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Photos
Return of Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine to Poland
Monuments Man Lt. Frank P. Albright, Polish Liaison Officer Maj. Karol Estreicher, Monuments Man Capt. Everett Parker Lesley, and Pfc. Joe D. Espinosa, guard with the 34th Field Artillery Battalion, pose with Leonard da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine upon its return to Poland in April 1946.
Hungarian Crown Jewels
Stewart Leonard, director of the Munich Central Collecting Point from July 1947 to November 1948, inspects the Hungarian Crown Jewels. Gift of Diana Wright, The Monuments Men Foundation Collection, The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA.
Neuschwanstein Castle
Military personnel lower a crate down the stairs of Neuschwanstein Castle near Füssen, Germany. Gift of Sarah Rae, The Monuments Men Foundation Collection, The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA.
Bruges Madonna
Removal of priceless works of art from the salt mine at Altaussee posed problems for Monuments Men George Stout unlike any every contemplated. Stout constructed a pulley to lift Michelangelo’s Bruges Madonna onto the salt cart to begin its long trip home to Belgium. Altaussee, Austria, July 10, 1945. Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.
Monuments Men
Monuments Men Lt. James Rorimer (left) and Capt. Walter Farmer (right). Gift of Margaret Farmer Planton, The Monuments Men Foundation Collection, The National World War II Museum, New Orleans, LA.
Rorimer Neuschwanstein Steps
Monuments Man Capt. James Rorimer oversees the evacuation of artwork from Neuschwanstein Castle by American military personnel near Füssen, Germany. Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.
Capt. Walter Huchthausen
One of two last known portraits of Monuments Man Capt. Walter Huchthausen, who was killed in action in April 1945. Photo courtesy of the Frieda Gumn Collection, The Monuments Men Foundation.
Torah Scroll Recovery
In a corner of the basement of the Race Institute were hundreds of Torah scrolls piled 10 feet high. American Chaplain Samuel Blinder examines a Sefer Torah as a he begins the overwhelming task of sorting and inspecting. July 1945. Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.
Bust of Nefertiti
The bust of Nefertiti was evacuated from the Neues Museum in Berlin and discovered in the Merkers salt mine in March 1945. It was sent to the Weisbaden Collecting Point until it was returned to West Berlin. Gift of Margaret Farmer Planton, The Monuments Men Foundation Collection, The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA.
Lt. Fred Hartt
Portrait of Monuments Men Lt. Fred Hartt. Gift of Walter Gleason, The Monuments Men Foundation Collection, The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA.