i'm very interested in religion. so, you know, a great three yes -- curiousness. they think that all of us are fundamentalist and not at all, i do know. people -- very exciting things are happening in the world. people are very, very open. they want to, you know, things to make sense. they very generously allow me to help in that conversation >> host: we have been talking on booktv with author karen armstrong. this is book tv on c-span2 in london. for more information on these and other interviews from london, visit booktv.org.

up next on book tv, robert edsel reports on the rescue and protection of historic pieces of art in italy during world

war ii. the nazi army who occupied italy in 1943 listed numerous historical artifacts and artwork that date from the bus on the edge of the roman empire. this is about one hour and 20 minutes. [applause] >> thank you very much for that warm welcome. while i really appreciate it and to beth antonette the middle of my friends in philadelphia it is a wonderful time to be back in philadelphia at the museum of art, one of our nation's great, great treasures. how fortunate for you all to be members of this place. "saving italy" is a magnificent story 19 honored to share with all of you and it begins for me in 1977. i moved with my family to florence and i was walking over

the bridge one day the only bridge not destroyed by the nazis as they fled in august, 1944. i wondered how was it in the most destructive conflict in history. so many of the great works of art and cultural treasures survived and who were the people who saved them? that has led me into this remarkable journey some 15 years later the last ten years of my life and trying to make sure everyone knows this great american story. and i want to introduce you to "saving italy." ♪

♪ ♪ our story begins with a failed artist and architect, adolf hitler, who had applied to the academy of arts and was rejected. art became a propaganda and as

he rose to power. the story begins in may of 1948 which was the first state visit to italy beginning in rome they worked with mazzoleni accompanying them and visited to look at this wonderful sculptor. after four or five days they made it to florence. they only had ten hours but more than two of them were allocated to visit the great museums of florence, following the introduction of the furor alongside of mussolini. they worked through the corridors and they crossed over then made it to the museum. if hitler felt like an artist walking among artists having the chance to see masterpieces that he had only seen in books or studied in galleries. he was fascinated with all these

things and it showed him the article of what was possible concerning his dream of building a museum in his hometown. it was going to be known as the fuehrer using them. he made these drawings and sketches and the period falling 1948 and ultimately led to this model intending to rebuild his antiyour account and at the center would be a cultural museum. in september of 1939 with nazi germany's invasion of poland, museums closed. works of art were packed up and moved out side of the city's with an edge of allied bombings works that were evacuated with some 400 object speed this took place in 1941 following the blockade. in italy the works were moved on multiple locations into the castles in the countryside.

works that couldn't be moved such as the iconic michelangelo were in tune creating the scene of the silo with the adjacent slaves by michelangelo and the museum officials concerned that obama might land on top of the academia destroying the feeling they only could hope it would deflect the falling roof and say of the sculpture. of course leonardo da vinci's most important work in the last supper painted on the north wall in santa maria was protected with sandbags and held in place by the bases on side of wall pitted in fact it was realized in 43 when in the cultural center landed in the courtyard

and obliterated blowing out of the east wall of the dining hall over here on the right and leaving the last supper exposed to the elements behind the scaffolding. they could build a new roof and would be two years before they would arrive and began the effort to the removal of the sandbags and the scaffolding to determine whether one of the work of art would actually survive and stand. this was the same shortly after the bomb fell and you can see the sandbags here on the side of the scaffolding. the diagram provides an even more clearer perspective showing the sand bags on both sides of the north wall. the new dark times released a newspaper article letting everyone know that the group had

been formed to try to create a new kind of soldier charged with saving, not destroying and their official group name was monuments, fine art and archive section. the responsibility was to try to help the allied air commanders steer the bombing away from these cultural targets and avoid these close calls and other distractions. by the time they had boots on the ground they were charged with intention to temporary repairs to churches and monuments and other important structures and to avoid building by troops, and ultimately as they reached some of the cities that suffered looting by the nazis, they became defacto art detectives changing of the most important masterpieces with billions of dollars of the way down to the end of the war. this is an experiment involved in a group of men and women museum directors, curators and art historians, architect and

artists who volunteered for service. most all of these men and women have established careers and many have families. the average age was 40-years-old and about 70 percent when american and 30% british. they have every reason in the world to not volunteer from the military service. but they felt they had a contribution to make and they did volunteer. and they went into the combat and attached to the various armies attempting to work with them and the very first monuments officer was a classic professor from harvard called najaf and hammond who arrived in sicily some weeks after it had begun, and he was difficult of the difficulties of those experiments in the early stages. he was initially flowed to north africa because president roosevelt understood the war was proceeding at a pace faster than the monuments officers could be assembled and trained.

he thought he was going to become an officer from north africa to the only when he arrived there did they tell him you are getting ready to go to sicily. he made efforts to try to go to the library is to study up on what he was going to be seeing that the army intelligence prevented him from doing it because they were convinced they might have their hand picked so this was a kind of one step forward to the officers began with and they came in the months that followed one by one the monuments officers in the united states and from great britain assigned oftentimes without jeeps without transportation, without a staff. they didn't have cameras and when they did it arrive they didn't have filled in them but they had positions of great responsibility without the resources to do their job before. they were not intimidated, they work and resourceful and clever and very familiar with your up many of them having been schooled over there.

