Outing: Monuments Men

Thanks to everyone who came out to see the film on Sunday night!

"Monuments Men" is a Hollywood film that captures, to me, the necessity of saving cultural artifacts. Yes, it's a war story, but its themes and issues move beyond World War II and the elite group of cultural professionals—museum directors, art historians, conservators and others—who led this effort to save items from destruction.

Their job description was simple: to save as much of the culture of Europe as they could during combat. These Monuments Men were charged by President Roosevelt and Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower to undertake this mission. These leaders and those that they enlisted had the vision to understand the grave threat to the greatest cultural and artistic achievements of civilization, and, they ultimately joined the front lines to do something about it.