Nefertiti.

00:08:31.968 --> 00:08:33.501
There weren't just
more modern things.

00:08:33.501 --> 00:08:36.868
There were also important
works of antiquity,

00:08:36.868 --> 00:08:40.300
and this was
an astonishing discovery.

00:08:40.300 --> 00:08:41.901
It wasn't just
the Monuments officers,

00:08:41.901 --> 00:08:44.501
but everybody was
amazed to hear this,

00:08:44.501 --> 00:08:46.200
and the soldiers
in the other armies,

00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:47.701
of course, heard about it,

00:08:47.701 --> 00:08:49.534
and the competition
that you'd expect

00:08:49.534 --> 00:08:51.300
from one army
to the other started,

00:08:51.300 --> 00:08:53.067
and each one of them
wanted to be involved

00:08:53.067 --> 00:08:55.067
in another of these discoveries.

00:08:55.067 --> 00:08:58.467
So this is how it went
in the final couple of months

00:08:58.467 --> 00:09:03.334
of the War, very exciting,
but also very,

00:09:03.334 --> 00:09:05.567
very, very painful
for the Monuments officers

00:09:05.567 --> 00:09:09.300
because there were two Monuments
officers killed in combat.

00:09:09.300 --> 00:09:12.567
These were fellows
that had volunteered.

00:09:12.567 --> 00:09:14.467
One was an architect.

00:09:14.467 --> 00:09:20.667
The other was an important
scholar and archivist.

00:09:20.667 --> 00:09:23.467
The first Monuments
officers killed

00:09:23.467 --> 00:09:26.367
was a British Monuments
officer named Ron Balfour.

00:09:26.367 --> 00:09:29.267
He was removing objects
from a church

00:09:29.267 --> 00:09:32.067
that was in the path
of ground warfare

00:09:32.067 --> 00:09:33.868
and had them loaded onto a cart

00:09:33.868 --> 00:09:36.400
and was pushing them
down the street,

00:09:36.400 --> 00:09:39.033
and an explosion occurred.

00:09:39.033 --> 00:09:41.534
He was killed, and the three
people pushing the cart

00:09:41.534 --> 00:09:43.133
some 10 feet away survived.

00:09:43.133 --> 00:09:45.667
They weren't hurt at all,
and the other Monuments officer,

00:09:45.667 --> 00:09:49.367
and I think we have a photo
of both of them, was...

00:09:49.367 --> 00:09:50.367
Here we go.

00:09:50.367 --> 00:09:51.534
Ron Balfour is there
on the left,

00:09:51.534 --> 00:09:52.767
a British Monuments officer,

00:09:52.767 --> 00:09:55.100
and the other fellow
was Walter Huchthausen

00:09:55.100 --> 00:09:57.701
on the right who was
from Perry, Oklahoma.

00:09:57.701 --> 00:10:01.367
He was about 40 years old also,
and he was an architect,

00:10:01.367 --> 00:10:04.467
a very promising architect
who left his career

00:10:04.467 --> 00:10:07.067
to try and do what he could do
to save works of art,

00:10:07.067 --> 00:10:09.100
and in April 1945,

00:10:09.100 --> 00:10:11.267
just weeks before
the War was over,

00:10:11.267 --> 00:10:14.367
he got a report of looted art
and jumped in his jeep

00:10:14.367 --> 00:10:16.133
to go off and check it out,

00:10:16.133 --> 00:10:18.834
and unfortunately
found himself in a cross fire

00:10:18.834 --> 00:10:22.801
and was killed
by a German's shots.

00:10:22.801 --> 00:10:26.901
Part of why we ask this
question, "Is art worth a life?"

00:10:26.901 --> 00:10:29.400
these two men
sacrificed their life

00:10:29.400 --> 00:10:32.200
to try and save these things,
fighting for a cause,

00:10:32.200 --> 00:10:34.767
not a particular work of art,
but a cause,

00:10:34.767 --> 00:10:36.000
and it's an important story.

00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:37.534
So imagine, you know,

00:10:37.534 --> 00:10:40.567
if we didn't have
Monuments officers back then.

00:10:40.567 --> 00:10:42.400
Imagine the things
that we wouldn't have today.

00:10:42.400 --> 00:10:46.367
Let's look at "The Last Supper"
by Leonardo da Vinci.

00:10:46.367 --> 00:10:50.868
Now, those of you may not know
a lot about art or art history,

00:10:50.868 --> 00:10:53.000
but I think the kinds of things
we're talking about here

00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:56.267
are so famous everybody
knows these works.

00:10:56.267 --> 00:10:58.400
"The Last Supper"
by Leonardo da Vinci

00:10:58.400 --> 00:11:03.334
painted at about 1492,
'93 that he starts,

00:11:03.334 --> 00:11:05.067
takes 3 or 4 years.

00:11:05.067 --> 00:11:08.667
It's a wall painting, a mural,
in a dining hall

00:11:08.667 --> 00:11:10.267
in Milan, Italy,

00:11:10.267 --> 00:11:13.901
and this is one of his
great, great achievements,

00:11:13.901 --> 00:11:15.567
a work that has been
very troubled

00:11:15.567 --> 00:11:20.534
due to the
experimental techniques

00:11:20.534 --> 00:11:23.167
he used to paint the wall,

00:11:23.167 --> 00:11:26.501
but nonetheless, it's survived
now almost 600 years,

00:11:26.501 --> 00:11:28.400
and during World War II,

00:11:28.400 --> 00:11:30.567
the British
and American bombers,

00:11:30.567 --> 00:11:31.968
not the Nazi bombers,

00:11:31.968 --> 00:11:33.234
but the British
and American bombers

00:11:33.234 --> 00:11:36.300
wanted to force Italy
out of the War

00:11:36.300 --> 00:11:39.601
from being an ally
of Nazi Germany,

00:11:39.601 --> 00:11:41.000
and without --

00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:43.300
This is before
the Monuments officers

00:11:43.300 --> 00:11:45.701
have gotten into
their positions.

00:11:45.701 --> 00:11:48.501
No one has really thought about
what the cultural implications

00:11:48.501 --> 00:11:53.734
are of bombing
a major city such as Milan,

00:11:53.734 --> 00:11:54.968
and a bomb lands.

00:11:54.968 --> 00:11:58.300
A British bomb lands
some 88 feet away

00:11:58.300 --> 00:12:00.701
from one of the walls
of this dining hall,

00:12:00.701 --> 00:12:02.634
and I think we can
put that photo up.

00:12:02.634 --> 00:12:05.133
And you see, on the left,

00:12:05.133 --> 00:12:07.200
the protection
of the works of art

00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:11.767
were done by Milanese
or local officials in 1940,

00:12:11.767 --> 00:12:15.434
3 years before this happened
on the what-if possibility

00:12:15.434 --> 00:12:17.467
that perhaps something
like this might occur,

00:12:17.467 --> 00:12:21.501
and so they put sandbags
and boards up against the wall.

00:12:21.501 --> 00:12:26.033
They were braced in place
by the metal poles that you see,

00:12:26.033 --> 00:12:28.868
and in August 1943,
this bomb landed,

00:12:28.868 --> 00:12:30.934
as I mentioned,
less than 90 feet away,

00:12:30.934 --> 00:12:33.901
and it blew out the east wall
of the refectory,

00:12:33.901 --> 00:12:35.968
and it caused
the roof to collapse.

00:12:35.968 --> 00:12:40.567
So the painting is there behind
those wooden boards

00:12:40.567 --> 00:12:44.434
in the center-left
of the photo on the right,

00:12:44.434 --> 00:12:45.968
and there was no roof.

00:12:45.968 --> 00:12:49.567
It was exposed to the elements,
and it was a horrifying scene,

00:12:49.567 --> 00:12:54.467
and it was clearly a miracle
that this work of art survived,

00:12:54.467 --> 00:12:57.167
just only because of
the scaffolding that was there.

00:12:57.167 --> 00:12:59.200
Otherwise, the wall
would have fallen down.

00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:00.934
So fortunately, it did survive.

00:13:00.934 --> 00:13:03.000
We know about
this painting today,

00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:05.934
but it goes to show
that not only Monuments officers

00:13:05.934 --> 00:13:09.033
but local volunteers
went to great efforts to try

00:13:09.033 --> 00:13:10.501
and protect their works of art.

00:13:10.501 --> 00:13:12.868
Now, there's another work of art
that I'm sure all of you

00:13:12.868 --> 00:13:15.534
all will recognize
by Michelangelo

00:13:15.534 --> 00:13:17.534
known as the "David."

00:13:17.534 --> 00:13:21.467
"David" is about
a 16-foot-tall marble sculpture

00:13:21.467 --> 00:13:28.400
of this great story of history,
and you see on the right,

00:13:28.400 --> 00:13:31.934
because the "David" was so large
and weighed so much,

00:13:31.934 --> 00:13:34.434
it was impossible to move it out
of the building that it was in,

00:13:34.434 --> 00:13:36.234
the Accademia in Florence.

00:13:36.234 --> 00:13:39.200
In fact, the building was built
to house the "David."

00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:44.200
It was built around it, and in
the foreground of this photo

00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:45.801
are some other sculptures

00:13:45.801 --> 00:13:48.467
by Michelangelo
knows as the "Slaves."

00:13:48.467 --> 00:13:51.901
These figures that look like
they're entombed in brick,

00:13:51.901 --> 00:13:54.200
and because they couldn't
move them out,

00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:57.767
the great concern was bombs,
British or American,

00:13:57.767 --> 00:13:59.901
that might be dropped
on this building

00:13:59.901 --> 00:14:02.234
that would cause the roof
to collapse and, of course,

00:14:02.234 --> 00:14:05.033
damage or destroy
Michelangelo's masterpiece.

00:14:05.033 --> 00:14:09.267
So the local art officials put
brick tombs around these works

00:14:09.267 --> 00:14:11.667
hoping that something like
that would not happen,

00:14:11.667 --> 00:14:13.234
and, in fact, it didn't.

00:14:13.234 --> 00:14:15.934
There's one other work of art
that is pretty famous.

00:14:15.934 --> 00:14:18.367
Most of you all may know
the "Wings of Samothrace,"

00:14:18.367 --> 00:14:22.667
which is a great sculpture
from antiquity.

