Recently I read an amazing article in the February issue of the Simithsonian magazine about the Monuments Men – soldiers assigned to reclaim the treasures stolen by the Reich during WWII.
“Ettlinger’s Nuremberg assignment evaporated without explanation, and he was plunged into a thoroughly unexpected sort of war, waged deep in Germany’s salt mines, castles, abandoned factories and empty museums, where he served with the “Monuments Men,” a tiny band of 350 art historians, museum curators, professors and other unsung soldiers and sailors of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section. Their task, begun with the uncertain peace of May 1945, was to find, secure and return the millions of pieces of art, sculpture, books, jewelry, furniture, tapestries and other cultural treasures looted, lost or displaced by seven years of upheaval.”
Check out the article online: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/monumental-mission.html
There’s a book (Rescuing Da Vinci) and a movie on the topic (The Rape of Europa) that I hope to catch in the near future.