The Monuments Men: Saving the world’s works of art from war and Nazis

I bought this book almost a year ago because it was cheap, along with 10 other novels. The main reason I got it was because I’m a WWII fan and I’ve heard about the movie, but at the time did not know there was a book. Of course, that was enough for me. Didn’t know what to expect really. And in the end, it certainly is a good story. Maybe it is not as well written as Band of Brothers (again, the book, not the series), but it enlightens an issue about the war that isn’t widely known and that it has great significance to the art and cultural world. 

The Monuments Men tells the story of a reduced group of men and women (at least one) who against all odds had the mission to save every artwork, monument, historical place, from the destruction of war and from the hands of the Nazis. Surely, as we are talking about a non fiction book, it has some aggregate value which goes beyond any other writing quality. For instance, imagine that without the heroic deeds of these people, many of the works of art we all know today and take for granted wouldn’t even exist any more. 

Also, this novel by Robert M. Edsel is a great way to give a much needed recognition to those who put on top of their shoulders the fate of world art history and its preservation, leaving behind quiet and well paid jobs, their civilian careers, lovers and family. Instead, they went to war, without guns, thinking of that famous greater good. Some of them died. 

Take this quote from the book to understand my point: "It was a good group, [Stout] had to admit. A group he himself might have chosen, if given the chance. Only eleven men, unfortunately, but eleven good men. Not trained conservators, but the next best thing: scholars, artists, museum curators, and architects, men who worked for a living, not ordered others to work. They were established professionals. Almost all had wives, and most had children. They were old enough to understand what was at stake, and perhaps young enough to survive the rigors of the battlefield”.

But who were the founding members of this group? Ronald Edmund Balfour, a ‘gentleman scholar’ from England; Harry Ettlinger, a German Jew that emigrated to the US; Walker Hancock, a prestigious sculptor and teacher from St. Louis, Missouri, US; Walter Huchthausen, described by all accounts as one of the most promising architects of his generation, from Perry, Oklahoma, US; Jacques Jaujard, from France, the director of the French Fine art administration who saved the Louvre museum; Lincoln Kirstein, a writer, philantropist and cultural figure from New York City, co-founder of the New York City Ballet; Robert Posey, a farmer and architect from Morris, Alabama, US; James Rorimer, a museum curator and former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from Cleveland, Ohio, US; George Stout, an art specialist, museum director and founder of the first US laboratory to study art conservation, from Winterset, Iowa; and last but not least, Rose Valland, from France, an art historian, member of the French Resistance, and one of the most decorated women in French military history.

However, as I mentioned before, the book ends up leaving the feeling that it could have been better. Way better. But it really depends on how you set your mind to read it. If you take it as a non fiction book about military history, art, culture and as a chance to learn about something that did happen and that it isn’t your typical WWII story (as I did, by the way), you are in for a treat. If you take it as a historical novel mixed with an examination of the real adventures, as I think the author tried to approach it, well it is not so great. Mainly because it has so many characters that it fails to depict each individual personalities and feelings, except maybe from Stout and Rorimer. Something that I guess Edsel intended to do. But he is no Stephen King, clearly.

All things considered, Monuments Men is a book worth reading. It has definitely earned its place in my WWII bookshelf. It may not be written in a way that engages you in like Band of Brothers, by Stephen E. Ambrose. Nevertheless, the story and history itself that is represented in the book is enough to satisfy those of us who like WWII stories. And, also, for the general reader, it gives you something to wonder: what would have happened if some of the finest works of art have been lost or destroyed? Food (or art) for thought. 

My rating for the book: 4 stars. Very good. (We can discuss it over a beer, though)

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