but by the time 1943 and arrived home of the mistakes and difficulties of trying to get the operation coordinated was the military resulted in the numerous requests of general eisenhower's chief of staff general marshall. general eisenhower mentioned this on december 29th and said it was the responsibility not just of his commander but all of the soldiers to protect cultural treasures so much as we're allowed. general eisenhower directive stated that if it comes down to the lives of our men or an object, the lives of the men killed more but he also pointed out oftentimes this is an excuse of convenience. this was the foundation for the work of the monuments and the felt finally that they had some legs underneath of their effort and the backing and the very first test of general eisenhower's border the first

major test came 45 days later in the battle that have drug on front and have and what last for another two and a half months with american and british forces convinced and german forces occupied this ancient casino and the decision was ultimately made out of the desire to try to mitigate the loss of life and the horrific casualties to try to force the germans that some commanders were lodged inside out. we learned after the battle that in fact the forces were not in sight. they were surrounding it. but many of the monuments officers agreed with this decision and hindsight because they felt it was sitting up there on the hill working the troops, and as i mentioned, the battle continued for another three months before the breakout occurred and the allied forces

were on the road to be drowned. there were enormous successes as a result of the coordination of the officers they would recognize this church it had been away from the train station where most people who visit florence r. dr.. they were determined to try to help troops pinned down on the beaches and attempted to knock out the yard in the center area. perhaps the most successful mission during world war ii you see the bridges less than a mile, less than half a mile away from where the bombing took

place by april and may of 1944 the monuments officers were in position, and it's through their experiences that i tell the story of saving every monuments officer who was a portrait painter and had studied in rome from 1926 to 1929 and the american academy of rome later that after that was a professor of art at yale and he left behind his wife and 3-year-old son, dino. keller was not only charged with this tremendous responsibility of being a the monuments officer for the u.s. army that he was also trying to be a dad from a long distance and understanding that his son couldn't read letters he put his artistic skills to work and started sending home drawings. ..

>> then advanced beyond the battle of montell casino north through around, north through siena and reached the hills, the tuscan hills outside the city of florence. the monuments officers' arrived to a terrific discovery, one that actually horrified them

with the news that this castle right outside florence housed from museums in florence that were there on grated leaning against the wall. they had been led to believe by a battalion officials when they arrived in rome that the works of art from florence had actually been moved back into the city out of the way of oncoming ground combat. they found out quickly that this was not the case. they set the alarm bells off. the handful of monuments officers' that there were at this time, only 20 or so, i gathered and attempted to get as many to florence and tuscany is the cut out of fear that more works of art might be looted or actually damaged in the combat. fred r. was there. by the time killer arrives it is too late for these works of art to be moved back into the city.

standing next to botticelli's primavera inside. just one of many of the hundreds of works of art in this one village alone. there were 38 other phyllis containing similar works of art that had been moved out of the city by the superintendent. german field marshals were determined to avoid making the mistakes he felt had been made in rome by hitler's order to not destroy it the bridges of room and flee north. and he was in the process of supervising the demolition charges that were being set on all the bridges and florence, trying to purvey the allied advance. and this was the scene. by the time the monuments officers', the u.s. fifth army, british eighth army arrived in florence, all of the bridges which on hitler's orders was not destroyed, although it was the

lesser of the important bridges. the most important, a bridge that is designed with the influence by michelangelo. hitler had been told that under this is a during 1938, that he would have nothing of it. he was convinced he knew better than the art historian sir were advising him. this was the important bridge and ordered that it not be destroyed. a problem that they faced was in an effort to avoid destroying the bridge they made a concentrated effort to destroy the access to the bridge on both ends. this is a drawing the areas in black areas that were demolished they looked like to of the great areas were severely damaged. cities see the upper center of the fun of. to survive. in an effort to avoid destroying it there was so much extra demolition charges placed in the evasive -- adjacent buildings and in particular the 13th,

14th, 15th century medieval towers that have for so many centuries to find the city of florence lost out of an effort to keep this bridge. and this was the scene. the ponte vecchio surviving. as you can see on the south side, on either side of the bridge, all the buildings simply were erased. changing the landscape of florence forever. the monuments officers', upon arriving in rome, had learned from officials that the works of art from the museum in naples at a place at the casino. in december 1943, january 1944 german troops in a much trumpeted and highly visible ceremony delivered the works of art, including this painting and another banning by pieter brueghel to rome in front of the

palazzo where you see miscellany standing on the balcony speaking and it was an effort on their part to show the world that german forces are not stealing works of art. they remove these things from the abbey knowing that the ground war was said there. there ever was to safeguard the works. there were cameras there the film this. ceremonies, wonderful words exchanged. because of the advancing more room officials did not have time at the moment to go through an inventory these works of art from the museums in naples which also included works from herculean and also from pompeii. by the time the monuments officers' arrived in japan at the deliberation, and inventory was taken. the monuments officers' in conjunction with the italian officials realize that 187 works of art were missing. in fact, they warned complete

sense. there have been a deliberate effort to open up many of these cases and select which works are going to be taken with different paintings in different cases not in the inventory, some of them hastily put back to your. so with disinformation, the monuments officers' said the first knowledge fifth of every there was a deliberate effort to steal works of art and this was the first significant that that there were looking to try and find. so being aware of this, the first person he attempts to find in florence is the superintendent of arts. he is a fascinating figure, an elderly man by will work to. he was a young man that played an important role during world war one in the protection of the cultural treasures of tuscany and also of the nation. in fact, here is a man who has already been through this drill once before. he had an interesting experience