00:14:22.667 --> 00:14:25.133
It's actually not just
one piece of stone.

00:14:25.133 --> 00:14:28.467
It's thousands of pieces that,
over the years, have been glued

00:14:28.467 --> 00:14:30.834
together and metal poles
through it

00:14:30.834 --> 00:14:33.667
that sits atop
the grand stairwell

00:14:33.667 --> 00:14:35.968
of the Louvre Gallery in Paris,

00:14:35.968 --> 00:14:40.734
and the concern again in Paris,
in 1940, from Nazi bombing,

00:14:40.734 --> 00:14:43.067
having watched
so much of this take place

00:14:43.067 --> 00:14:45.601
in London, in England,

00:14:45.601 --> 00:14:48.534
the local officials
built this skid

00:14:48.534 --> 00:14:52.133
and slid the work down
the steps to then crate it

00:14:52.133 --> 00:14:56.234
and take it to villas
and countryside chateaus.

00:14:56.234 --> 00:14:58.133
The thought being,
get it out of the city

00:14:58.133 --> 00:15:00.367
where it wasn't exposed
to the bombing.

00:15:00.367 --> 00:15:03.033
So these are just three
prominent examples of works

00:15:03.033 --> 00:15:05.300
of art that are really icons

00:15:05.300 --> 00:15:07.534
like the Eiffel Tower
or the State of Liberty,

00:15:07.534 --> 00:15:09.267
that people around
the world know

00:15:09.267 --> 00:15:11.400
and demonstrate the reasons

00:15:11.400 --> 00:15:13.667
why so many of these
things did survive,

00:15:13.667 --> 00:15:17.000
because people thought they
were important and beautiful,

00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:19.501
and they wanted them
to survive for us.

00:15:19.501 --> 00:15:21.234
So I think maybe now
would be a good time

00:15:21.234 --> 00:15:23.501
to take some questions,

00:15:23.501 --> 00:15:25.701
and then we've got
some more clips that we can run

00:15:25.701 --> 00:15:27.567
and a few other images
to share with you,

00:15:27.567 --> 00:15:30.667
but let's do it
while you all have questions.

00:15:30.667 --> 00:15:32.901
-All right, actually, Robert,
if you don't mind,

00:15:32.901 --> 00:15:34.234
I'm going to start
with my question

00:15:34.234 --> 00:15:37.267
anticipating what some students
might be wondering.

00:15:37.267 --> 00:15:40.534
So we have some history students
and potentially art students

00:15:40.534 --> 00:15:42.934
that we are talking
with today...

00:15:42.934 --> 00:15:44.133
-Mm-hmm.
-...and I think

00:15:44.133 --> 00:15:45.501
a lot of people want to know how

00:15:45.501 --> 00:15:46.901
you became interested
in the topic,

00:15:46.901 --> 00:15:48.434
and when you were
a student in high school,

00:15:48.434 --> 00:15:49.767
were you interested in history?

00:15:49.767 --> 00:15:51.834
Was this a topic that --
or just history in general,

00:15:51.834 --> 00:15:53.234
was that one of your
favorite classes?

00:15:53.234 --> 00:15:55.767
Is that when you become
immersed in history or...?

00:15:55.767 --> 00:15:57.534
-Well, I always liked history.

00:15:57.534 --> 00:16:00.400
I mean, it's a good question.
I always liked history,

00:16:00.400 --> 00:16:02.767
and I suppose I was
a decent student of history,

00:16:02.767 --> 00:16:04.000
but I wasn't a great student.

00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:06.534
I mean, I loved learning.

00:16:06.534 --> 00:16:09.968
I didn't know that much
about art or art history,

00:16:09.968 --> 00:16:12.100
but it was something
I became interested in

00:16:12.100 --> 00:16:14.634
because my parents
took me to museums

00:16:14.634 --> 00:16:16.067
and took me on a lot of trips.

00:16:16.067 --> 00:16:18.667
They weren't big art fans,
and they just felt it was

00:16:18.667 --> 00:16:21.167
something that was
an important part of growing up

00:16:21.167 --> 00:16:24.100
and a chance to see things that
were beautiful and different.

00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:30.267
And in 1996, about 17 years ago,
I moved to Florence, Italy,

00:16:30.267 --> 00:16:32.601
where I lived for 5 years,
and while I was there,

00:16:32.601 --> 00:16:35.267
I was walking across
the Ponte Vecchio,

00:16:35.267 --> 00:16:37.901
which is one
of the five main bridges

00:16:37.901 --> 00:16:39.701
in the center of the city,

00:16:39.701 --> 00:16:44.200
and I wondered how,
during World War II,

00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:49.567
with the loss of 65 million
people, 65 million, imagine,

00:16:49.567 --> 00:16:51.234
how so many of the works of art

00:16:51.234 --> 00:16:53.567
and important monuments
could have survived,

00:16:53.567 --> 00:16:55.467
and who were the people
that saved them?

00:16:55.467 --> 00:16:57.434
And I wasn't embarrassed
that I didn't know the answer,

00:16:57.434 --> 00:16:59.434
but I was hugely embarrassed
that it had never occurred

00:16:59.434 --> 00:17:01.300
to me to ask the question,

00:17:01.300 --> 00:17:05.234
and I didn't have an easy time
finding the answer.

00:17:05.234 --> 00:17:07.334
It was something
I later learned really

00:17:07.334 --> 00:17:09.033
is kind of hidden
in front of all of us

00:17:09.033 --> 00:17:12.834
because these works of art
were put back in the cities

00:17:12.834 --> 00:17:14.133
after the war was over,

00:17:14.133 --> 00:17:16.567
and things looked largely like
they did before the war.

00:17:16.567 --> 00:17:19.434
But we know from the damage
that we've seen

00:17:19.434 --> 00:17:22.834
to some of these cities
from photos and images and films

00:17:22.834 --> 00:17:27.033
that it was far, far worse

00:17:27.033 --> 00:17:29.367
and there's no way these
works of art would have survived

00:17:29.367 --> 00:17:30.467
if they hadn't been moved out.

00:17:30.467 --> 00:17:31.968
You take this photo,
as an example,

00:17:31.968 --> 00:17:35.400
of Frankfurt in Germany,
very, very destroyed

00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:38.767
by the Allied bombers
trying to punish Germany,

00:17:38.767 --> 00:17:40.100
to force them out of the war,

00:17:40.100 --> 00:17:43.834
and you see the
great cathedral in Cologne,

00:17:43.834 --> 00:17:47.734
the structure
of the building has survived,

00:17:47.734 --> 00:17:50.133
but there's not any glass
in any of these buildings

00:17:50.133 --> 00:17:53.868
and so many of the streets
are just rubble piles of brick.

00:17:53.868 --> 00:17:55.934
I think we might have -- Yeah.

00:17:55.934 --> 00:17:58.834
Now, this is partly to explain

00:17:58.834 --> 00:18:01.701
why a lot of these cities
weren't more damaged.

00:18:01.701 --> 00:18:04.367
In Florence -- We can go back
to that last one --

00:18:04.367 --> 00:18:08.300
In Florence, the Monuments
officers worked closely

00:18:08.300 --> 00:18:13.234
with the Air Force
to try and avoid damaging

00:18:13.234 --> 00:18:15.267
any of the important
targets in Florence.

00:18:15.267 --> 00:18:20.400
You see where this circle is,
or almost rectangle,

00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:23.300
indicates an area
of bombing to try

00:18:23.300 --> 00:18:25.000
and knock out the rail yards

00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:27.701
or the railroads
to cut down on German troops

00:18:27.701 --> 00:18:30.334
and material being moved
to the front,

00:18:30.334 --> 00:18:34.100
and it was a pinpoint
precision target, and it worked.

00:18:34.100 --> 00:18:35.534
You see inside the circle,

00:18:35.534 --> 00:18:39.601
those little white marks
are the bomb drops,

00:18:39.601 --> 00:18:41.400
so it was very, very successful,

00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:43.501
but, of course, there were
a lot of mistakes made.

00:18:43.501 --> 00:18:45.934
Let's go to the next slide.

00:18:45.934 --> 00:18:48.667
This is an example
of what happened in Florence

00:18:48.667 --> 00:18:53.901
at the very end of the German
occupation in August 1944,

00:18:53.901 --> 00:18:57.434
and this is a scene
I had seen some photos of

00:18:57.434 --> 00:18:59.601
when I had kind of
came across a story.

00:18:59.601 --> 00:19:04.000
You see
the Ponte Vecchio bridge,

00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:07.934
and that's where I got
so curious about this,

00:19:07.934 --> 00:19:12.300
but you see this bridge,
and there is piles

00:19:12.300 --> 00:19:13.634
of rubble and building

00:19:13.634 --> 00:19:17.067
and brick some 30 feet high

00:19:17.067 --> 00:19:20.267
at the very upper portion
of the photo.

00:19:20.267 --> 00:19:23.367
You won't find a piece of glass
in any of the windowsills

00:19:23.367 --> 00:19:25.367
in any buildings
in the photograph,

00:19:25.367 --> 00:19:28.801
and this was a result
of the Nazis mining

00:19:28.801 --> 00:19:31.067
and destroying four out
of the five bridges,

00:19:31.067 --> 00:19:32.634
and in this instance,

00:19:32.634 --> 00:19:37.934
Hitler, who had visited Florence
in 1938, 1940,

00:19:37.934 --> 00:19:40.033
was so enamored
with this bridge,

00:19:40.033 --> 00:19:41.767
he ordered that
it not be destroyed,

00:19:41.767 --> 00:19:46.567
but to prevent the Allies from
being able to cross the bridge,

00:19:46.567 --> 00:19:49.801
everything around it
was destroyed on both sides,

00:19:49.801 --> 00:19:51.968
and it was a horrible,
horrible decision

00:19:51.968 --> 00:19:55.400
and a horrible loss for mankind
because what were destroyed

00:19:55.400 --> 00:19:58.033
were so many of
the great medieval towers

00:19:58.033 --> 00:19:59.934
that define the city.

