Perla De La Cruz
English 110
Mr. Lewenstein
18 Jan. 2022
Monuments Men and Women: The Search for Stolen Art
In the movie, The Monuments Men, Frank Stokes, the leader of one of the groups from Roberts Commission (also known as Monuments Men) is having a conversation with Colonel Wegner. Wegner is a German who is accused of running a Jewish concentration camp. Frank Stokes asks the colonel if the rumor is true, and he denies it. Frank then lights a smoke and tells Colonel Wegner it's "my first cigarette." Afterwards he tells him when he returns home he'll see his picture on the paper with his name and how his crimes got him hanged. Only then, he will think about his first cigarette and Colonels "stupid look" on his face and never think of him again. I think the cigarette has a deeper symbolic meaning. The cigarette stands for power. At this point in the film, Frank Stokes and his men have one-upped Hitler and the Nazis who were ordered to destroyed and steal art and the war is almost over. Colonel Wegner thinks he is in a higher position to Frank Stokes and tries to talk down to him. He is instantly brought down and looks weak and terrified at the end of the conversation. Throughout history of WWll, every Nazi, every colonel, lieutenant, etc. has thought they were powerful and unstoppable until a force fought against them. For Hitler, the historical oppression he caused was about power, and in the end he lost it all.
Why would anyone risk their lives to save materialistic art pieces? During WW2, Hitler ordered his men to rob Jewish homes and destroy their memories. He also demanded they steal paintings, statues, sculptures, etc. from famous or local museums for his own personal museum, Führermuseum. Hundreds of men and women joined the cause and have risked their lives for these collections and to this day are returning each item back to its home. These men and women joined the war to rescue, restore, and return the stolen art from museums and Jewish homes for the preservation of Jewish culture in Germany and the history of art in Europe.
David D'Arcy's article "True Story Behind 'The Monuments Men' and Nazi Art Looting" presens factual information on the Monuments Men and the art that was stolen. D'Arcy talks about Robert Edsel who wrote books and a documentary about these men and their honorable work. The action takes place during WW2 between 1933 and 1945 and after the Nazis surrendered. The location of the Monuments Men work was Germany. The men were distributed through Europe:Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany. The details important to the setting are that about 5 million objects were returned to their countries and owners." This was happening between 1933 to 1945. The biggest and most famous art recovery was about 12,000 art pieces found in one apartment belonging to the son of an art dealer. The article detail the amount of military these men had. Some had beenin previous wars, for others WW2 was their first war, and other Monuments Men only joined for the recovery of art and just barely passed basic training.
Courage is the characteristic of strength in the face of pain or grief. Someone who has courage willfully confronts their fears or pain for others. They tend to do for others what they wouldn't do for themselves. To have courage is not just to overcome a task you fear, to have courage is not just to show a brave face or about being strong. Courage is a force that willingly drives you into danger for a purpose higher than yourself. In the film, The Monuments Men, seven men have joined WW2 in order to search, protect, and return art. These men have the most basic amount of military training and courageously entered a war. They did it for a selfless reason, that is what characterizes these men as courageous. In the film, Claire Simone, Rose Valland in reality, is a French spy. She put her life at risk daily for the purpose of the preservation of art. She would write down the name of the stolen art piece and the location of where it would later be stored. Her role was vital in The Monuments Men. She risked her life so that cultural heritage would not become extinct. She wasn't only looking out for her country, but also for the rest of Europe. In a specific scene, Donald Jefferies was shot dead in his chest region while protecting Michelangelo's Bruges Madonna. I truly believe the men in the film and in real life show true and honest traits of courage for their selfless and brave acts. I do wish more women would have been portrayed in life, as in real life many women were involved with the logistics of the commission.
Figure 1. George Stout (center) during a removal of Michelangelo’s “Bruges Madonna” in a salt mine at Aussee. Steve Kocalyak (fat left) was a key assistant to Stout during complex move.