in 1911 and 1912. some of you may know that leonardo da vinci's mona lisa was stolen in 1911 by an italian who was determined to repatriate this work of art is country. and brought back. in a sting operation which involved the pena was recovered. many of you have been to florence. the hotel where the work was actually found. and .. brought it. it was temporarily placed on exhibition before you company did back to december 1913. he told of this incredible story . the german art preservation officers that did appear on scene and late 1943. the germans policy toward our protection was to have our protection officers and countries that had been occupied italy was a complicated situation because for the first

three years of the war it was an ally of nazi germany, so there were no german our protection officers. and with the change of allegiance by german forces in september 1943, they asked -- that construction began including as the sun shall thereafter, the looting of the museum in naples. the fate of some many of the works of art in italy rested than upon the individual commanders. there were acts of burning, books, museum objects, paintings and drawings. and this news was conveyed. he mentioned an ss officer. head of the german protection are unit. there were some outstanding germans dollars that did try and do a good job protecting these works of art, but being an officer of the ss and also

having a background in art, he was someone that one of the allied officers after the war, after interrogating him referred to as a man who had one have this are dedicated to the protection of art, but another have dedicated to the ss. and he then proceeded to tell about the agreement that the italian foreign team officials that have with german officials that under no circumstances where these works of art from florentine museums that have been placed in the nearby villas , castles, the tuscan hills, were they to be removed without authorization. and yet they discovered that works had been removed. in fact, hundreds of works, including a sculpture. donatello's st. george. this wonderful piece by bellini. a painting by botticelli. and two works of art by the german painter so greatly admired by nazi party leaders,

hitler coveted these works of art during the 1938 and 1940 visits to florence. and there were gone. in fact, he would later say that with the loss of 529 paintings, 162 works of sculpture kamal totaling 7305 objects that florence suffered a robbery on a scale to dwarf the degradation of there. it was that acting alone. with the supervision and approval of a man known as as as general. the figure oftentimes overlooked in our study about this part of the war. his -- he is a fascinating figure. for seven years he is the ss leader. 1936 to 1943. he is a favored a filler -- i'm sorry, a favorite of hammer, but also a favorite of hitler

because he is the ss liaison to the fuehrer headquarters. he is looked at by hitler as this arian tall figure. very aristocratic and appearance. blond hair, well-educated. very cultivated. he can be seen on the right hand side just over the shoulder of hemlock on one of their many visits to concentration camps. this one in the news and the soviet union. he plays a role, letter referred to as a test murderer, signing documents that helped facilitate the train system moving concentration camps, and attorneys from one place to the camps. in september 1943, however, following the removal of mussolini from office and change of allegiance by italy's switching sides, adolf hitler in a rage swears that the german

forces are going to go into the vatican, emptied of cultural objects and treasures and take them aside and the sign in this responsibility, including kidnapping one general letter argued kill pope pius the 12th . he thought this was a pretty bad idea. he understood enough about italy to know that the catholic church and the vatican played an integral role in maintaining the fabric of structure of the country. and whether or not this plan develops is a topic of ongoing research and differing opinions, but these words were uttered by the fuehrer one point in time. and both managed to delay implementation of this order, distractions occurred. and you worked very hard to implement what he referred to as the easy hand, an effort to try and cultivate a relationship

with the vatican officials, realizing that there could be favoritism that could extend and, perhaps thinking ahead favors returned. the works of art from florence were moved north over the bomb crater roads, oftentimes script by allied pauses, using charts and fuel was general will fed made available. the understanding with the italian officials was that these works of art were the safest there in the villas. the china officials and florence could not move them back into the city because a couple of trucks that they had been confiscated by german forces. it was his judgment that they needed to be safe. there were taken to the north to places to be hidden, and there were taken to an area known as the south tower. an area that legally is in italy , but it is predominantly german-speaking even to this day. in their these works of art, you

can see the minimal amount of protection that they were provided, moving some 350 miles north over these rickety roads. sometimes no tarps. these paintings and white. you can see the straw on the ground swinging back and forth from the track of the vibration of the roads. and it was there that they stayed. wolf understood that they were not going to be returned. he was not going to return them to the italians who were clamoring to have them to move into an area that they felt was safer under their control. neither was he by december 1944 willing to bet obey orders from his former boss who wanted them moved into austria and germany into the salt mines. wolf assessed at best days that he had a shortage of vehicles and gasoline and could not deliver them at that point in time. while there were shortages of

both, he had the resources to do it had wanted to. however, he had not won, but to family spivvy had been married and have it -- have a family with a lady, a burnett. ignoring some of his biology lessons, he finally realized he was not going to have any bonds children with this woman and divorced her and had married his second wife. and he had a happy results with the children that were born. he was very concerned by january that this war was going to end and nazi germany was on the verge of defeat. convinced that the days were numbered and knowing that other nazi party leaders would be jockeying for opportunities to make their own deals to survive, his an extremely gifted survivor and he may contact with os as leader during the precursor to the cia, america's chief spymaster in europe working in

switzerland. over the next few months will made several visits to zurich in danielle in civilian clothes outside the guy of adolf hitler and trying to work outside the vision of his former boss. to discuss his desire to surrender all german forces in italy, to secretly surrender more than a million troops. this was something that he felt that he could negotiate. he also offered other incentives . this port starts to cut scorched-earth policies which hitler had provided to his commanders when the great industrial cities of northern italy. we will promise that he would make sure his ss forces ignored those orders. there were some 350 pilots from the united states, great britain , and other political prisoners being held by ss forces. and among other things on the list, he also informed dulles

about these 800 some odd master fixes that were under his control and that he would make sure that these were delivered to allied forces. dulles was under extremely strict instructions from the president, president roosevelt, that he could have a meeting and listen to what he had to say. but under no circumstances will seek to enter into any kind of negotiations, much less make any deals with this leading nazi officer. something that dallas to is graves for the did. however, it is interesting to note that will manage to survive the war and was not prosecuted and nuremberg. he did appear there as a witness for the prosecution. i'm aware of all of these negotiations going on behind the scenes, monuments officer is determined to find these works of art, which she loved and studied so much.