00:19:59.934 --> 00:20:04.400
Yeah, and here's another
of the bridges,

00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:08.400
and you can see that
when the Nazis

00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:12.234
left the center of Florence
on the north side of that river,

00:20:12.234 --> 00:20:15.767
the Arno River,
the city north and south

00:20:15.767 --> 00:20:19.701
was reunited for the first time
in almost 3 weeks,

00:20:19.701 --> 00:20:23.734
and it was the rubble
of the bridge,

00:20:23.734 --> 00:20:25.467
what once was the bridge,

00:20:25.467 --> 00:20:27.801
served as a way
for people on the north

00:20:27.801 --> 00:20:29.400
or south sides
to cross the bridge

00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:31.701
and get to their loved ones.

00:20:31.701 --> 00:20:32.834
-Awesome.
All right.

00:20:32.834 --> 00:20:34.467
Well, I have another
question, actually,

00:20:34.467 --> 00:20:36.601
two that kind of
go with each other.

00:20:36.601 --> 00:20:42.434
So ISD 128 in Elk River,
they asked,

00:20:42.434 --> 00:20:45.601
"Are there still works of art
hidden around Europe?"

00:20:45.601 --> 00:20:48.234
And then a Ramsey
High School student --

00:20:48.234 --> 00:20:51.100
Actually a Jenks High School
student in Tulsa, Oklahoma

00:20:51.100 --> 00:20:52.767
asked, "Are treasures
still being found?"

00:20:52.767 --> 00:20:54.501
-Yeah. Look.
Those are both great questions.

00:20:54.501 --> 00:20:55.701
I tell you what.

00:20:55.701 --> 00:20:58.767
Everyone should get out
something to write with.

00:20:58.767 --> 00:21:03.434
The Monuments Men Foundation,
which is an organization

00:21:03.434 --> 00:21:08.167
that we founded to honor
these men and women's history

00:21:08.167 --> 00:21:12.968
and also to re-establish
the protection

00:21:12.968 --> 00:21:15.133
of cultural treasures
in future conflicts.

00:21:15.133 --> 00:21:18.167
This is something that was
never done after World War II,

00:21:18.167 --> 00:21:20.033
has created a toll-free number,

00:21:20.033 --> 00:21:24.968
and the number is 1-866-WWIIART,

00:21:24.968 --> 00:21:27.934
W-W-I-I Art.

00:21:27.934 --> 00:21:33.100
And it's an opportunity for
anyone who has some work of art

00:21:33.100 --> 00:21:36.334
or cultural object,
an important book,

00:21:36.334 --> 00:21:39.501
document and, of course,
painting, sculpture,

00:21:39.501 --> 00:21:41.901
anything that looks
like a work of art,

00:21:41.901 --> 00:21:46.000
to contact the Foundation
at no expense to them.

00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:47.634
We don't charge
anybody anything.

00:21:47.634 --> 00:21:49.167
We do what we do for free

00:21:49.167 --> 00:21:53.567
because it's important
to preserve the integrity

00:21:53.567 --> 00:21:56.000
that the Monuments Men
and Women had,

00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:58.033
and we oftentimes ask them

00:21:58.033 --> 00:21:59.501
to send us a photograph
of the front

00:21:59.501 --> 00:22:01.100
and back of whatever
the object is

00:22:01.100 --> 00:22:02.767
and whatever
information or story

00:22:02.767 --> 00:22:04.534
they have
that goes along with it

00:22:04.534 --> 00:22:07.601
because we want to
illuminate the path home

00:22:07.601 --> 00:22:11.300
for some of these hundreds
of thousands, not one or two,

00:22:11.300 --> 00:22:15.100
but hundreds of thousands
of missing works of art,

00:22:15.100 --> 00:22:18.300
library books,
important historical documents,

00:22:18.300 --> 00:22:21.300
a lot of which
were picked up by veterans

00:22:21.300 --> 00:22:23.501
bringing them home
just as a souvenir,

00:22:23.501 --> 00:22:26.367
not understanding that there
was anything important about it.

00:22:26.367 --> 00:22:28.834
Some were taken
by displaced persons.

00:22:28.834 --> 00:22:31.501
By that, we mean people
that were wandering

00:22:31.501 --> 00:22:33.067
across the countryside in Europe

00:22:33.067 --> 00:22:35.601
just trying to find
a way to survive the war.

00:22:35.601 --> 00:22:38.534
So, and then of course,
some were deliberately taken.

00:22:38.534 --> 00:22:43.534
So this is a challenge that we
face, and we're asking you,

00:22:43.534 --> 00:22:46.167
the public,
to come forward and help us.

00:22:46.167 --> 00:22:50.067
Be Monuments Men and solve
this great theft.

00:22:50.067 --> 00:22:51.601
Help us.

00:22:51.601 --> 00:22:54.033
Help participate in the greatest
treasure hunt in history.

00:22:54.033 --> 00:22:56.334
If you have a grandfather
or a great-grandfather

00:22:56.334 --> 00:22:59.133
that fought in World War II

00:22:59.133 --> 00:23:01.701
and happened to bring
something home,

00:23:01.701 --> 00:23:02.968
ask him about it

00:23:02.968 --> 00:23:05.934
because we just want
to illuminate the path home.

00:23:05.934 --> 00:23:08.601
We like to bring honor
to our veterans,

00:23:08.601 --> 00:23:10.033
and if things were brought home,

00:23:10.033 --> 00:23:11.434
I don't really care
how they got here.

00:23:11.434 --> 00:23:14.868
What I want to do is
put this great legacy to use,

00:23:14.868 --> 00:23:18.501
find these missing things
and help get them back.

00:23:18.501 --> 00:23:20.734
-All right, and great,
it looks like I'm getting a lot

00:23:20.734 --> 00:23:22.601
of really interesting questions

00:23:22.601 --> 00:23:24.767
about the Monuments Men
themselves

00:23:24.767 --> 00:23:26.834
that I want to get to.

00:23:26.834 --> 00:23:28.667
The first one, I guess,
is kind of related

00:23:28.667 --> 00:23:30.667
to what you were talking
about in their legacy.

00:23:30.667 --> 00:23:32.767
Did the Monuments Men
receive any awards

00:23:32.767 --> 00:23:35.367
for risking their lives or any,

00:23:35.367 --> 00:23:37.033
you know, attention
right after the war

00:23:37.033 --> 00:23:39.067
for the amazing things
that they did?

00:23:39.067 --> 00:23:41.100
-Right.
Boy, that's a good question.

00:23:41.100 --> 00:23:43.567
No, sadly, they didn't,
not from our country,

00:23:43.567 --> 00:23:44.901
not from the United States.

00:23:44.901 --> 00:23:46.667
They did from some
of the other countries in Europe

00:23:46.667 --> 00:23:50.133
that I think had
a more acute appreciation

00:23:50.133 --> 00:23:52.400
for what they had done
during the War,

00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:56.200
the idea that these Americans
and British soldiers,

00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:59.000
of which there were
only a handful

00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:00.434
that were on the frontlines.

00:24:00.434 --> 00:24:02.200
Overall, by the end of the War,

00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:05.234
there were about 40 Monuments
officers in Italy,

00:24:05.234 --> 00:24:10.200
maybe about 60 or 70 or so
in Europe, excluding Italy,

00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:13.234
and their numbers
would swell overall

00:24:13.234 --> 00:24:15.100
that served in
the Monuments, Fine Arts,

00:24:15.100 --> 00:24:18.033
and Archive sections,
it was formally called,

00:24:18.033 --> 00:24:23.534
maybe 350 or so men
and women from 13 nations,

00:24:23.534 --> 00:24:24.801
but that number is misleading

00:24:24.801 --> 00:24:27.934
because there were never
350 all at one time.

00:24:27.934 --> 00:24:30.100
Some came in.
Some left, and so on.

00:24:30.100 --> 00:24:31.934
So there were probably,
I would say, maybe no more

00:24:31.934 --> 00:24:34.200
than a couple hundred
at any one particular time,

00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:38.601
but while the war is going on,
there's far fewer than that,

00:24:38.601 --> 00:24:43.634
and the idea
that these American,

00:24:43.634 --> 00:24:45.901
predominantly American,
and British Monuments officers

00:24:45.901 --> 00:24:47.634
risked their lives,
as we talked about,

00:24:47.634 --> 00:24:49.234
two were killed during combat,

00:24:49.234 --> 00:24:51.400
to find these things
and get them back,

00:24:51.400 --> 00:24:54.734
it's surprising to a lot
of people, but it wasn't --

00:24:54.734 --> 00:24:56.300
You know, I think for Europeans,

00:24:56.300 --> 00:24:59.133
they felt this was
a very noble undertaking,

00:24:59.133 --> 00:25:01.801
and we should stop what
we're doing and recognize them

00:25:01.801 --> 00:25:03.834
because these works of art
that had been stolen

00:25:03.834 --> 00:25:05.000
were starting to come back

00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:06.968
due to the work
of the Monuments officers.

00:25:06.968 --> 00:25:11.300
In the United States, their work
was largely overlooked.

00:25:11.300 --> 00:25:16.501
They stayed in Europe until
1950, '51, completing their job,

00:25:16.501 --> 00:25:19.434
and by the time
they came home in 1951,

00:25:19.434 --> 00:25:21.767
there was a new war,
the Cold War.

00:25:21.767 --> 00:25:24.901
Korean War was beginning
very shortly thereafter,

00:25:24.901 --> 00:25:27.033
and like most
World War II veterans,

00:25:27.033 --> 00:25:29.334
they didn't come home and brag
or talk about what they did.

00:25:29.334 --> 00:25:30.868
They just went back to work.

00:25:30.868 --> 00:25:33.267
So this story got lost,
and then, unfortunately,

00:25:33.267 --> 00:25:34.501
they weren't credited.

00:25:34.501 --> 00:25:35.968
That's something
the Monuments Men Foundation

00:25:35.968 --> 00:25:37.067
has worked very hard to do.

