[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 6, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7195-S7196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 223--RECOGNIZING THE EFFORTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE 
  MEMBERS OF THE MONUMENTS, FINE ARTS, AND ARCHIVES PROGRAM UNDER THE 
  CIVIL AFFAIRS AND MILITARY GOVERNMENT SECTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES 
ARMED FORCES DURING AND FOLLOWING WORLD WAR II WHO WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR 
THE PRESERVATION, PROTECTION, AND RESTITUTION OF ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL 
          TREASURES IN COUNTRIES OCCUPIED BY THE ALLIED ARMIES

  Mr. INHOFE (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Hutchison, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. 
Snowe, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Stevens, Mr. 
Lieberman, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following resolution; which 
was:

                              S. Res. 223

       Whereas the United States Government established the 
     American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of 
     Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas in 1943 to 
     promote and coordinate the protection and salvage of works of 
     art and cultural and historical monuments and records in 
     countries occupied by Allied armies during World War II;
       Whereas the American Commission for the Protection and 
     Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas is 
     also known as the Roberts Commission, in honor of its 
     chairman, Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts;
       Whereas, in connection with the establishment of the 
     Roberts Commission, the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives 
     program (MFAA) was established under the Civil Affairs and 
     Military Government Sections of the United States Armed 
     Forces;
       Whereas the establishment of the Roberts Commission and the 
     MFAA provided an example for other countries, working in 
     conjunction with the United States, to develop similar 
     programs, and more than 100 foreign MFAA personnel, 
     representing at least seventeen countries, contributed to 
     this international effort;
       Whereas the MFAA was comprised of both men and women, 
     commissioned officers and civilians, who were appointed or 
     volunteered to serve as representatives of the Roberts 
     Commission and as the official guardians of some of the 
     world's greatest artistic and cultural treasures;
       Whereas members of the MFAA, called the ``Monuments Men'', 
     often joined frontline military forces and some even lost 
     their lives in combat during World War II;
       Whereas, during World War II and for years following the 
     Allied victory, members of the MFAA worked tirelessly to 
     locate, identify, catalogue, restore, and repatriate 
     priceless works of art and irreplaceable cultural artifacts, 
     including masterpieces by Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, 
     and Vermeer, that had been stolen or sequestered by the Axis 
     powers;
       Whereas the heroic actions of the MFAA in saving priceless 
     works of art and irreplaceable cultural artifacts for future 
     generations cannot be overstated, and set a moral precedent 
     and established standards, practices, and procedures for the 
     preservation, protection, and restitution of artistic and 
     cultural treasures in future armed conflicts;
       Whereas members of the MFAA went on to become renowned 
     directors and curators of preeminent international cultural 
     institutions, including the National Gallery of Art, the 
     Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the 
     Toledo Museum of Art, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, as 
     well as professors at institutions of higher education, 
     including Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton 
     University, New York University, Williams College, and 
     Columbia University;
       Whereas other members of the MFAA were founders, 
     presidents, and members of associations such as the New York 
     City Ballet, the American Association of Museums, the 
     American Association of Museum Directors, the Archaeological 
     Institute of America, the Society of Architectural 
     Historians, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the 
     National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National 
     Endowment for the Arts, as well as respected artists, 
     architects, musicians, and archivists; and
       Whereas members of the MFAA have never been collectively 
     honored for their service and contributions to humanity, and 
     they are deserving of the utmost acknowledgment, gratitude, 
     and recognition, in particular the 12 known Monuments Men who 
     are still alive: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the men and women who served in the 
     Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA) under the 
     Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the United 
     States Armed Forces for their heroic role in the 
     preservation, protection, and restitution of monuments, works 
     of art, and other artifacts of inestimable cultural 
     importance in Europe and Asia during and following World War 
     II;
       (2) recognizes that without their dedication and service, 
     many more of the world's artistic and historic treasures 
     would have been destroyed or lost forever amidst the chaos 
     and destruction of World War II;
       (3) acknowledges that the detailed catalogues, 
     documentation, inventories, and photographs developed and 
     compiled by MFAA personnel during and following World War II 
     have made and continue to make possible the restitution of 
     stolen works of art to their rightful owners; and
       (4) commends and extols the members of the MFAA for 
     establishing a precedent for action to protect cultural 
     property in the event of armed conflict, and by their action 
     setting a standard not just for one country, but for people 
     of all nations to acknowledge and uphold.

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a resolution 
honoring the efforts and contributions of the members of the Monuments, 
Fine Arts, and Archives Program under the Civil Affairs and Military 
Government Sections of the U.S. Armed Forces during and following World 
War II. This group, known as the ``Monuments Men,'' was responsible for 
the preservation, protection, and restitution of priceless artistic, 
and cultural treasures in countries occupied by the Allied armies.
  In 1938, the Nazi party in Germany began a wide-scale confiscation of 
millions of pieces of artwork and other cultural artifacts throughout 
continental Europe, including masterpieces by Leonardo Da Vinci, 
Michelangelo, and Rembrandt. Much of the art was confiscated from Nazi-
conquered Europe, as well as from Jewish private collectors who were 
forced to relinquish their property rights.
  In 1944, with the Allied armies rolling across Europe, the Monuments 
Men began their work. They were given the

[[Page S7196]]

charge of protecting the cultural treasures of Europe, which proved to 
be a daunting task, given that they, at times, had to protect these 
treasures from friend as well as foe. Their first task was to prevent 
Allied forces in the field from damaging national monuments and from 
damaging or looting public or private collections. In the spring of 
1945, the Monuments Men began discovering large caches of Nazi-
confiscated artwork and artifacts. They began the arduous process of 
cataloging and repatriating the artwork and artifacts to their rightful 
owners.
  I would like to take this moment to recognize the efforts of a couple 
of my fellow Oklahomans who served as Monuments Men. CPT Walter Johan 
Huchthausen served as a Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives officer with 
the U.S. 9th Army in Europe. Captain Huchthausen was born in Perry, OK 
on December 19, 1904. He earned a master of architecture degree from 
Harvard University in 1930 and went on to become the director of the 
Department of Design at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts before 
joining the faculty at the University of Minnesota. Captain Huchthausen 
enlisted in 1942. He served as a Monuments Man in France and Germany 
before he was tragically killed by gunfire in April of 1945 while 
working to salvage an altarpiece in a German town.
  Technical SGT Horace V. Apgar of Oklahoma City was transferred to the 
Monuments Men in Frankfurt in 1945, where he was involved in the 
retrieval and restitution of Jewish property. He was then assigned to 
the Rothschild home in Paris, which was being used as a depository for 
recovered Jewish artifacts stolen from synagogues and temples. Mr. 
Apgar returned home after the war and sought a career in music. He 
graduated from the Eastman School of Music at the University of 
Rochester in 1949 served as a bass teacher at the University of 
Oklahoma from 1951 to 1955. He went on to a 56-year career with the 
Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra.
  It is in large part due to the tireless efforts of Captain 
Huchthausen, Sergeant Apgar, and the many brave American men and women 
who served as Monuments Men that over 5 million works of art and other 
cultural treasures were protected and preserved following the collapse 
of the Nazi regime.

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