and he took it upon himself, this impulsive risk-taking officer to contact another zero ss man that he had met, an italian-american. he pled for himself to use some of his agents behind enemy lines to try and shed -- track down the whereabouts of the works. he recruited a man with a perfect disguise, a priest who was also a partisan and leader of a brigade that had worked behind the lines. and nellie was recruited to try and use his network and of course what better disguised and wearing the outfit of a priest. but there were difficulties to getting in the areas that need to be. so they decided that they would fly behind enemy lines and allow him to have his very first airplane ride going up. of course, the plane could not land. they had to set him up of the

parachutes of leakage about. and the stories proliferate that after having jumped out the couple of officers in the back of the plan looked and saw his prayer book. the pilots circled around and drafted in iraq and tied a little rope around it and dropped out. he became known as a legendary flying priest among his parishioners. on may 2nd, will stream was realized. the surrender document was signed. this is wolf on the right side. the man on the second to left, the right-hand man who hooked up with wolf charlie after words, about a week and a half later. the surrender was kept secret for three more days until may may 5th to allow both sides to work out the terms of this cease-fire before it was ultimately announced.

the very for surrender of german forces during world war ii days later news came with the locations, the two locations of the works of art that had been taken for florence, the paintings and sculpture, many of which have been moved untraded. he arrived at this jail cell in the town to go through to each of these individual cells so packed tightly with works of art that he could not even move some of the paintings to see what was behind all the. there were these masterpieces placed. keller and heart and monuments of the search also arrived to find some of the german officers standing there in the center.

he was very put out that it had been taken so long to get there. c-span2 to make it clear that he was acting under the orders of general wolfe to tender custody of these works of art to the united states army. there were not returned silly. or not to be given over to the british, but to be given to the american forces. in the ensuing two months heller struggled to work and getting these works szilard traded then moved to its trains and get them back to florence that was not -- it sounds not as difficult as it was because at this point in the war the shortages are severe. finding would for crates was difficult. fun in the laborers to build these things, just finding food for the laborers was quite a challenge. all the bridge is not the florence had been blown up by the by allied forces trying to prevent the nazis from escaping or nazi

forces as they move north trying to impede the allies' advance. many of these bridges had to be rebuilt. it was the first train to be back in operation to get these works of art back in florence. they arrived in late july. this is the rail yard. deasy. killer holding up his notebook with the inventories of the works of art that he supervised packing about. fred hard over citing this inventory schedule, formally transferring responsibility for the works of art back to the republic of italy. killer had to fill out a way bill for the works of art before there were departed. he put down that they were valued at $500 million. that was in $1,945. the works arrived the following day to the celebration and

ceremony by local officials, including the mayor, the civil affairs section. and they traveled the same path of adolf hitler and benito mussolini had traveled seven years earlier when hitler's first visit, when he stood there on the balcony of the plot so becky of sharing his vision for this thousand year reich. now, keller and the other monuments offers to officer certainly will be remembered for their remarkable work saving those works of art. i think the great legacy was the preservation of important buildings that are there that we visit today, some of which are still under repair, and there is no better example than the castles on top, this agent -- ancient cemetery built in 1276. how's the great leaders at one point in time, the towering party over is nearby rival in

florence. today most people go to see the leaning tower. before the war 90 percent of the people that visited did so to see a castle because inside this great cemetery was some 20,000 square feet of frescoes, 3,000 more square feet of frescoes then the painted surfaces of the sistine chapel. the photograph that you're seeing now shows the castle. order, the ridge that should be there is gone. during combat an artillery round landed short and ignited the roof. the roof was made of lead. the lead melted and led down the sides of the wall, blistering these frescoes, leaving this tragic situation of millions and millions of pieces, diesel fragments of frescoes that have fallen off the wall. you can still see some attached job listed that have been baked by the tustin son over the months that it took to get german forces out of pisa before

killer could arrive. keller having known and understood about the importance of the castle, having been arrested in italy reacted immediately. he contacted senior military leaders and said if ever there was a moment that the monuments, fine arts an archive section, monuments officers' prove their worth, this is it. i need engineers. i need fresco restorers from florence. i need food to feed them. i have to have housing made available. we need people, and we needed now. his commanders responded immediately. these workers came, brought these will barrels, shovels and began picking up pieces. this is a painting painted in the 19th century to of one portion of the castle. this is what used to look like. this is what it looks like by the time keller arrived. you see this symbol that was painted and very severely

blistered. keller is very concerned knowing the weather and having been in italy so often. what would happen when the fall rains came and wash off would remain on the walls eliminating any possibility for repairs. army engineers constructed this innovative design to try and deflects rain water away from the walls and allow time for a permanent rift to be built. killer died, but not before having visited pisa with his son in 1965, some 21 years later after first arriving. and this boy who he had sent these drawings to from his arrival and these engineering drawings celebrating the absence of christmas worked for eight years with italian officials to