00:25:37.067 --> 00:25:39.133
We have created a --

00:25:39.133 --> 00:25:45.167
We've passed one bill
or one resolution,

00:25:45.167 --> 00:25:47.167
if you will,
that just recognizes them,

00:25:47.167 --> 00:25:48.467
that's a general recognition,

00:25:48.467 --> 00:25:50.434
but the main thing
we're doing right now is,

00:25:50.434 --> 00:25:54.634
we have a Congressional
Gold Medal Bill

00:25:54.634 --> 00:25:56.367
that's in the Congress

00:25:56.367 --> 00:25:58.434
in both
the House of Representatives

00:25:58.434 --> 00:25:59.834
and the Senate.

00:25:59.834 --> 00:26:03.467
And I'm sure a lot of you
all are not able to vote,

00:26:03.467 --> 00:26:05.000
but your parents can,

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:07.801
and if you go to
the Foundation's website,

00:26:07.801 --> 00:26:12.634
monumentsmenfoundation.org,
and type in your zip code,

00:26:12.634 --> 00:26:15.968
you'll be able to press send
and send e-mails

00:26:15.968 --> 00:26:20.501
to your local House
of Representative and Senator

00:26:20.501 --> 00:26:22.434
and tell them
you support this bill,

00:26:22.434 --> 00:26:25.701
that you think
the Monuments men and women

00:26:25.701 --> 00:26:28.133
and their great achievements
are worthy

00:26:28.133 --> 00:26:30.000
of a Congressional Gold Medal

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.934
and that you would like to see
that they vote for them,

00:26:32.934 --> 00:26:34.367
and that's how
we're going to get it.

00:26:34.367 --> 00:26:36.634
We're going to do it
because people like you

00:26:36.634 --> 00:26:40.167
are going to be active
in trying to help and honor

00:26:40.167 --> 00:26:43.067
these heroes
that got overlooked.

00:26:43.067 --> 00:26:44.234
It's interesting.

00:26:44.234 --> 00:26:45.868
I've interviewed
17 Monuments officers

00:26:45.868 --> 00:26:48.868
since I started years ago,
and I've watched,

00:26:48.868 --> 00:26:53.901
sadly, some 12 of them die
over the course of time,

00:26:53.901 --> 00:26:56.934
and some of them
were very dear friends.

00:26:56.934 --> 00:26:59.100
There are still five
living Monuments officers,

00:26:59.100 --> 00:27:02.567
though, one woman,
who's British, and four men,

00:27:02.567 --> 00:27:04.167
but the youngest is only 8.

00:27:04.167 --> 00:27:08.133
The oldest is about 96, so we're
really working on borrowed time,

00:27:08.133 --> 00:27:12.400
and I'd like to see
that their recognition occurs

00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:13.968
during their lifetime
where they have a chance

00:27:13.968 --> 00:27:18.567
to see the accolades
from others.

00:27:18.567 --> 00:27:21.634
-Okay, my next question
actually comes from Janice.

00:27:21.634 --> 00:27:23.868
She is a French teacher
in Indianapolis,

00:27:23.868 --> 00:27:26.334
and so you probably know
what she's wondering about.

00:27:26.334 --> 00:27:29.501
"Robert, please talk about
Rose Valland, please,

00:27:29.501 --> 00:27:32.100
who was probably the most
famous Monuments Woman."

00:27:32.100 --> 00:27:34.300
-Yeah. That's right.
In fact, it's a great question,

00:27:34.300 --> 00:27:37.801
and I love talking
about Rose Valland.

00:27:37.801 --> 00:27:39.634
In fact, I like
Rose Valland so much,

00:27:39.634 --> 00:27:41.734
not only did I write
about her in my book,

00:27:41.734 --> 00:27:44.367
we've recently
published another book

00:27:44.367 --> 00:27:48.901
about Rose Valland that was
written by a senator in France,

00:27:48.901 --> 00:27:51.434
a lady named Corinne Bouchoux,

00:27:51.434 --> 00:27:56.501
and that book about Rose Valland
we have on one of our websites.

00:27:56.501 --> 00:27:59.667
It's just an e-book,
but it's a great story.

00:27:59.667 --> 00:28:06.868
This woman who risked
her life for 4 years

00:28:06.868 --> 00:28:09.100
working under
the noses of the Nazis.

00:28:09.100 --> 00:28:13.267
She was the caretaker
or custodian of this building,

00:28:13.267 --> 00:28:15.467
this museum called
the Jeu de Paume

00:28:15.467 --> 00:28:16.901
in the center of Paris,

00:28:16.901 --> 00:28:20.734
and the building
was a warehouse, essentially,

00:28:20.734 --> 00:28:23.801
for all the stolen works
of art of the Nazis

00:28:23.801 --> 00:28:26.767
from great collectors in Paris.

00:28:26.767 --> 00:28:29.167
And tens of thousands
of works of art

00:28:29.167 --> 00:28:30.534
were brought to this museum.

00:28:30.534 --> 00:28:32.934
They were photographed.
They were cataloged.

00:28:32.934 --> 00:28:34.801
They were inventoried,

00:28:34.801 --> 00:28:36.400
and Rose Valland was there
watching this,

00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:38.167
day after day,
taking care of the building.

00:28:38.167 --> 00:28:39.801
The Nazis knew she was there,

00:28:39.801 --> 00:28:42.901
but they didn't realize
she understood German,

00:28:42.901 --> 00:28:46.467
and she would write down,
secretly, information

00:28:46.467 --> 00:28:48.200
about what works
she saw come in,

00:28:48.200 --> 00:28:51.234
where they came from,
who was interested in them,

00:28:51.234 --> 00:28:53.200
and she would write them
on scraps of paper,

00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:55.767
on envelopes,
hide them in her clothing,

00:28:55.767 --> 00:28:58.567
and ultimately
take them home with her,

00:28:58.567 --> 00:29:01.167
and that's where she appeared
to keep everything.

00:29:01.167 --> 00:29:03.667
There were several close calls
while she was there.

00:29:03.667 --> 00:29:05.133
A couple times she thought
she was going to be

00:29:05.133 --> 00:29:06.434
caught or killed.

00:29:06.434 --> 00:29:08.501
One time she was convinced
she was going to be,

00:29:08.501 --> 00:29:11.434
but every time
she managed very cleverly

00:29:11.434 --> 00:29:12.667
to kind of slough it off

00:29:12.667 --> 00:29:15.334
and make it sound like
it wasn't any big deal.

00:29:15.334 --> 00:29:19.367
And at the end of the War,
when the Nazis fled Paris,

00:29:19.367 --> 00:29:22.400
Rose Valland did have
this information,

00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:25.801
and while she did some work
with the French Resistance,

00:29:25.801 --> 00:29:28.000
she was concerned
about the problems

00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:29.701
in France with collaborators,

00:29:29.701 --> 00:29:33.667
or people that tell you
one thing and do something else.

00:29:33.667 --> 00:29:35.434
And so she kept
this information.

00:29:35.434 --> 00:29:38.801
She didn't want to give it
to everybody, and one of the --

00:29:38.801 --> 00:29:41.334
Well, her boss, really,
a man name Jacques Jaujard,

00:29:41.334 --> 00:29:43.868
encouraged her to meet with one
of the Monuments officers,

00:29:43.868 --> 00:29:47.968
a guy named Jim Rorimer,
and Rorimer loved France.

00:29:47.968 --> 00:29:49.934
He was great.

00:29:49.934 --> 00:29:51.968
He spoke French fluently,

00:29:51.968 --> 00:29:57.000
and this is a photo of
Jim Rorimer there on the right,

00:29:57.000 --> 00:29:59.601
and you can see
the character is played

00:29:59.601 --> 00:30:01.667
by Matt Damon in the film.

00:30:01.667 --> 00:30:04.100
We've changed the names,
which we've done

00:30:04.100 --> 00:30:06.100
because we wanted to make sure

00:30:06.100 --> 00:30:09.267
any of the modifications
to the story

00:30:09.267 --> 00:30:11.868
didn't cast anybody
in a negative light,

00:30:11.868 --> 00:30:14.567
so his character in the film
is James Granger,

00:30:14.567 --> 00:30:16.968
but you'll know it's
Jim Rorimer in real life.

00:30:16.968 --> 00:30:20.601
And so Rorimer,
he loves France so much,

00:30:20.601 --> 00:30:23.267
and he wants to know
what was Rose Valland knows.

00:30:23.267 --> 00:30:28.467
He flat-out asks her,
but Rose is in a position

00:30:28.467 --> 00:30:31.400
that she doesn't
trust him initially.

00:30:31.400 --> 00:30:33.868
She's not sure what
his motivations are,

00:30:33.868 --> 00:30:36.133
and so she guards
this information for months,

00:30:36.133 --> 00:30:39.234
and there's this dance,
in essence,

00:30:39.234 --> 00:30:41.467
between the two of them
where he's trying

00:30:41.467 --> 00:30:42.934
to get the information from her

00:30:42.934 --> 00:30:45.767
and she's trying to determine
that he's trustworthy,

00:30:45.767 --> 00:30:47.567
and in the final months
of the War,

00:30:47.567 --> 00:30:49.267
when Rorimer is ready
to go to Germany,

00:30:49.267 --> 00:30:54.167
Rose Valland turns over the list
of all the works of art

00:30:54.167 --> 00:30:55.734
and the maps of where she thinks

00:30:55.734 --> 00:30:58.033
these things have been
taken to in Germany,

00:30:58.033 --> 00:31:01.267
and that leads us to
the castle of Neuschwanstein.

00:31:01.267 --> 00:31:06.667
Rorimer goes into Germany
in early May 1945

00:31:06.667 --> 00:31:10.167
and goes to this
fairy-tale-looking castle

00:31:10.167 --> 00:31:16.267
that housed some
21,000 paintings, sculpture,

00:31:16.267 --> 00:31:18.734
tapestries, pieces of furniture,

00:31:18.734 --> 00:31:20.701
stolen from the great
collectors in France

00:31:20.701 --> 00:31:24.033
and the Nazi records that
Rose Valland thought were there,

00:31:24.033 --> 00:31:26.567
and he was able to do this
because of Rose Valland.

00:31:26.567 --> 00:31:29.167
She's just -- We can't say
enough good things about her.

00:31:29.167 --> 00:31:30.734
In fact, why don't
we show the photo

00:31:30.734 --> 00:31:32.901
of the castle of Neuschwanstein,
and lets run --

00:31:32.901 --> 00:31:36.267
we have some footage
that will let you see

00:31:36.267 --> 00:31:39.133
what it looked like in 1945
when Rorimer arrived.