George Leslie Stout was an extraordinary historian and soldier. He was very considerate of cultures from other heritages.A struggle George Stout had within himself is that he had a passion for art and the preservation of art.His external conflict is that he joined the second world war to protect art and its preservation to the best of his ability. He and a few others risked their lives daily to protect cultural heritages. Georges must have considered the possibility of having lost his life as well as his friends/comrades. He must have considered the possibility of having found the majority of stolen art, or found it already destroyed before dealing with the stolen artifacts. The climax of his story would be when he was leading his group of theMonuments Men near the frontlines where they rescued about 5 million pieces of artwork stolen by Hitler and his henchmen.George Stout behaved the way he did because he was one of the leaders and co-founder of American Defense Harvard Group, also known as the Monument Men, historically later referred to as Roberts Commission. He was interested in creating this group because when he first volunteered for the first World War, he noticed how no one really cared about the cultural art/architecture that was beginning to be destroyed and afterwards studied artin college going on to form Roberts Commission and join WW2. Stout’s strengths were braveness, selflessness, and honor. He portrayed these strengths when he risked his life almost daily to protect. history, which others pegged as unimportant or ridiculous.
Figure 2. George Stokes, portrayed by George Clooney, during a mission report with state senate. The Monuments Men, 2014.
Many people hear Jan Van Eyck, Michelangelo, or Da Vinci, and think about how amazing these artists were in their prime and their beautiful work which is appreciated worldwide. Generations born after WW2 may have not even ever learned these names if it weren't for the men and women in Roberts Commission which saved one of their most famous pieces. During the war, Hitler wanted to open his own museum called the Fuhrermeuseum. Heordered his men to steal famous paintings, statues, architecture, etc for it. He also ordered for anything which represents Jews to be destroyed. If for any reason during his rule, he dies or loses, all the art should be torched, no survivors. Reading about the Monuments Men and watching the film leaves you wondering, "why?" Why would these men and women risk their life for materialistic "stuff"? Was joining such a cruel war worth it?
In the ending scene of The Monuments Men, George Stout was giving his report on their mission. During his report he mentioned the men he lost, the art that was lost, the items they found. By analyzing the look on their faces, they look as if they would rather be anywhere else. They seem uninterested like they could care less. When the secretary speaks to ask Stout a question, his tone sounded snarky or condescending and then truly questioning. He was asked by one of the secretaries of state, "You think it was worth it? You think thirty years from now, anyone is going to remember that these men died, for a piece of art?" During their commission these women and men are able to recover Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, Michelangelo's Madonna of Bruges, and Edouard Manet's In the Conservatory. These four art pieces are the most famous art paintings that the average person knows about. These are just a few paintings, not including the jewelry, architecture, sculptures, tapestries, books, plates, furniture that this group of people found and returned. Imagine the world today without these art pieces. There are still items that are lost to this day! Thanks to themen and women in the monuments commission, children, teenagers, adults, and elders could go to museums and galleries and see these collections. We get the chance to physically see the history in the art with every stroke of paint, or bronze fade, and sculpt. We get to learn of these artists and their work in classrooms or online. We get to learn the history, their stories, their struggles, their work. These artists go down in history because of their art thanks to the Monuments Men. The men and women of Robert's Commission risked their lives for history. They risked their lives because they were art enthusiasts or study art. They knew the importance the architect, the bridges, the sculptures, the paintings, etc would have on society and our growth of culture. So in the end I say yes, their mission was worth it. Without art, humans would develop even slower, especially in a life without the beautiful Mona Lisa.
Figure 3. The Monuments Men 2014 movie poster.
The seven men you see on the movie poster are the main men involved in the foundation Monuments Men. These men were involved in the locating and re-disruption of stolen art from Hitler and his henchmen. These men with only basic military training went into war zones, bomb infested zones for the purpose of saving cultural heritages. In the background of the poster, you can see three military planes and a few military issued cars. In the movie these vehicles are everywhere, some with Nazi symbols, stars, stripes, etc. The letters on the movie title are broken and run down. You can tell there are three men that are prospectively closer and there are four men at a farther distance in the frame. This symbolizes their importance in the movie. Each man played an equally important role in the real war, but Hollywood exaggerated their role. You can see smoke in the background behind the men which is foreshadowing an awful event later in the movie. My attention was instantly stolen by the planes in the distance with smoke in the sky. I noticed there are markings on the wings of the planes. The "n" could be a symbol for Nazis or just a branding of the planes. I also noticed the big white blocked "L4 '' in the plane closest to the men. It gives me the idea that that might have played a significance in the movie. The creator of this poster wants the watcher to get only a fraction of the vibe to set the tone for the movie. The creator had each man with a different expression which casually gives an idea of the feel or mood of the characters. The creator definitely used a pathos approach. The expressions on the characters' faces rubbed a feeling of seriousness and determination. The only thing missing from this poster is Rose Valland. Her role in real life as well as the movie is super important. I wished she would have been included in this poster, but it is a perfect unexpected surprise when first watching. It is an almost perfect movie poster. The facial expressions of each man, the smoke in the background around the planes, the detailed characteristics of the vehicles. Even the matching uniforms give the idea of a mission oriented military movie. The author's thesis is that although George Clooney directed a movie with a beautiful meaning and heart, he has directed better movies. The author is trying to say that although the movie has gone a different route by trying to "make a moral or philosophical case" with millions of people already dead, the visuals are awful (Seitz). I summarize his idea that the film is notHollywood enough for him. After reading the article, I do not see things the same way as the author. I think he wanted to see more romance, drama, and action in the movie. He did not care about history. Seitz claims the film would have been better if there was "a bit of cinematic flair" (Ebert). The intended audience for this review are movie fanatics. People who watch movies and want reviews about whether or not a movie has enough juicy drama to keep their attention throughout the entire film. I did detect some bias in this review when he compared The Monuments Men to The Train. He acknowledged my previous claim about him only acting in a rama filled film when he states its "going for something different" (Seitz). The author concludes his argument by pointing out that there are certain points in the film where an action is intriguing. He gives two examples of a haunting and charming moment. He characterized it as forgetful. He does not provide any conclusive evidence to support his review. It seems mostly opinionated. I may be biased, as I enjoyed the movie and have been holding a magnifying glass under the real "Monuments Men'' and women. I took a look at the reviews of the movie review, and there are quite a lot others who agree to disagree with Seitz, and believe the movie was agood movie. There was a greater focus on the history rather than the overrated drama Hollywood must add to every true story for views.
Works Cited
D'Arcy D. True story behind 'the monuments men'. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Feb 19 2014. Available from: https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/true-story-behind-monuments-men/docview/2 262928881/se-2?accountid=38876
Mashberg, T. (2014, Feb 02). Not all monuments men were men: [arts and leisure desk]. New York Times Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/not-all-monuments-men-were/docview/14933 39069/se-2?accountid=38876
News Hour, P. B. S. (2014, February 12). Telling the story of 'monuments men,' soldiers who helped save Western Civilization's treasures. PBS. Retrieved January 20, 2022, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/telling-story-monuments-men-soldiers-helped-sa ve-western-civilizations-treasures
Nollen, D. (2021, February 5). Documentary on Iowa-born World War II monuments men leader George Stout now online. Log in. Retrieved January 20, 2022, fromhttps://www.thegazette.com/art/documentary-on-iowa-born-world-war-ii-monuments -men-leader-george-stout-now-online/
The Monuments Men. Directed by George Clooney, 20th Century Fox, 2014
Seitz, Matt Zoller. “The Monuments Men Movie Review (2014): Roger Ebert.” Movie Review (2014) | Roger Ebert,https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-monuments-men-2014.
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students take the time to introduce themselves through their reading.
Instead of the brief mention of their hobbies and pets, they reflect on
a memorable literary experience. You might not judge a book by its cover, but here we learn
what is often hidden inside of others.