make it possible for his remains to be buried in the one place he was convinced they should be buried. so this is the tombstone were killers remains are. can be seen today. for those of you that visit, you can walk across the way to the laboratory where the work continues to this day doing these pieces of frescoes that keller and other officers saved back on to what panels that have been high and into places 65 years later. fred's contributions to saving important elements of florence was certainly no less. he understood a qb the great history of this city and the leading role its medieval towers played. if you visit florence today and walk across the ponte vecchio walking north you will see this

tower there. it is there because fred hard negotiated and worked with army engineers do not have an appreciation for these buildings looked at them as damaged and unrepairable. there were interested in having their remains used for rose. there was an urgent need to try and clear these rose to be able to get emergency help and. fred had an understanding of the difference the twin buildings that were damaged and damaged beyond repair and those that could be repaired. and this is just one example of the work that he did, including finding glass antheil to make sure that the -- one point in time they had water into it up to the ankles because there was no window or refund portions of it. his dedication to italy cannot end with the war. in 1966 the terrific floods in november. like other monuments officers'

he travels around the country, the united states raising money to make available to the italians to try and help this disastrous situation and began the repairs. this is something that lasts a lifetime, both for d. geller and many of the other monuments officers'. and apropos, fred hearts companion of 30 years, jean marc gusty similarly labeled with the florentine officials to make sure that fred had a chance to be buried in the church which she loved so much overlooking the city. and this is the tombstone where he is buried. in the course of my work over the last 17 years or so, last ten years full time i have had a chance to meet 17 monuments officers', two women, 15 men. i have interviewed all of them and many of the family members. today there are five still living. one woman who is british,

forman. and i ask each of them one question among others. is art worth the life? and one of our monuments officers' was living and answered that question this way. >> i remember having a very loose discussion in a building apartment one night. which is more valuable, work of art are a human life. and he was saying a work of art. we had one drink and then another. and i said, well, would you give your life to save a cathedral? and he said, sure. and then he said actually, i have that choice to make because there were bombs placed around the cathedral. bonn disposal expert came in. i was the one who had to take

them and dispose of them. he won his argument that way. >> i was with bernie several years ago when i traveled around the country, which, there is very fond of reminding me add due to much of. alloys make a point of stopping in a visiting and seeing the family members as frequently as i can. and oftentimes ask questions because they, like the rest of us, sometimes forget and think of the things. ast, let me ask you again this is something wrong with the memory? [laughter] and then said, no. you know, maybe you remember something you didn't tell me before. he said, i told you this before. i had a drink. you know, i told you about steward letter telling me about the one good thing about being in the demolition squad. when a minute. i found this thing. and that does not end there.

how could there be any such thing? ever wondered the same thing myself. but in the world to be good about being in the demolition squad or the bomb disposal squad stewart said, well, you never have a superior officer looking over its shoulder. [laughter] but bernie went on to tell me a little bit more. he said, remember now the source said it was all worth it for the reward, for the record that was received. burney said, reward? who was there to get your reward? and after i get those last bonds out i was alone inside the cathedral for an hour by myself. said these were the stories we continue to get into this very it living part of this final chapter of world war two history that has not been written. it is being written today. you all not only have a chance to have this front row seat to watch history be written, but you have a chance to help us

read it. now, killer had a different -- slightly different twist of an answer on this question. of course i came along after he passed. did not have a chance to ask him in our extensive research going through his documents, i can see that in essence the did things that he too thought about. and in killers you he believed that the life of no american boy was worth a single work of art are monument. however, he believed that the life of a soldier or an american boy was worth the cost. and that think that is the better way to frame this. we do risk lives for democracy, for these principles that we believe in, for the opportunity to be stewards of things that have survived not by accident, but because people and centuries before sacrificed and determined that they should survive. the best examples of our civilization, that we should have the chance to have them and

pass on the responsibility test to make sure that they were protected. in keller wrist is live on numerous occasions walking through booby trapped buildings try to protect these works of art. in fact, the tomb monuments officers' in northern europe, story and describe were killed during combat. these are not man sitting in an office somewhere. there were there on the front line doing a job. they came back after the war, many of them resumed their careers. some went on to even bigger and better things. i dare say, there is not a museum or major cultural institution in this country that does not have a connection. the institutions that represent.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> we don't have any monuments

officers' nearby that were able to make it tonight. one, and fact, does live not too far from philadelphia. however, we are very fortunate. it's an honor for me to introduce to you all his other son in his life sure with this here tonight. thank you very much. [applause] >> i recall reading a quotation by president kennedy and said an asian -- a nation reveals itself not only by them and it produces, but the men and honors and the man never members. by that standard we, as a country, did a very poor job because we don't remember and did not know this amazing, remarkable legacy of our country during the most destructive conflict in history.

and we paid or will price for it in the years that followed, not having a monuments' officer. in particular, the aftermath of the looting of the national museum of baghdad in 2003. this is one of the things that i created the monument's foundations for the preservation of art to not only preserve the legacy of these great heroes, but put it to use so that we can reestablish the united states of leaders in the protection of cultural treasures. one of the things we did was interviewed on modern-day monuments officer, a woman, karen wagner who served with the -- have distinguished service in the army and went to the war following this disastrous initial response to help try and fix things. since became the curator in minneapolis. after this question about the importance of the monuments officers' degrees here was where she had to say. >> well, the museum cost a lot of anger. it was not just bad pr. it was bad pr throughout the

world that we had to be ever vigilant in trying to educate our elected leaders and the top of the military on the importance of protecting cultural property. turn world war ii it was an emphasized area. he took crate measures to do that, not just because it was the right thing to do, but because it was one of his tools and is toolkit for helping win the war. >> those of you that a keeping an eye on world events no have the ongoing civil war in syria. the challenges continue to this day with seeing destruction of some of these extraordinary roman columns. the syrian tanks driving across them. the combat fire, and tank fire and get them. and rebels just in recent weeks, this wonderful to our was destroyed, this 11th century minaret.

