![]() ![]() Key to this noble effort were art historians serving in the ranks of the American, British, and Canadian forces, including more than a dozen young Princetonians. Ernest DeWald *14 *16 is at far right, and Lt. It was a first in military history.Ībove, “Monuments Men” examine relics of the Holy Roman regalia upon their return to Vienna in 1946. “Inevitably, in the path of our advance will be found historical monuments and cultural centers which symbolize to the world all that we are fighting to preserve” - and so he ordered his commanders to safeguard those treasures as their armies swept violently forward. Dwight Eisenhower told his commanders just before D-Day in a historic message signaling an enlightened new attitude. “Shortly we will be fighting our way across the continent of Europe in battles designed to preserve our civilization,” Gen. Culture had suffered grievously in countless wars of the past why should this, the most horrific conflict in all human history, be any different?īut it was different: The Allies took remarkable measures to protect threatened art. Many observers expected to see heartrending destruction of art and architectural treasures as bombs rained from the sky and soldiers ransacked and looted. Late in World War II, the Allies prepared for their bloody invasion of Fortress Europe. ![]()
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