Remarkable heroes and five of them were still living. Why do you move to florence . I was in Oil Exploration business and had some success over 15 years. I was 39 years old id wanted something more meaningful but it was difficult to carve out space to break free of the gravitational pull. My son was two years old so it seemed like a great opportunity to take a break to learn about the noise i was always interested and here we are. What was your first career . The second was wheel . I did play in some qualifying tournaments it had a success but i could not be great so i had to let go of it. But tell me in ways it could not foresee at the time. That was difficult to let go of my identity. Soviet was the great enthusiasm to take time off. Where did you grow up . Oak park illinois but most of my time in dallas. My parents for from oklahoma. I was educated there and went to several colleges. When we interested in art and history . Of was always interested in history but my parents could take us on trips to expose us to museums i was always interested even though i did not understand anything about them. Spending some time walking through churches but as a started to travel more as adults and once i became very i had more interest but not to understand through reading books but ive learned best of side of the classroom. I very tactile so i hired a professor to take to be around the city one day a week to show me these things through for eyes to learn in a very cayennes on way and it was a great experience why churches appeared to be the same my is one more important. Europe was my a classroom and florence was my school. Robert edsel is there a dollar figure you could put on stolen by the nazis . Guest as high as you want to make it. Do we approach 1 trillion . The be. Paintings today some selling at 200 million. What would happen if to vinci had came onto the market . Maybe 300 million see you can get at 1 billion very quickly did you think with the salt mine they were finding 20,000 or 10,000 paging sort ancient Library Books so the numbers are staggering. How much is still missing . Guest this is an exercise of numbers. People like to deal with numbers that are so large that i think it makes them harder for the public to understand. I say hundreds of thousands of cultural objects. Nazis stole anything with value tapestries, paintings, docum ents and in poland alone they have 60,000 works of art on their missing data base. So a few hundred thousand objects it is not a random number but some people accused of millions but it is hard. We will begin with a call from new york. Caller good morning. I read. [inaudible] talking about lincoln buying degenerate art so can you speak to the circumstances . It may have been germany or sweden. Can you tell me . One of the great things i have learned is to speak passionately about the things i know about and be quick to say i dont know that. I cannot help you with that. Did the nazis take great care or could they care less . Guest you have a of a range in the earlier days when they were in control there was some degree of care that was confiscated intended for hitlers collection but when the mass removal from peoples homes in the east and the homes are destroyed, and no. There is not care there. In the west of the jews apartments are due to then they are piled up. Is a paradox of lot of it did survive because as of being stored in the salt mines they survived if they might not have otherwise so there is mindy paradox in this story. Maryland. Caller they key for the great work you have done. With the National Gallery of art i believe they currently have an exhibit timed to coincide with the movie. Over 15 years i have been troubled with the National Gallery of art because it turns back in the 1980s they put on an exhibition of art works on loan that included some works that were looted by the nazis it was a collection of art of impressionist paintings by the swiss industrialist. Once it came out the National Gallery never addressed it progress has never apologized. It would just bury its head in the sand like a fosterage. Now they claim theyre so concerned but are you familiar with that issue . To you have suggestions to put pressure that could be applied to have them addressed the issue . We got the point. Guest i dont know about that collection i have a little bit of knowledge but this is a long time ago. The issue of providence that is a fancy way to save who owned a previously now since the late 1990s led to see any point to go back to school in the gallery of what happened in debt 80s. I dont think that what happened today and we should focus calling for word to solve the problems we can fix and that is the work of the Monuments Men foundation is for. By history students at alcorn state are assigned to watch the movie. What do you think of it . Guest it is fantastic in their respective is a huge lead challenging subjects not tackled before on the big screen that the major story we have not seen on the big screen. It is a daunting task to task the officers never really were in one place together so there had to be adjustments but i think there was a good job of capturing the overarching principles. People though it was american and british led not done before, the historic orders by eisenhower to pave the way, millions of cultural objects were found found, they risk their lives during combat, is a noble up the story and some will leave no way if they want to know the details it is in my book. Or your web site. The foundation has a tremendous amount of interracial in an end to biographies of the men and women from 13 nations. Lot of photographs some are in rescuing to vinci but also the other box and information we could not include. To events both at the white house this past week. You were there for a screening . We were invited George Clooney was nice enough to include me in their youngest officer who is 88 years old and was invited to a private screening at the white house with president obama who made a point to had time for a