Being regarded as key figures. In preserving cultural artifacts. The Wilson Center hosted this event. Its a little under 90 minutes. In recent years, scholars and the general public have learned about the exploits of american curators and Museum Officials in world war ii whos mission was to save the endangered art treasures in europe. I would note the work of the nicholas, robert edsalls remarkable efforts to recover the Monuments Foundation and of course the 2014 George Clooney film. All curators should want to be played by George Clooney. The Monuments Men and i should add monuments women, are compelling figures. They are celebrated for the role they played in wartime. Absent from this story of individual heroism is any analysis and assessment of the way that culture and knowledge mattered in world war ii. How winning the war became a reliant upon the accumulation of knowledge and included a commitment to the protection of culture. How the objectives of the American Government, the m