Today's post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives in College Park. In looking at some boxes of the Reference Collection of the Departmental Records Branch of the Army’s Office of the Adjutant General (Record Group 407), I stumbled upon two boxes labeled “Protection of Monuments.” They carried the designation “Document … Continue reading The American Defense, Harvard Group’s Committee on the Protection of Monuments
Category: World War II
Karl Kress: Photographer for the ERR and the Third U.S. Army MFA&A Special Evacuation Team
Today's post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives in College Park, MD. On June 14, 1945 1st Lt. Stephen Kovalyak, a Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives (MFA&A) officer, came to Alt Aussee, Austria with Lt. George Stout, USNR, another MFA&A officer, with the 12th Army Group, to evacuate the looted … Continue reading Karl Kress: Photographer for the ERR and the Third U.S. Army MFA&A Special Evacuation Team
Monuments Man Thomas Carr Howe, Jr. and the Evacuation and Restitution of European Cultural Treasures
Today’s post, written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, is the next installment in an ongoing series of posts on real-life Monuments Men. The movie, The Monuments Men, has focused great attention on the Monuments Men (and women) and their work during and after World War II. Of course the movie cannot tell the story of the over … Continue reading Monuments Man Thomas Carr Howe, Jr. and the Evacuation and Restitution of European Cultural Treasures
Terence A. Coyne: An Office of Strategic Services’ Art Looting Investigation Unit Monuments Man
Today’s post, written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, is the next installment in an ongoing series of posts on real-life Monuments Men. The movie, The Monuments Men, has focused great attention on the Monuments Men (and women) and their work during and after World War II. Of course the movie cannot tell the story of the over … Continue reading Terence A. Coyne: An Office of Strategic Services’ Art Looting Investigation Unit Monuments Man
Monuments Man Charles H. Sawyer, part II: Double Duty for the Roberts Commission and the OSS
Today's post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, senior archivist at the National Archives in College Park, MD. The movie, The Monuments Men, has focused great attention on the Monuments Men (and women) and their work during and after World War II. Of course the movie cannot tell the story of the over 300 individuals involved … Continue reading Monuments Man Charles H. Sawyer, part II: Double Duty for the Roberts Commission and the OSS
Monuments Man Charles H. Sawyer, part I: Member of the U.S Army, the Office of Strategic Services, and the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas
Today’s post, written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, is the next installment in an ongoing series of posts on real-life Monuments Men. The movie, The Monuments Men, has focused great attention on the Monuments Men (and women) and their work during and after World War II. Of course the movie cannot tell the story of the over … Continue reading Monuments Man Charles H. Sawyer, part I: Member of the U.S Army, the Office of Strategic Services, and the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas
Before She Became The Ardelia Hall of the Department of State, Part II: Miss Hall as Consultant with the Department of State
Today's post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives in College Park, MD. On October 6, 1945, the day Ardelia Hall was terminated from the Strategic Services Unit, she met with Charles B. Sawyer regarding the translation of Japanese laws regarding arts and monuments and concerning the formation of a working … Continue reading Before She Became The Ardelia Hall of the Department of State, Part II: Miss Hall as Consultant with the Department of State
Before She Became The Ardelia Hall of the Department of State, Part I: Miss Hall and the Office of Strategic Services
Today's post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives in College Park, MD. Anyone studying World War II and postwar issues regarding cultural property knows the name Ardelia Hall, either because they know of her work as Monuments and Fine Arts adviser at the Department of State from 1946 to 1962 and/or … Continue reading Before She Became The Ardelia Hall of the Department of State, Part I: Miss Hall and the Office of Strategic Services
Wintergarden by Manet was NOT Looted by the Nazis
Today's post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. In 1912 David C. Preyer wrote in his book The Art of the Berlin Galleries that the then Royal National Gallery did not until 1896 make any effort to add foreign works to its collection. In taking the reader through … Continue reading Wintergarden by Manet was NOT Looted by the Nazis
D + 10 Years: The 1954 Celebration of the World War II Invasion of Normandy
Today's post is written by David Langbart, Archivist at the National Archives in College Park. This past weekend saw the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy during World War II. The invasion was memorably portrayed in the movie The Longest Day (1962) and in episodes of the mini-series “Band of Brothers.” By all accounts, this … Continue reading D + 10 Years: The 1954 Celebration of the World War II Invasion of Normandy