00:31:41.968 --> 00:31:45.601
So this is the castle sitting up
on this hill in Neuschwanstein.

00:31:45.601 --> 00:31:47.100
It's about
an hour and a half west,

00:31:47.100 --> 00:31:50.100
southwest of Munich in Bavaria.

00:31:50.100 --> 00:31:51.901
That's Rorimer actually,
himself,

00:31:51.901 --> 00:31:53.133
holding that piece of jewelry.

00:31:53.133 --> 00:31:55.200
These are priceless pieces
of jewelry

00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:58.501
that a great collecting family,
the Rothschilds, own

00:31:58.501 --> 00:32:01.367
that were part of the loot
that was stolen by the Nazis.

00:32:01.367 --> 00:32:03.834
You'll see paintings
and other things

00:32:03.834 --> 00:32:06.167
that were carried
down the steps.

00:32:06.167 --> 00:32:09.567
This great serving platter,
made in silver,

00:32:09.567 --> 00:32:12.400
that had been in the Rothschild
family for a number of times.

00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:15.400
So it's a really horrific moment
for the Monuments officers.

00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:18.534
Elation, on the one hand, that
they find these things safe,

00:32:18.534 --> 00:32:20.934
but when they find the records

00:32:20.934 --> 00:32:24.634
indicating which objects
were stolen from which families,

00:32:24.634 --> 00:32:26.901
you know, there's
a very, very sad moment, too,

00:32:26.901 --> 00:32:28.300
because some of the families

00:32:28.300 --> 00:32:30.434
weren't around
to recover their things,

00:32:30.434 --> 00:32:33.968
and so many of the works of art
that they were able to find

00:32:33.968 --> 00:32:35.667
just represented
somewhat of a drop

00:32:35.667 --> 00:32:38.167
in the bucket of other things
that are still missing.

00:32:40.701 --> 00:32:42.868
-Okay, and, actually,
I've got a few more questions

00:32:42.868 --> 00:32:44.934
about the Monuments Men
themselves I want to get to

00:32:44.934 --> 00:32:48.367
before we actually discuss
the movies a little bit.

00:32:48.367 --> 00:32:50.334
-Well, why don't we talk about
George Stout?

00:32:50.334 --> 00:32:52.100
-Yeah. Sure. That's fine.
-We can go back over --

00:32:52.100 --> 00:32:54.234
So the guy who thought
of all this is this guy

00:32:54.234 --> 00:32:56.901
George Stout, who will be
George Clooney's character.

00:32:56.901 --> 00:33:00.734
Stout is much older than most
of the other Monuments Men.

00:33:00.734 --> 00:33:02.868
Their average age
was in their 40s,

00:33:02.868 --> 00:33:05.267
which is pretty old for
a soldier to be going to war.

00:33:05.267 --> 00:33:08.234
In fact, most of these guys
had families.

00:33:08.234 --> 00:33:09.834
They had kids at home,

00:33:09.834 --> 00:33:12.200
and they had every reason
to not go do this.

00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:14.367
They had great jobs,
but they felt

00:33:14.367 --> 00:33:15.934
they had an important
contribution

00:33:15.934 --> 00:33:19.634
to make to save these great
things that we enjoy today,

00:33:19.634 --> 00:33:21.934
and George Stout was so old,
he was 48,

00:33:21.934 --> 00:33:25.067
he had actually fought
at the end of World War I,

00:33:25.067 --> 00:33:26.467
and it was his idea.

00:33:26.467 --> 00:33:29.901
He was the pioneer in the
conservation of works of art.

00:33:29.901 --> 00:33:33.601
It was his idea that if we don't
try and protect these things

00:33:33.601 --> 00:33:35.033
when we go to war,

00:33:35.033 --> 00:33:37.434
then the new technologies,
the bombing technologies,

00:33:37.434 --> 00:33:39.834
are going to cause us
to destroy so many things.

00:33:39.834 --> 00:33:41.834
We're going to be
the goats of history.

00:33:41.834 --> 00:33:45.834
So Stout went to several
other museum directors,

00:33:45.834 --> 00:33:48.133
and they put together
some proposals

00:33:48.133 --> 00:33:50.901
and then lobbied the President
of the United States,

00:33:50.901 --> 00:33:52.968
who at the time
was Franklin Roosevelt,

00:33:52.968 --> 00:33:55.234
and argued that this was
an important cause

00:33:55.234 --> 00:33:56.534
and something the United States

00:33:56.534 --> 00:33:59.868
should make a dedicated force
to try and address.

00:33:59.868 --> 00:34:03.234
And President Roosevelt thought,

00:34:03.234 --> 00:34:04.734
"You know,
this is a really good idea,"

00:34:04.734 --> 00:34:08.100
but it took a long time, and it
took so long, a couple years,

00:34:08.100 --> 00:34:11.300
Stout kind of gave up on it
and figured there's no way

00:34:11.300 --> 00:34:13.234
that the government
will ever get organized

00:34:13.234 --> 00:34:14.767
to allow it to work.

00:34:14.767 --> 00:34:17.400
But much to his surprise,
the government did,

00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:19.701
and not only did they do that,
but then, of course,

00:34:19.701 --> 00:34:21.734
when the order
came from General Eisenhower,

00:34:21.734 --> 00:34:24.868
it really colored how Stout
looked at the whole effort

00:34:24.868 --> 00:34:27.601
going from feeling like
we should do it,

00:34:27.601 --> 00:34:29.968
but it's probably hopeless,
to believing

00:34:29.968 --> 00:34:34.467
that perhaps it was possible,
so you see --

00:34:34.467 --> 00:34:37.300
And here's really
a predominant reason why.

00:34:37.300 --> 00:34:41.267
Because General Eisenhower
in late 1943, in December '43,

00:34:41.267 --> 00:34:45.100
issues this historic order
that is, again, sent out

00:34:45.100 --> 00:34:48.834
before the Allied invasion
of Normandy

00:34:48.834 --> 00:34:52.033
about 5 months later,
and he says in this order

00:34:52.033 --> 00:34:54.267
that it's a responsibility
of all of his commanders

00:34:54.267 --> 00:34:55.868
to protect cultural treasures

00:34:55.868 --> 00:34:57.501
so much as war allows.

00:34:57.501 --> 00:34:59.667
He does go on to say
that to the extent

00:34:59.667 --> 00:35:02.834
that there's a work of art

00:35:02.834 --> 00:35:06.100
that is going to
cost someone's life,

00:35:06.100 --> 00:35:08.801
you know, he believes
that the lives count more,

00:35:08.801 --> 00:35:11.400
but he also makes the point
that too often times,

00:35:11.400 --> 00:35:13.033
that's an excuse of convenience,

00:35:13.033 --> 00:35:15.934
and he's going to hold all
of his commanders accountable,

00:35:15.934 --> 00:35:19.133
and so this is a terribly
important document to the story

00:35:19.133 --> 00:35:22.100
because now you have
the most unusual of things,

00:35:22.100 --> 00:35:24.801
a combat general fighting a war,

00:35:24.801 --> 00:35:28.501
trying to minimize damage
to cultural treasures.

00:35:28.501 --> 00:35:31.434
It's really
an extraordinary moment.

00:35:31.434 --> 00:35:33.167
-Okay, great.
Thank you, Robert.

00:35:33.167 --> 00:35:35.434
Okay, so the next few questions

00:35:35.434 --> 00:35:38.133
I have actually relate
to the art itself.

00:35:38.133 --> 00:35:40.934
We have
the Academy of Sacred Heart

00:35:40.934 --> 00:35:42.667
here in New Orleans, Louisiana.

00:35:42.667 --> 00:35:44.467
"I was wondering, after they get
to these salt mines,

00:35:44.467 --> 00:35:49.367
after they get to these castles
high up in the cliffs,

00:35:49.367 --> 00:35:52.467
was the art in good condition
by the time

00:35:52.467 --> 00:35:54.467
they got it all out of there?"

00:35:54.467 --> 00:35:57.234
And then related to that,
I have another question

00:35:57.234 --> 00:35:59.834
from students at Juvenile Hall.

00:35:59.834 --> 00:36:02.400
"The objects,
were they returned

00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:03.901
or where are they located now

00:36:03.901 --> 00:36:05.400
once they got them
all out of those places?"

00:36:05.400 --> 00:36:06.767
-Right.

00:36:06.767 --> 00:36:08.868
Well, let's look at the images
of the treasure hunt

00:36:08.868 --> 00:36:11.300
because you really get a chance
to see what this was like.

00:36:11.300 --> 00:36:14.467
You have to consider
that some of the salt mines,

00:36:14.467 --> 00:36:16.767
and they were sometimes
copper mines,

00:36:16.767 --> 00:36:19.667
sometimes they were
just caves, castles,

00:36:19.667 --> 00:36:22.100
some of the salt mines
and copper mines

00:36:22.100 --> 00:36:23.734
were horizontal mines.

00:36:23.734 --> 00:36:26.601
In other words, there's not
much elevation to it.

00:36:26.601 --> 00:36:29.534
You just walk in
and walk back several miles,

00:36:29.534 --> 00:36:31.100
and there are
all these tunnel chambers

00:36:31.100 --> 00:36:32.701
going in different directions,

00:36:32.701 --> 00:36:34.801
but a lot of times
they were vertical mines,

00:36:34.801 --> 00:36:36.868
and so they'd have to go
down in an elevator,

00:36:36.868 --> 00:36:41.133
into an elevator shaft
some 1,000 feet, 2,000 feet,

00:36:41.133 --> 00:36:44.501
and then it would open up into
these great expansive spaces.

00:36:44.501 --> 00:36:48.701
So the areas were ideal
for protection from bombing,

00:36:48.701 --> 00:36:53.868
obviously, but they varied
in the ability

00:36:53.868 --> 00:36:55.467
to properly protect
the works of art.

00:36:55.467 --> 00:36:58.434
The humidity was about 60%,

00:36:58.434 --> 00:37:00.801
which is actually very good
for works of art.