family this is a great opportunity for us to call to action from americans and reemphasize to those spread the word of what we can do. president roosevelt and general eisenhower, this historic action by these men and women, and full of them. and they say to all people, surely in a world war with no technology, no more than 40 monuments officers' deny if we can do the job we did then we can certainly do a better job today. that is why in 2007i did found the monument's foundations for the preservation of heart and would like to share with you a few minutes about the initial years. ♪ ♪

♪ >> the condition, and particularly general eisenhower, make the protection of artistic and cultural treasures a priority and the return of stolen property. implemented and effective that policy. the legacy is rich and filled with incredible examples of up to protect cultural treasures. but the legacy of week, the nation paid a high price for not having preserved. time is running out. for that reason i am announcing today the creation of the

monuments man foundation preservation of art. the mission is to preserve the legacy of the unprecedented and growing monuments during world war two to raise public awareness of the importance of protecting and safeguarding civilization's most important artistic and cultural treasures. >> recognizing the monuments man as we are doing today is very inappropriate and very long overdue. thank you. the awareness of this very important college a preservation for the world. thank you. [indiscernible]

>> he said, there's a cost that is greater than patriotism and a higher cause than victory. our allegiance was dark, truth, and justice. >> the monument cement foundation for the preservation of art. sustained efforts to identify and recognize the contributions of the soldiers of the second world war. we are forever indebted an area of work, rescued and preserved heritage. [applause] [indiscernible] >> in addition to completing our research on these men and women, the foundation will promote and support educational works.

>> i think this premeditated theft. [indiscernible] historical and cultural evolution. [indiscernible] >> people from every walk of life join us in celebrating these great heroes in the most appropriate manner possible.

preserved and utilize. >> thank you. >> take you. >> thank you. ♪ >> thank you. >> again and again and again. the people of the world. the fare culture. the culture. [applause] >> one of the things i am quite proud of is i serve as a trustee at the national world war ii museum in new orleans. part of their remarkable campus, about $160 million campus. another hundred $60 million.

an incredible telling of the american role in helping, as they say, helping americans to understand the freedom that is not free and learn about these men and women who sacrificed so much to make sure we have the opportunity today, including the monuments. in the words in museum has so embraced the story that there will be the first place in the world to build a permanent exhibition to the monuments sometime in the next few years that we will recreate a salt mine and give kids and adults the chance to experience the exhilaration, fear, and the remarkable journey that these monuments officers' experienced during world war ii. of course, kind enough to mention my new best friend, george clooney. i certainly share all of the per views about this matter. has been a wonderful opportunity, working with the gifted artist and businessman, george and his partner, an

incredibly dedicated to the telling of the story. again, focused on telling the story. yes. the answer to the question. of course night to help make up film about the story. but it is an incredible, incredible experience to see the concentrated effort that they have thrown into this. this once-in-a-lifetime cast as far as i'm concerned abcaeight plaza, matt damon, rob, hugh. the island, december 18th. and i am so excited about it for one reason. the towers above all the others. it was my hope and my dream as the project's unfolded, i it i vested more years of my life. it has to find my life and provided such meaningful mess

that other people around the world, not just in our country, will have a chance to know the story. i believe that as a result of this, there will be some billion people around the world that will never be confused anymore when they see the phrase monuments man or wonder when they see destruction of cultural property. that is going to allow us to get back to the standard that talked about because politicians are going to know that there are a billion voters around the world that know the story and are going to -- are going to want to make sure that we honor the great achievements of these men and women. i want to close, to reestablish a perspective on things because general eisenhower after the war in june 1945 returned to london to receive an award. made his first remarks following the end of the war. the guild hall in london. you can see people standing on the facades of these buildings, leaning out the windows to hear

what this victorious general had to say. and general eisenhower deferred and give it what it always belong to. i am reminded of these august moments when we run through these images. you see lots of recognition on the part of the work of the monuments man foundation, but it rebounds to the work of the monuments man. general eisenhower said, this i sense a distinction i feel receiving this great honor is at stake -- inescapably may go with feelings of profound sadness. humility must be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in blood of his followers and sacrifices. been -- for ever in the pages of military history. still such a man, if he existed, would sadly face the fact that his daughters cannot hide his

memories crosses marking their resting places of the dead. they cannot sue the anguish of the widow or orphan whose husband and father will not return. the only attitude with which a commander made with satisfaction received attributes of his friends is in the home will acknowledgement that no matter how unworthy he may be, his position is a symbol of the great human forces that have labored arduously and successfully for rex's costs. my righteous cause and one i plead with you to embrace and share with your friends and every possible way is the great achievements and legacy left to us by these monuments men and women. thank you very much. [applause]

>> take a drink of water. so he has agreed to answer a few questions. given a minute. then he can't answer a few questions from the audience. once again, our microphones are ready. okay. we have a microphone here and there. ellis for your hand. >> right in front of you. >> thank you for a beautifully delivered presentation. i did not see a teleprompter. i was wondering what could -- we now look to the american image and italy. we still remember the americans, the civic culture.