visit and it was a great opportunity for harry. One of the few people who has been to the white house twice under to sitting president s and then the can we prepare for bush. The next call is from South Carolina this is from martha . Caller hello peter. Because i went out and bought his book years ago and did you have stolen my thunder peter with a price list and the cost and the value of the arch. It is priceless just as life and the movie portrays that. I imagine there were more lives lost. My question robert edsel, a thank you for your works since the age of 39, i had a feeling the movie was like a Fraternity Party atmosphere even though the location of the artwork was superb i am glad this story is out. I want to know the rest of the story about madonna. That is the only sculpture to leave italy during his lifetime and it was one of the focused pieces september 1944. Such an illustrated situation human nature with the allies that the nazis when it turned and run but still things have not been acquired yet. There is a group of nazis that go to the church to wrap up of madonna in a mattress that was this a mattress that the Monuments Men found in the salt mine the following year. It is taken out and ultimately taken to the assaults by but one of the key pieces british officer was trying to find 20 was killed. Texas. Good morning you were on with author robert edsel. Caller i cannot wait to see your movie but i saw a movie years ago with Burt Lancaster called the train and it was all about them trying to get the stolen art from the germans. Was that based on the same thing that you talk about . Guest a much smaller story. A fine film based of the great french heroine is a booker a book. And she is a remarkable woman we have recently translated a wonderful book written about her that is out there. Concord and worked under the United States states the eyes of the nazis. Shes making secret notes and digging through trash cans, ultimately, she turned over to an officer really a treasure map to go find these things. The story thats told in the train, very, very briefly, i mean, in a matter of a few minutes, introduces rose, and then it really becomes a teteatete between the French Resistance and this fictitious german character trying to get the works of art on the last train back into germany. In fact, this last train never leaves paris, it just goes in a circle around and around the center of the city. But, you know, its a fun movie, and it certainly raises a few of the same issues. Host prior to the german invasion of these european nations, did they take steps to protect their art . Guest yeah, and, in fact, i try and mention this in all three of my books, saving italy, i spend a lot of tomb talking about the art superintendents and volunteers in all these cities. In saving italy the book really begins to one scene we loaned to the film about the near destruction of the last supper by allied bombing, and had it not been for the protective measures taken in 1940 just on the whatif chance that a bomb might fall somewhere near the dining hall containing this, then we wouldnt have any da vinci code. Wed all know about the last supper from art u. S. Ly books because it would have been obliterated. A ball blasts out the east wall of the dining hall, and the paintings exposed to the elements for almost two years, only saved because there was scaffolding and poles bracing the wall. So this is a miraculous near disaster that this masterpiece of western civilization was almost lost by bombing on our side. Host what about the louvre . Was it pretty much and did it stay intact . Guest well, the building did, but the french artificials knowing knowing the invasion of poland bins begins, they start the evacuation of works of art taken to french chateaus out in the countryside. This was the standard procedure. It happened in florence, removal of works to some 38 tuscan villas. The great concern was bombing by the allies destroying the museums or other Cultural Treasures inside the cities. The problem gets stickier once the allied invasions begin in particular in italy and sicily and nap ls. Because in the case of florence, the Museum Officials didnt have the vehicles. The nazis had confiscated them. They couldnt get them from the villas back into the city, and there they are safe from allied bombing, but in the middle of ground warfare. It was a perilous situation, and ultimately, the removal by iss forces taking these things on the basis they were supposedly safeguarding them. Host susan is calling from springfield, missouri. Youre on booktv on cspan2. Caller hi. Thank you guys for being there. My question is about, like, christian art . Forgive me, i havent had a chance to read your book, so im new to all this. But i just wonder especially in iraq and places where there might be more religious, you know, type p artifacts and so forth, if they were destroyed on purpose because of obvious reasons that people dont want the world to know that anything else exists besides what they believe in. I just wondered if your research has, you know, turned up anything about those kinds of issues. Guest well, one of the things that the Monuments Men foundation is doing, were, of course, trying to raise worldwide visibility. Thats why the George Clooney film is so important, because no book can accomplish what this film can do. Its going to be opening in some 100 countries around the world. So thats a great chance for people not only to know the story of the Monuments Men, but also to know the heroic role that the United Statesled effort played in saving some of these things. This isnt religious art versus christian art, islamic art, its not really segregated that way. Adolf hitler and the nazis feel anything of value, sometimes jewish collectors who collected the great things that were available to be acquired. The monuments officer, likewise, rescued whatever had been stolen or head the attempt to do that. In iraq the great tragedy for our country was followed in the aftermath of the looting