00:37:00.801 --> 00:37:02.934
It doesn't really matter
as much to canvases

00:37:02.934 --> 00:37:06.100
as it does to paintings
that are on wood or panel

00:37:06.100 --> 00:37:09.133
because that wood is
a living breathing object.

00:37:09.133 --> 00:37:11.367
It expands, and it contracts,

00:37:11.367 --> 00:37:14.567
and if it expands too much
because things are too dry,

00:37:14.567 --> 00:37:16.534
then the painting will crack,

00:37:16.534 --> 00:37:20.901
and so we see here
in this photograph

00:37:20.901 --> 00:37:25.000
one of the great paintings by
a painter named Edouard Manet,

00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:28.734
an early Impressionist
painter, artist.

00:37:28.734 --> 00:37:31.367
"In the Conservatory"
is the name of the painting

00:37:31.367 --> 00:37:33.234
that today can be seen
in Berlin,

00:37:33.234 --> 00:37:34.834
at one of the museums in Berlin.

00:37:34.834 --> 00:37:38.400
It was found in the salt mine
of Merkers by the Monuments Men,

00:37:38.400 --> 00:37:41.534
and it was returned to Germany
because the Monuments Men

00:37:41.534 --> 00:37:43.968
followed the policy
of General Eisenhower,

00:37:43.968 --> 00:37:48.701
which was that to the victors
do not belong the spoils of war.

00:37:48.701 --> 00:37:50.834
These things will be
taken back to the countries

00:37:50.834 --> 00:37:52.701
from which they were taken.

00:37:52.701 --> 00:37:55.100
Let's look at another image.

00:37:55.100 --> 00:37:59.100
This is General Eisenhower,
General Bradley on the left,

00:37:59.100 --> 00:38:02.033
General Patton
behind General Eisenhower.

00:38:02.033 --> 00:38:04.601
General Eddy is
somewhere in the background,

00:38:04.601 --> 00:38:07.567
all coming to this
salt mine in Merkers

00:38:07.567 --> 00:38:10.601
to see this discovery
of the gold bars

00:38:10.601 --> 00:38:11.667
and the number of paintings

00:38:11.667 --> 00:38:13.100
because it all sounded
so incredible.

00:38:13.100 --> 00:38:16.234
I think they were
probably doubtful about it.

00:38:16.234 --> 00:38:19.200
We have a photo,
as I mentioned before.

00:38:19.200 --> 00:38:21.701
It wasn't just works of art.

00:38:21.701 --> 00:38:23.467
Anything that could be stolen

00:38:23.467 --> 00:38:25.033
that was worth something
was stolen,

00:38:25.033 --> 00:38:27.133
and in this case,
this isn't stolen.

00:38:27.133 --> 00:38:28.467
These are coffins.

00:38:28.467 --> 00:38:30.300
There were four of them,
that contained

00:38:30.300 --> 00:38:33.100
some of the previous
leaders of Germany

00:38:33.100 --> 00:38:34.767
before Adolf Hitler's
rise to power,

00:38:34.767 --> 00:38:36.601
from the previous 2 centuries,

00:38:36.601 --> 00:38:38.601
and they were assembled
in this salt mine

00:38:38.601 --> 00:38:42.300
almost like a shrine
for the Reich

00:38:42.300 --> 00:38:46.667
that might be built out
of the destruction of the ashes,

00:38:46.667 --> 00:38:48.701
and it's a very eerie scene,

00:38:48.701 --> 00:38:51.133
but the Monuments officers
treated it with great respect.

00:38:51.133 --> 00:38:54.067
Their view was whether these
things are found in Germany,

00:38:54.067 --> 00:38:56.067
whether they belong
to Germany or not,

00:38:56.067 --> 00:38:58.701
the key is that they be
protected and safeguarded

00:38:58.701 --> 00:39:00.200
and taken care of.

00:39:00.200 --> 00:39:03.834
And so, fortuitously, they took
good care of these things.

00:39:03.834 --> 00:39:05.634
Now, this is really
an interesting photo

00:39:05.634 --> 00:39:09.100
because on the right you see
one of our Monuments officers

00:39:09.100 --> 00:39:11.367
who's still living,
Harry Ettlinger.

00:39:11.367 --> 00:39:14.067
Harry is 88 years old.

00:39:14.067 --> 00:39:15.467
He'll be 89 next month.

00:39:15.467 --> 00:39:18.501
He's in great shape,
fantastic guy.

00:39:18.501 --> 00:39:20.300
We've spent
a lot of time with him.

00:39:20.300 --> 00:39:23.300
In the center is a self-portrait
by Rembrandt,

00:39:23.300 --> 00:39:25.133
and it's one of many
self-portraits he painted,

00:39:25.133 --> 00:39:27.467
but this is a particularly fine

00:39:27.467 --> 00:39:30.467
and a great example
of his ability,

00:39:30.467 --> 00:39:34.300
and Harry Ettlinger
grew up in the town

00:39:34.300 --> 00:39:36.167
where this painting was housed.

00:39:36.167 --> 00:39:39.100
He was from a town
in Karlsruhe, Germany.

00:39:39.100 --> 00:39:42.934
So you may be asking, "What's
an American soldier doing in --

00:39:42.934 --> 00:39:46.267
What's a soldier in uniform
doing when he's born in Germany

00:39:46.267 --> 00:39:48.133
and he's got an
American uniform on?"

00:39:48.133 --> 00:39:54.467
Well, he was a Jew, and his
family was forced out of Germany

00:39:54.467 --> 00:39:57.367
before he was beyond
13 years old.

00:39:57.367 --> 00:39:59.067
I think he was about 12 or 13,

00:39:59.067 --> 00:40:02.734
and Harry had never been
able to see this painting

00:40:02.734 --> 00:40:04.467
in his hometown museum

00:40:04.467 --> 00:40:06.334
even though
it was only a block away

00:40:06.334 --> 00:40:09.100
because Jews had been
stripped of the rights

00:40:09.100 --> 00:40:11.934
to do any of these privileges
we take for granted,

00:40:11.934 --> 00:40:14.601
in particular
just going to the museum.

00:40:14.601 --> 00:40:18.434
So it was a great irony
that he would be discovering

00:40:18.434 --> 00:40:20.200
a work of art like this

00:40:20.200 --> 00:40:26.601
after having been to a place
that he couldn't go to,

00:40:26.601 --> 00:40:29.033
and then he finds
this painting several,

00:40:29.033 --> 00:40:31.367
you know, 6 years later
in a salt mine.

00:40:31.367 --> 00:40:32.701
I mean, what are
the chances of that?

00:40:32.701 --> 00:40:35.300
It's really amazing.

00:40:35.300 --> 00:40:37.067
This is a photo of
the castle of Neuschwanstein

00:40:37.067 --> 00:40:38.534
that we spoke about earlier.

00:40:38.534 --> 00:40:41.501
You see Monuments officer
Jim Rorimer,

00:40:41.501 --> 00:40:43.467
going to be played
by Matt Damon, as I said,

00:40:43.467 --> 00:40:45.567
standing there with
this little notepad in his hand

00:40:45.567 --> 00:40:48.334
at the top of the steps
watching some of these soldiers

00:40:48.334 --> 00:40:50.767
carry down some of the --
get this --

00:40:50.767 --> 00:40:56.434
21,000 stolen paintings,
sculpture,

00:40:56.434 --> 00:40:58.934
pieces of furniture,
religious objects

00:40:58.934 --> 00:41:02.334
that the Nazis had hidden there
in the castle of Neuschwanstein.

00:41:02.334 --> 00:41:06.734
So this was a very, very great
surprise and great discovery,

00:41:06.734 --> 00:41:07.734
and so, yes.

00:41:07.734 --> 00:41:09.133
These works of art
were returned,

00:41:09.133 --> 00:41:12.367
but it took 6 years
after the war.

00:41:12.367 --> 00:41:15.000
Those that were found
at the castle of Neuschwanstein

00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:16.501
were loaded onto trains,

00:41:16.501 --> 00:41:20.968
and essentially the Monuments
Men ran the theft in reverse.

00:41:20.968 --> 00:41:22.267
They knew where the things went.

00:41:22.267 --> 00:41:23.868
They went, "We're going
to go back to France.

00:41:23.868 --> 00:41:25.734
That's where
most of these things were."

00:41:25.734 --> 00:41:28.000
But a lot of the other
locations were more difficult

00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:29.367
because they had
things from France,

00:41:29.367 --> 00:41:31.434
from Holland, from Belgium,
from Poland

00:41:31.434 --> 00:41:35.234
all mixed together.
-All right.

00:41:35.234 --> 00:41:37.067
The next few questions
I see that are coming in

00:41:37.067 --> 00:41:38.434
are actually about the movie.

00:41:38.434 --> 00:41:40.000
-A-ha!

00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.501
-And so we have a few students
actually from Jenks High School.

00:41:44.501 --> 00:41:47.300
They were wondering,
"How closely does the movie

00:41:47.300 --> 00:41:49.767
follow the book,
in your opinion?"

00:41:49.767 --> 00:41:51.534
-Look, I think the movie
is fantastic,

00:41:51.534 --> 00:41:53.267
and I'm so excited
for everybody to see it,

00:41:53.267 --> 00:41:54.534
and I think all of you

00:41:54.534 --> 00:41:56.300
all are going to have
a great time enjoying it.

00:41:56.300 --> 00:41:57.601
I mean, the cast is amazing.

00:41:57.601 --> 00:42:00.133
I spent a lot of time working
with George Clooney

00:42:00.133 --> 00:42:02.701
and Grant Heslov on
the telling of the story,

00:42:02.701 --> 00:42:05.667
and at time there on the set
with the different actors.

00:42:05.667 --> 00:42:07.267
I mean, the people
that are in this film,

00:42:07.267 --> 00:42:09.033
you'll know all of them --
Cate Blanchett,

00:42:09.033 --> 00:42:12.234
Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin,
John Goodman,

00:42:12.234 --> 00:42:15.133
Matt Damon, Hugh Bonneville,

00:42:15.133 --> 00:42:17.501
for any fans out there
of "Downton Abbey,"

00:42:17.501 --> 00:42:21.200
and it's just a wonderful,
wonderful film.

00:42:21.200 --> 00:42:25.033
I believe that it respects
the integrity of the book.

00:42:25.033 --> 00:42:28.567
It tells the overarching story
that I've written about,

00:42:28.567 --> 00:42:30.334
the fact that
this was an American-

00:42:30.334 --> 00:42:31.868
and British-led operation,

00:42:31.868 --> 00:42:35.701
that it raises the issue that
Chrissy asked at the beginning,

00:42:35.701 --> 00:42:37.234
"Is art worth a life?"

00:42:37.234 --> 00:42:41.534
It certainly provides
some funny moments.

00:42:41.534 --> 00:42:43.601
Let's face it.
There is humor in war.

00:42:43.601 --> 00:42:46.634
This is how a lot of the people
survived the war,

00:42:46.634 --> 00:42:49.767
and, of course, having a bunch
of middle-aged scholars

00:42:49.767 --> 00:42:52.834
and academics put on a military
uniform to go into combat,

00:42:52.834 --> 00:42:54.968
that's got some
pretty funny moments to it

00:42:54.968 --> 00:42:58.000
as I was able to discover
in the course of reading

00:42:58.000 --> 00:43:01.000
these men and women's
letters home during the war.

00:43:01.000 --> 00:43:03.467
That was really
a key part of it.

00:43:03.467 --> 00:43:05.868
You're going to see some
incredible scenery,

00:43:05.868 --> 00:43:07.834
incredible scenes,
some great acting,

00:43:07.834 --> 00:43:11.000
a wonderful story,
the greatest theft in history,

00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:13.334
the greatest treasure hunt
in history

00:43:13.334 --> 00:43:15.834
and really some
of the experience

00:43:15.834 --> 00:43:19.868
that these men and women
had in their time in Europe.

00:43:19.868 --> 00:43:21.801
-All right, well, do you think
this would be a good time?

00:43:21.801 --> 00:43:23.734
We could maybe play...

00:43:23.734 --> 00:43:25.167
-Yeah!
I think we should do that.

00:43:25.167 --> 00:43:26.434
-...scenes from the film?

00:43:26.434 --> 00:43:29.234
-I've been able to bring
with me from Sony,

00:43:29.234 --> 00:43:33.701
the domestic studio

00:43:33.701 --> 00:43:36.601
that's produced the film,

00:43:36.601 --> 00:43:38.033
one of the clips.

00:43:38.033 --> 00:43:39.734
In fact, we've got one
that has a couple

00:43:39.734 --> 00:43:41.033
of interviews
with the actors,

00:43:41.033 --> 00:43:43.434
and George Clooney and Grant

00:43:43.434 --> 00:43:45.367
were eager
for everybody to see it,

00:43:45.367 --> 00:43:47.100
so we brought it here,
and we'll run it

00:43:47.100 --> 00:43:48.634
and give you all just a taste

00:43:48.634 --> 00:43:52.634
of what you're going to see
when you go to the film.

00:43:52.634 --> 00:43:55.234
-The Monuments Men
are a team of specialists

00:43:55.234 --> 00:43:59.834
who are sent to France to
retrieve art stolen by the Nazi.

00:43:59.834 --> 00:44:02.334
-They were men that were
far beyond the age

00:44:02.334 --> 00:44:05.167
that they were going to be
drafted into the war.

00:44:05.167 --> 00:44:07.300
-And not necessarily
being the type of people

00:44:07.300 --> 00:44:09.100
who you would think
of as soldiers.

00:44:09.100 --> 00:44:11.968
-The treasure that
we're after is this art,

00:44:11.968 --> 00:44:14.868
this thing that you can't
really put into words.

00:44:14.868 --> 00:44:16.801
-It has the power to move
you very deeply.

00:44:16.801 --> 00:44:18.300
-Are you a Catholic,
Lieutenant?

00:44:18.300 --> 00:44:20.834
-I am tonight.
-To go after that art

00:44:20.834 --> 00:44:24.234
and try to save it is
this incredibly noble endeavor.

00:44:24.234 --> 00:44:25.834
-Even today,
people are still trying

00:44:25.834 --> 00:44:29.467
to get it all back
to the rightful owners.

00:44:29.467 --> 00:44:31.868
-There's a race going on.

00:44:31.868 --> 00:44:34.434
-All hell is
breaking loose, here.

00:44:34.434 --> 00:44:37.634
-And part of the plot of this
film is Hitler's Nero Decree,

00:44:37.634 --> 00:44:40.000
which said that if anything
happened to him...

00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:42.801
-Everything that they had
stolen was to be destroyed.

00:44:42.801 --> 00:44:44.934
It's your responsibility now.

00:44:44.934 --> 00:44:46.133
-The war is winding down,

00:44:46.133 --> 00:44:48.400
and everyone is closing in
on Berlin.

00:44:48.400 --> 00:44:51.033
-Hitler is dead.

00:44:51.033 --> 00:44:54.167
-They were men who were spurred
on by a higher ideal,

00:44:54.167 --> 00:44:57.200
and all of those things
that we take for granted.

00:44:57.200 --> 00:44:59.567
They were asked to do
an impossible job.

00:44:59.567 --> 00:45:01.901
-It's a heist movie,
and it's a war movie,

00:45:01.901 --> 00:45:04.567
and ultimately
it's a movie about people

00:45:04.567 --> 00:45:06.634
who are willing to sacrifice

00:45:06.634 --> 00:45:10.534
everything to save what is the
very best of us, of humanity.

00:45:10.534 --> 00:45:12.801
-I'm so proud of what
we're doing here.

00:45:12.801 --> 00:45:14.100
-We want to make
an entertaining movie

00:45:14.100 --> 00:45:15.634
that takes you to a place
in World War II

00:45:15.634 --> 00:45:17.234
that you've never been before.

00:45:17.234 --> 00:45:21.567
-And it's so rare to do any
story that people don't know.

00:45:21.567 --> 00:45:24.968
-If you destroy an entire
people's culture,

00:45:24.968 --> 00:45:26.667
it's as if they never existed.

00:45:26.667 --> 00:45:28.801
-That's what Hitler wants.

00:45:28.801 --> 00:45:30.667
-And it's the thing
we can't allow.

00:45:30.667 --> 00:45:33.567
-Frank, we got to go!

00:45:33.567 --> 00:45:35.801
-To the Monuments Men.

00:45:56.334 --> 00:45:59.734
-So as you all can
really see from that video,

00:45:59.734 --> 00:46:01.834
what these men
and women sacrificed,

00:46:01.834 --> 00:46:06.334
they sacrificed their lives
and were truly passionate

00:46:06.334 --> 00:46:09.400
about finding all
of these looted materials

00:46:09.400 --> 00:46:13.300
and preventing destruction
of very famous buildings

00:46:13.300 --> 00:46:15.400
and artifacts all across Europe.

00:46:15.400 --> 00:46:18.267
So I guess my last question
for you, Robert,

00:46:18.267 --> 00:46:21.267
is what do you think the lasting
legacy is of this group?

00:46:21.267 --> 00:46:22.567
What kind of character traits

00:46:22.567 --> 00:46:24.400
made these Monuments Men
so successful

00:46:24.400 --> 00:46:29.634
in the face of tremendous odds
and a very daunting task?

00:46:29.634 --> 00:46:31.200
-Well, it's another
good question.

00:46:31.200 --> 00:46:34.000
I mean, there was certainly
this sense of shared sacrifice,

00:46:34.000 --> 00:46:36.000
that we were
all in this together

00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:37.667
and that these works
of art mattered.

00:46:37.667 --> 00:46:39.834
I mean, when we think about
how these things

00:46:39.834 --> 00:46:41.400
have ever survived
in the first place,

00:46:41.400 --> 00:46:42.934
I mean, there's
always been wars,

00:46:42.934 --> 00:46:46.167
and there's been bad guys out
there trying to steal things,

00:46:46.167 --> 00:46:49.434
but they've survived because
people in centuries past

00:46:49.434 --> 00:46:51.000
always believed
that they were important

00:46:51.000 --> 00:46:52.300
for future generations,

00:46:52.300 --> 00:46:55.267
and they made their effort
to try and protect them.

00:46:55.267 --> 00:46:57.634
Look, works of art are largely
like little kids.

00:46:57.634 --> 00:46:59.133
They can't take care
of themselves.

00:46:59.133 --> 00:47:03.801
They depend on all of us, and,
you know, we see today in Syria

00:47:03.801 --> 00:47:07.667
and other places works of art
that are under attack.

00:47:07.667 --> 00:47:09.534
These conflicts continue.

00:47:09.534 --> 00:47:10.934
They're never going to end,

00:47:10.934 --> 00:47:14.534
and so we have to figure out
ways to use tools of technology,

00:47:14.534 --> 00:47:16.133
and this is
such a great opportunity

00:47:16.133 --> 00:47:19.200
for you young people today
to get engaged.

00:47:19.200 --> 00:47:22.667
Here in Syria recently,
just last April,

00:47:22.667 --> 00:47:24.801
this great 10th-century minaret

00:47:24.801 --> 00:47:28.334
was deliberately destroyed
in part of their civil war,

00:47:28.334 --> 00:47:31.167
and it's something that we've
seen in Iraq and Afghanistan

00:47:31.167 --> 00:47:34.033
and, you know, we continue
to face this challenge.

00:47:34.033 --> 00:47:37.701
And so I believe the legacy
of the Monuments Men and Women

00:47:37.701 --> 00:47:40.868
shows us what can be done
when people work together

00:47:40.868 --> 00:47:43.300
and, of course, they didn't
have any technology then.

00:47:43.300 --> 00:47:45.000
They were hitchhiking
their way around Europe

00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:47.734
because the Army
didn't give them any vehicles.

00:47:47.734 --> 00:47:49.300
They had no cameras.

00:47:49.300 --> 00:47:52.133
They didn't have any
telecommunication equipment,

00:47:52.133 --> 00:47:54.567
walkie-talkies, radios
just to talk to each other.

00:47:54.567 --> 00:47:57.534
That was rare,
and yet they figured out a way

00:47:57.534 --> 00:48:00.634
to do this remarkable job.

