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.
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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.
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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.
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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.