>> heavily that's a good question. yes. in fact, i think not only in italy but also in germany was there. filming going on. they're is a press conference there about the buck. they don't really have press conferences and the united states. publishers know nobody will come . there are 25 accredited journalists from the most important magazines coming because it did not know about monuments men. italy is pretty much in that same position. they are dramatically increasing that because of what we say. is an unjust heroes of the war, but years of civilization. those of us to travel to museums and churches, we learned we cannot pay in the debt of gratitude that they deserve. the fact that these things are still there. as i said to people in berlin and people in florence and rome and other cities, no beneficiary

> germany if you get to the museum islands today, not only their there. works here. but we give them all back at the end of the war. this is a policy of the western allies. make sure these works of art were not considered spoils of war, rather that there would be returned to the countries from which there were stolen. incredibly important inflection point in how worse and the consequences of the war had been fought. it really redefine how we look at these cultural objects since world war two. yes, ma'am. let us give you a microphone. we have very speedy runners with the microphone. you don't have to wait long. >> well, -- >> well, let's see. i was in kansas city last week to watch is no. i had to retire my scarf this

morning in chicago because it was threatening to do so. samarra will get to see my mother and she will be very happy. add to a spine to heard that the gestation time for a buck is greatly in excess for the amount of time carrying the around. we have -- i will be traveling around the country for the next month talking about saving italy, sharing the stories, having the chance to see friends like bill and julie keller and other monuments officers'. a lot of their kids. al was sick kids. the nih. and these are important opportunities for us to me in particular is aiden information. the monuments men foundation cannot find all the missing works of art. no organization can. despite all the wealth of bill gates and warren buffett and others, there aren't enough detectives in the world to go look for these things. however, we can raise public awareness. we do that through these books,

saving nearly nine ultimately this film where people around the world realize there are still hundreds of thousands of things missing. and if they reported all then there probably out there now. and this is a chance for people to participate in the riding. call to action number two. all these young people out there across the country. able to reach some. thankfully because of author's favorite television station in the world, c-span with this here today, this is it. if you want to be involved in something bigger than you might get out here. let's make the world -- let's put the world back the way it was. user technology skills to help us find ways to protect these cultural treasures that are under fire around the world today. there are ways. i'm not smart enough to necessarily know how, but i can certainly speak to the opportunities for us to establish these positions that

we oneself. it's an opportunity to use these technology skills that you have to help us find and put us in contact with families to have veterans or displaced persons turn world war ii that have things that in the years that i going to come, the next five to ten years. i lost my death five years ago. as things that are hanging on walls in basements and attics. it will all have a new owner. we're a great risk of these things in foreign languages. being flown away. this is the chance to help with this tip of the iceberg we are getting ready now to see this. help these things you back to the people that they belong to. so it is a great moment. and so for that reason we are spending a lot of time with the work of the foundation. and the film coming up. i will be headed back to berlin. when i'm done with the book tour here. and then doing whenever i'm

asked to do by the people involved with that. but really the work that focus is now on the foundation. the writing of the book is something that i do. the foundation, not for profit. and it's out there to china. we don't charge anybody. we can't do everything. we can make a difference. we can do what mother teresa said to myself one not the time. we have been involved in the return of some historical important documents to berlin to much of our national archives, and we will soon be announcing another important discovery in their return involving nearly as it turns out. yes, sir. >> at the humanitarian important point when you set a lot of the minors that exist today are in the reference of past generations which seems to imply

that unless this generation today, meaning they and people, are aware of that there will not be doing that in the future. if we look in our school curriculum, we see that with an excessive emphasis -- emphasis on steady as tesco will history, art, global cultures, that is being pushed by the side. i worked with a lot of teachers. our young people are not getting historical consciousness, and i don't think it will have the same kind of concern that many of us here do. the older generation preserving these. >> it's a great question. i have plenty of stocks. one is -- have a pretty good understanding of what i know and a better understanding of what i don't know. i wish an easy answer the consult the issue of education. we put together an educational program that is available on the monuments man foundation website with lesson plans. and i took the approach that

bigger better, longer better. little did i know that part of the reaction of teachers was, there is a much material year we're overwhelmed because of the amount of time we have to teach it is small. the amount of time we have to study will need to teach a small so we are now going back and reevaluating how we go about packaging this material that includes archival footage and some of these interviews yet seen because i can talk about these things historically, and i can certainly in fuse them with passion, but it is not as good. i am not the hero. they are. and i think that is an important thing. it is why i believe the film is so important because i travel six, seven months to year. and i love speaking to audiences, whether on television or in person. one, 500. the audiences of gotten bigger and bigger, but i can reach everybody and i don't have the

biggest in the world. that is what we went in search of. a story that was told like you were sitting on the shoulder of these monuments officers', experience and what they are experiencing in its why to the discovery of the letters on during the war to their loved ones and drawings like bill keller's are known to his brother, so critically important because that is what people connect with, the human stories. they're plenty of people to go tell you all the facts and figures. and that's not an important. but the things that move us as people of the sacrifice and tribulations and sometimes funny things that people get involved in. ..

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fell we had an opportunity to voodoo to engender goodwill -- good will around the world sometimes united states doesn't necessarily reflect the greatest cultural understanding. we did add to a point* in time we did not forget. and that is a message of today that it all begins with a leadership. we have young men and women they are so different and what direction and the entrepreneurs take orders from the top. those who are training to be the officers but i fear without a bottom and tear

for an effort to my opinion it has to be bottom down you have to do the work at the bottom but the guy at the top with business careers those involved in the military know that the ceo of united states and i believe that is where it has to begin. eisenhower issued this sea change directed to be the instruments of the policy we have people trying to work above and from 1954 and were missing in my opinion of the leader of the free world standing up and saying, we

will protect cultural treasures as much as we are allowed and the lives that too often times united states respects a cultural property of others. technological skills to understand this is a chance to find the way to do good in a difficult situation like syria. we don't have the boots on the ground we will not send in troops. that need to be taken care of. that is why we have custodians and guardians. one more question. >> relating to what you just said with a powerful cultural institution and all over the world that we

you're doing enough to raise the consciousness on the subject matter? >> i don't believe we are. how many have heard of that before this? thank you very much for reading that. [laughter] but we have institutions all over the country that we're not able to get people to come and young people are the key. this is such an opportunity and a growing area. i venture to say this film will drop a lot of interest for many, many reasons not just the people better in it but i have a feeling people around the world will ask themselves questions that i ask. how in the face of so many conflicts of history how much -- how did so many works of art survive? it cannot be any big stories left.

it will be a surprise. it has been a great honor to be with you tonight. thank you very much. [applause] >> i have a lot of history and biography that i am reading. the book i am reading currently and halfway through is called indispensable. it is a book by a harvard professor and it is an excellent book on different leadership styles. basically it has a leadership filtration theory that the that they don't know how they move up in the

ranks and then those who would be unpredictable as a result were not as well-known. lincoln was not filtered is only one term in congress and from illinois when he got to the white house he was proven to be one of the best leaders in the united states. it is a fascinating theory that he applies to like jefferson and with winston churchill is a great read i am about halfway through. a booker recently read from a great biographer and writer how eisenhower was not as appreciated as he should have been although he

seemed not to be in charge secretly but he was quite shrewd and i have to it matt. -- it meant he proves the opposite. this book pretty much tells you as eisenhower was suffering from a very serious illness of heart disease in delegated focal lot to his secretary john foster dulles, secretary of state. but i think he disproves his own thesis which is funny when you think about it. actually served in the senate many of the years covered in the book called the last great senate. those senators of what he thinks is a golden age in the senate in the '60s and '70s and characters like ted

kennedy and baker and robert byrd who got things done to reach across the aisle and who were willing to break through the orthodoxy. we aryan morning we don't do that very much anymore and how much got done with that spirit of collaboration. the next book is a fascinating account of history with the notions of christian orthodoxy and heresy were imposed not by church leaders but by leaders of the state when the state directly intervened in convening council's. and insisted on certain precepts of orthodoxy and from that concept of what constituted heresy. the emperor if the duchess

in a.d. 381 insisted on at and changed of course, of history from the author's point* of view. and it squelched intellectual thought in the church about competing theories of theology and led to the persecution from the orthodoxy over the century. so it is a fascinating account over history and the consequences that follow from the actions of the emperor who was in constantinople what was say westerner originally. another wonderful book is called the general's the author of one of the best tales of the invasion of iraq and what went wrong. this is a historical book about how general's were

made, promoted, and demoted from a world war ii through the present. and the thesis is essentially that george c. marshall who served as the army chief of staff, a joint chiefs of staff under fdr in world war ii, removed many general's off the battlefield if they were not up to the job. he insisted on performance sometimes reassignments or a second chance but with impunity he removed people until he found the right person for the right job. and what the author talks about is that culture of accountability and responsibility has very much been diluted in subsequent periods, such that vietnam's performance seems to be a very small criteria when it comes to the appraisal of general's. and very few consequences

for for performance and outcomes. to highlight general westmorland who was in charge over a long period of time as a quintessential example of and he argues up through the present day the same is true. and it is in during to the performance of the military and has real implications with u.s. defense and national security policy. a controversial book but very thought-provoking and worth reading. my final book i have recently read is a book called the conservative assault on the constitution by a an attorney who practices before the supreme court and in this book he documents the conservative assault on many facets of american life, education, civil-rights , personal liberties, a corporate law, and his big theory is it is concerted in

ideological assault on the gritty and on constitutional principles and folks on the conservative side say we believe in the constitution although there is the opposite argument that they are endangered. and many of the precepts that we care about as a country. thought-provoking. very good. finally to book -- books and have not yet read. one is called the guns that last flight it is the third book in a trilogy of world war ii of rick atkinson from the of "washington post" and his first two volumes were extraordinary. the first was a book on the north african campaign and the american involvement involvement, the second was the sicily and italy

campaign up through 1945, a very brutal part of the war that is often overlooked. the third volume is chronicling our invasion of normandy that led to the liberation of berlin. that is next on my list at this summer to read and i was just sent a book from a colleague, called a founding rivals it is a rivalry between madison and monroe little virginia known history but madison and monroe ran against each other for the united states congress. the district had been carved to favor monroe but madison decided to contest it and in the upset he beats monroe of course, he was a friend of his coming state a friend and succeeded him as president. and this is quite an interesting book and it contends because madison won

that election we got the bill of rights. otherwise maybe we wouldn't. so this election had great consequence dishearten -- consequences. with very little known virginia history in a look forward to reading it this summer. >> i and the president of new york public library and thank-you to coming to our humble trustees' room. i draw your attention to the mantelpiece, the city of new york