Monuments Men in Pictures: Preserving Humanity’s Cultural Heritage during World War II (1943–1945)

The Heroes in the Shadows: How a Group of Art Experts Saved Europe’s Cultural Heritage from the Nazis

During World War II, the Nazis plundered countless works of art from museums, galleries, and private collections. Their goal was to build a gigantic “Führer Museum” and simultaneously erase the cultural identities of entire nations. But a small group of courageous men and women stood up against this madness—the so-called Monuments Men .

In 1943, the Allies established the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section (MFAA). This unit consisted of historians, art connoisseurs, architects, archivists, and restorers. Their mission: to protect endangered cultural assets, locate stolen works, and return them to their rightful owners.

Over 300 specialists from various countries worked together in this unique team. Often risking their lives, they moved through contested areas, searching churches, castles, and mines for hidden treasures.

The 90th Division of the 3rd US Army discovered this cache of Reichsbank assets, SS loot, and paintings from a Berlin museum that had been brought from Berlin to a salt mine in Merkers, Germany.