Includes bibliographical references (p. [447]-454) and index.
Contents:
The mission. Out of Germany ; Hitler's dream ; The call to arms ; A dull and empty world ; Leptis magna ; The first campaign ; Monte Cassino ; Monuments, fine arts, and archives ; The task -- Northern Europe. Winning respect ; A meeting in the field ; Michaelangelo's Madonna ; The cathedral and the masterpiece ; Van Eyck's Mystic Lamb ; James Rorimer visits the Louvre ; Entering Germany ; A field trip ; Tapestry ; Christmas wishes ; The Madonna of La Gleize ; The train ; The Bulge ; Champagne -- Germany. A German Jew in the U.S. Army ; Coming through the battle ; The new monuments man ; George Stout with his maps ; Art on the move ; Two turning points ; Hitler's Nero decree ; First army across the Rhine ; Treasure map ; Frustration ; Inside the mountain ; Lost ; A week to remember -- The void. Salt ; Horror ; The Gauleiter ; The battered mine ; Last birthday ; Plans ; The noose ; Discoveries ; The noose tightens ; The race ; Final days ; The translator ; The sound of music ; End of the road -- The aftermath. Understanding Altaussee ; Evacuation ; The journey home ; Heroes of civilization -- What is your connection to the story?
Summary:
This is the previously untold story of a little-known WWII Allied division whose mission was to track down European art and treasures that had been looted by the Nazis at Hitler's command. These unlikely heroes, mostly middle-aged family men, walked away from successful careers into the epicenter of the war risking and some losing their lives. They included: Ronald Edmund Balfour, Henry Ettlinger, Walker Hancock, Walter Huchthausen, Jacques Jaujard, Lincoln Kirstein, Robert Posey, James J. Rorimer, George Stout, and Rose Valland. -- Provided by the publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.