of the National Museum and the other Cultural Treasures there. We did not make protection of the Cultural Treasures if iraq in 2003 in iraq in 2003 following the invasion a target. We paid a horrible price in the court of world opinion, and its one of the works of the Monuments Men foundation to reestablish that high standard. We need, ultimately, the president of the United States whos our ceo of the enterprise, of the country, to come forward and restate what general eisenhower did protection and respect for the works of art of other people is important, and thats the policy of the United States. Host brian perry tweets in to you, mr. Edsel, the Monuments Men movie was fun, but is there an indepth documentary in the works . Guest were having discussions about that. We worked with National Geographic and fox to make a onehour documentary which show inside conjunction with the are release of the film and also in europe. Its, obviously, a big story. Its, you know, up until this point in time it hasnt been told for a variety of reasons. Its taken years of my effort to get these three books written and more books forthcoming in the future. So i hope that well have a chance to do that. I hope what we see is a feature film on saving italy. Its a remarkable story, and its a very different kind of problem, because italy is a partner of nazi germany the first three years of the or war. And it presents all sorts of different problems and a completely different cast of officers. Host we just showed the covers, but i want to ask about saving italy. What is this photograph on the cover . Guest its a remarkable photograph we found pretty well into our research of the david, certainly one of the three most well known works of art. And you think about the story between the mona lisa and the louvre which is moved on fife separate occasions five separate occasions, the last supper and david. I mean, the three most famous works of art are at ground zero of the story. The david couldnt be moved out of the academia because of the size and weight, so the local art officials entombed it in brick. The great concern that the ceiling would collapse and destroy the david. Dean keller is arriving into the academia, hes standing there watching as the local officials are removing the brick to expose the david for the first time in republican three years. Host and on the cover of rescuing da vinci guest yeah, here again we see another masterpiece by Leonardo Da Vinci that is, you know, its funny, we think of photo ops as a modernday invention. Heres a great example of 1945 1946, actually, the monuments officers are standing in front of a train outdoors holding in this painting with their bare hands. Theyve removed it from the crate. Its one painting on one train car of about 26 train cars filled with stolen works of art from poland, and theyre returning it. Theyve just now arrived in warsaw to get this painting back at the charter rescue museum. Host matthew in tacoma, washington, you are on with robert edsel. Caller hi. I was wondering if you found much out about the porcelain factories, the great porcelain factories in your book, in france especially and then also the [inaudible] factories in germany, if much of that was destroyed . Also i was wondering who your favorite tennis player is and who you prefer, fellowederer or nadal . Guest what was the last part . Host didnt catch the last part. But if you want to answer the tennis question, more importantly. Guest with the things that are missing today, we have to deal in the done text of whats portable and whats not and also degree of fragility. Works of art that were porcelain, so many of those things destroyed, coins melted. If a painting rolled up weighed 200 pounds, you know, one persons not lugging that around. So most of the things were going to find are going to be things which a soldier could take home as a souvenir, put under their jacket, ship home. Those are the things i think well see more and more of. Favorite tennis player ever, rob labor, a great friend. Really remarkable guy. Host he was a lefty. Guest he was. He was a role model for me about the importance of hard work and discipline. Host glenn, waldwick, new jersey. Please go ahead with your question or comment. Caller hi. Thank you, cspan, for having me on. In the last segment, there was discussion of creating a commission perhaps to oversee the issues of the politics and all the other problems that occur when [inaudible] what are your thoughts, mr. Edsel, on the creation of such a commission and who should be on it, how should it function with authority, should it be given that kind of thing . Ill hang up for your answer, thank you. Guest well, that a presumes i agree we should have one without, you know, before getting into all the details and how it should be set up. You know, this idea of having kind of a Master Commission to oversee some of the restitution issues has been kicked around. Its a complicated issue. I dont know that thats the best solution. What i believe is the approach we should be taking is to raise awareness about this, because i think this story has been stuck with art historians and some scholars, and it hasnt been available to the broad public in a way thats been accessible to everybody. And ive tried to write about it the way i learned about it. I didnt have any background or training on it, but i spent a lot of years studying it, a lot of years interviewing some 17 monuments officers and maybe a hundred of their kids over the course of time, finding letters theyd written home during the war, many of which wed not seen. I reallity that the court of Public Opinion, thats the most powerful court in the world, and that is the one that i think is going to carry the day in reestablishing the standards. Because people in government and in the state department k defense department, they Pay Attention to what voters know. Voters go see movie, read books and, of course, legislators read books too. And i think as we understand more about story, i believe tha