00:48:00.634 --> 00:48:05.968
So I hope that this is a call
to action for people today

00:48:05.968 --> 00:48:10.334
to not only help us find so many
of these missing works of art

00:48:10.334 --> 00:48:12.567
by calling the toll-free number
I mentioned earlier,

00:48:12.567 --> 00:48:16.734
1-866-WWIIART,
W-W-I-I art,

00:48:16.734 --> 00:48:18.300
which you can learn
a lot more about

00:48:18.300 --> 00:48:21.200
by going to
themonumentsmenfoundation.org

00:48:21.200 --> 00:48:23.200
website,

00:48:23.200 --> 00:48:27.567
or also, those of you
that are considering careers,

00:48:27.567 --> 00:48:29.734
such an opportunity
going from to use

00:48:29.734 --> 00:48:32.167
these great skills
of technology,

00:48:32.167 --> 00:48:35.801
the tools of technology
that are out there

00:48:35.801 --> 00:48:37.267
being used in other areas.

00:48:37.267 --> 00:48:40.834
How do we use those to go
where it's not safe for soldiers

00:48:40.834 --> 00:48:42.267
to go to record

00:48:42.267 --> 00:48:46.834
and document not only the theft
and damage of works of art

00:48:46.834 --> 00:48:49.767
but also the people
that are responsible for it

00:48:49.767 --> 00:48:51.033
so we can hold them accountable?

00:48:51.033 --> 00:48:54.667
We've got a great aerial photo
from Google Maps

00:48:54.667 --> 00:48:56.934
of a scene in Syria.

00:48:56.934 --> 00:49:01.968
This is a very tranquil setting,
it looks like, in 2011 of areas

00:49:01.968 --> 00:49:05.534
where there were important
archaeological objects,

00:49:05.534 --> 00:49:08.234
and then 1 year later,
in the middle of the civil war,

00:49:08.234 --> 00:49:10.701
you see how pockmarked the land

00:49:10.701 --> 00:49:13.200
is from people
doing illegal digs,

00:49:13.200 --> 00:49:18.901
going into these tombs, removing
objects, all quite illegally,

00:49:18.901 --> 00:49:21.667
and this is, of course,
one of the consequences of war,

00:49:21.667 --> 00:49:23.167
in this case a civil war.

00:49:23.167 --> 00:49:26.501
So how do we use drones
differently to try

00:49:26.501 --> 00:49:29.400
and do what's not safe
for soldiers to go in

00:49:29.400 --> 00:49:30.868
and do when they're not there?

00:49:30.868 --> 00:49:34.267
How do we take advantage of the
information that we've got today

00:49:34.267 --> 00:49:37.501
to let people know
that if you go

00:49:37.501 --> 00:49:40.801
and do these kinds of things
that at some point in time,

00:49:40.801 --> 00:49:42.267
maybe it's going to be
several years from now,

00:49:42.267 --> 00:49:45.067
someone is going to call you
and track you down

00:49:45.067 --> 00:49:46.868
and hold you accountable
for the damage

00:49:46.868 --> 00:49:49.434
that you've done to things
that belong to all of us?

00:49:49.434 --> 00:49:51.400
All these things
belong to all of us.

00:49:51.400 --> 00:49:54.067
So I hope you've had a great
visit here at the webinar.

00:49:54.067 --> 00:49:56.100
I appreciate Chrissy
hosting this

00:49:56.100 --> 00:49:58.200
and certainly
the National World War II Museum

00:49:58.200 --> 00:50:00.300
here in New Orleans
which is such an amazing place.

00:50:00.300 --> 00:50:01.801
I hope you have
a chance to visit.

00:50:01.801 --> 00:50:03.467
In fact, this morning,
we've announced

00:50:03.467 --> 00:50:05.267
that in the next couple of years

00:50:05.267 --> 00:50:07.434
there will be a permanent
exhibit of the Monuments Men.

00:50:07.434 --> 00:50:09.334
We're going to recreate
one of the salt mines.

00:50:09.334 --> 00:50:13.100
It's going to be cool, cool,
cool to come and see

00:50:13.100 --> 00:50:14.734
what these Monuments officers
went through,

00:50:14.734 --> 00:50:17.234
and I hope you'll have
a chance to see the film

00:50:17.234 --> 00:50:18.767
"The Monuments Men"
with George Clooney

00:50:18.767 --> 00:50:20.334
and these great actors.

00:50:20.334 --> 00:50:22.834
It's a really, really exciting
film, something for everybody,

00:50:22.834 --> 00:50:24.100
and I know you're all
going to enjoy it,

00:50:24.100 --> 00:50:26.734
and I appreciate you taking
time out of your day

00:50:26.734 --> 00:50:29.100
to hear more about
these remarkable men and women.

00:50:29.100 --> 00:50:30.701
-All right,
so what I'm going to do is,

00:50:30.701 --> 00:50:32.400
we'll close with,
actually, a couple polls.

00:50:32.400 --> 00:50:34.567
The first one is
what you've already seen.

00:50:34.567 --> 00:50:36.701
Let's see if we've changed
any minds here

00:50:36.701 --> 00:50:38.501
about if art is worth a life.

00:50:38.501 --> 00:50:40.133
So let me actually try
to make it a little bigger

00:50:40.133 --> 00:50:42.267
if my computer
wants to cooperate.

00:50:42.267 --> 00:50:44.234
Let's see here.

00:50:44.234 --> 00:50:47.300
Make it a little bigger, and I
want you guys to fill this out.

00:50:47.300 --> 00:50:50.667
So how do you feel now
after watching this program?

00:50:50.667 --> 00:50:52.000
Which one of these
do you most agree?

00:50:52.000 --> 00:50:55.267
And I'm going to
broadcast the results,

00:50:55.267 --> 00:50:57.100
and then I actually will end
with a second poll.

00:50:57.100 --> 00:50:59.534
I'll bring that up
in 1 second about --

00:50:59.534 --> 00:51:01.367
I'm actually curious.

00:51:01.367 --> 00:51:03.200
How many of you out there
will see the film?

00:51:03.200 --> 00:51:05.601
So I've got
a second poll for that.

00:51:05.601 --> 00:51:08.000
It looks like I, as you can see
at the broadcast results,

00:51:08.000 --> 00:51:10.234
we have a lot of people
now answering

00:51:10.234 --> 00:51:13.133
A, "Fighting for art
is worth risking one's life."

00:51:13.133 --> 00:51:14.367
Wow, awesome.

00:51:14.367 --> 00:51:17.067
And while I'm bringing up
the other poll,

00:51:17.067 --> 00:51:20.200
I want you guys to give Robert
a virtual round of applause,

00:51:20.200 --> 00:51:23.000
and you can actually do that on
here which is very interesting.

00:51:23.000 --> 00:51:24.601
You see that little hand
raising button?

00:51:24.601 --> 00:51:26.100
Well, if you click
underneath that,

00:51:26.100 --> 00:51:28.734
there is an applaud button,

00:51:28.734 --> 00:51:31.567
so we're going to see
a lot of people raising hands

00:51:31.567 --> 00:51:32.968
and applause, so...

00:51:32.968 --> 00:51:34.501
And here's
the second poll question

00:51:34.501 --> 00:51:35.901
that I'm bringing up right here,

00:51:35.901 --> 00:51:39.133
and hopefully we'll make
that bigger in 1 second, too.

00:51:39.133 --> 00:51:41.667
It's, "How many of you
will actually see the film?"

00:51:41.667 --> 00:51:44.467
which opens
on on February 7th.

00:51:44.467 --> 00:51:46.067
So, oh, look, Robert.

00:51:46.067 --> 00:51:48.734
We got 100% so far.

00:51:48.734 --> 00:51:50.601
-Well, I'm going to tell
George Clooney that,

00:51:50.601 --> 00:51:53.100
because I know he's going to be
really happy to hear that,

00:51:53.100 --> 00:51:56.067
and I'll see John Goodman this
evening here in New Orleans,

00:51:56.067 --> 00:51:57.834
and I'm sure
he'll be flattered, too.

00:51:57.834 --> 00:52:00.467
-Wonderful, and so what
I wanted to actually close with

00:52:00.467 --> 00:52:03.501
is just actually go
to another area here.

00:52:03.501 --> 00:52:06.000
You'll see things will be
switching around a little bit

00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:07.701
with some closing reminders.

00:52:07.701 --> 00:52:10.534
Robert mentioned
a lot of great helpful websites,

00:52:10.534 --> 00:52:11.834
and actually you can find links

00:52:11.834 --> 00:52:14.267
to those websites
right below us,

00:52:14.267 --> 00:52:17.133
and you can see that Monuments
Men web links right there.

00:52:17.133 --> 00:52:20.267
We have the educational website
for the feature film.

00:52:20.267 --> 00:52:23.200
We have the official site
of the actual "Monuments Men"

00:52:23.200 --> 00:52:26.767
feature film on there, as well,
the Monuments Men Foundation,

00:52:26.767 --> 00:52:29.734
the documentary film site
for "The Rape of Europa"

00:52:29.734 --> 00:52:32.734
and actually two assets
that you can find here,

00:52:32.734 --> 00:52:36.067
your link, you have lectures
from a few years ago

00:52:36.067 --> 00:52:39.234
and our full oral history
of Harry Ettlinger,

00:52:39.234 --> 00:52:41.801
one of the few remaining
Monuments Men.

00:52:41.801 --> 00:52:43.467
Teachers, there's a couple
little reminders

00:52:43.467 --> 00:52:44.868
next to us, as well,

00:52:44.868 --> 00:52:47.067
so you can see the Calling
All Teachers e-newsletter.

00:52:47.067 --> 00:52:48.834
If you want to sign up,
that's where you go,

00:52:48.834 --> 00:52:52.067
and you find out information
here in our education department

00:52:52.067 --> 00:52:54.667
and what we're doing,
and I also wanted to announce

00:52:54.667 --> 00:52:58.434
our next webinar is happening
in a couple months, March 27th,

00:52:58.434 --> 00:53:01.033
that's also a Thursday
at noon, Central Time,

00:53:01.033 --> 00:53:04.067
and it'll be about high school
yearbooks during World War II.

00:53:04.067 --> 00:53:06.934
We're launching a new site
for students and teachers

00:53:06.934 --> 00:53:11.300
all examining
high school yearbooks.