Until I saw the movie Monuments Men, I didn't realize the extent to which the Nazis stole art throughout Europe during World War II.
And if you're not familiar with it either, let me just say that their plunder was extensive. Ridiculously extensive, actually.
Hitler's Art Obsession
Hitler "thought" he was an artist and wanted to eventually build a massive Führer Museum in his hometown of Linz, Austria where ALL of the world's best art would be displayed.
Consequently, he needed to "acquire" all of the world's best art, in whatever way possible. In other words, he planned to take (aka steal) whatever he wanted from whoever owned it. Hence, the beginning and purpose of the plunder.
The Nazi's Extensive Art Heist
It's important to note that the Nazis didn't just want the art for the Führer Museum, they also wanted it for their own personal collections. The top brass would come into museums that they had seized in their invasions (such as the Louvre in Paris) or the private collections of people they had shipped off to concentration camps and just shop around for whatever pieces they wanted.
Hermann Göring, Hitler's commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, was particularly noted for his art heist. According to the Smithsonian, during the war, he amassed a private collection of over 1,000 pieces. Prior to the war, he basically had nothing in terms of important art.
The Nazis took sculpture, paintings, jewelry, textiles—pretty much anything of value to the cultural history of humankind—and carted it off for themselves. It's estimated that they stole about one fifth of all the art in Europe which amounted to about 5 million cultural objects.
Hidden Throughout Europe
The artwork deemed for the Führer Museum was often hidden in places all over Europe—places that should NEVER store precious works of art. It was stuffed into crates and secreted away in places like caves and mines where these irreplicable pieces were sure to get damaged, broken, and blackened by mold. It was absolute madness.
To add to the insanity, the Nazis had an additional nefarious plan. If they could see that losing the war was imminent, they were instructed by the higher-ups to literally destroy all of the stolen art. Set fire to it, crush it with machinery, whatever it took to remove the evidence of their plunder. No matter that these were centuries-old masterpieces that could obviously not be replaced. The Nazis did not care—if they could not have them, then no one could.
The Heroes of the Story
Enter the Monuments Men. Who were they? This was a platoon of World War II servicemen and women who were museum curators, artists, art historians, architects, and so forth. They were recruited, and ultimately volunteered, into this Allied forces military unit specifically due to their professional artistic expertise.
They had two main responsibilities during the war. First, they were to do everything possible to protect the precious cultural landmarks in Europe from being destroyed in battle. This included trying to persuade military leaders to shift the fighting away from known important artistic and cultural structures (which wasn't always easy to do). Second, they were also tasked to recover, rescue, and restitute artworks to their original owners.
The movie is based on the perilous journeys of these soldiers as they risk everything, including their own lives, in order to save these cultural treasures. Hollywood does take some liberties throughout, obviously, but by in large the movie is a fantastic introduction to this once-little-known aspect of World War II.
Honestly, the plot was so powerful to me that I was inspired to seek out some of this recovered artwork on my future trips to Europe.
And the Bruges Madonna was first on the list!
What is the Bruges Madonna?
The Bruges Madonna (aka The Madonna of Bruges) is an exquisite marble sculpture created by the master Renaissance artist Michelangelo in 1504. It is special, obviously because it's a Michelangelo and anything he created was magnificent, but also because it's Michelangelo's only work that left Italy during his lifetime.
The sculpture was purchased by a pair of textile merchants in 1506 and brought back to their hometown of Bruges, Belgium, which is how the piece got its name. From that point on, it found its home in the Church of Our Lady in the heart of Bruges.
Over the next four hundred years, this sculpture was actually stolen twice. The first time was in 1794 by French Revolutionaries who hauled it off to Paris for about a decade, and then it was returned. More than 100 years later, it was pilfered by the Nazis in 1944. But to exactly where, no one knew.
In the movie, there are several main pieces the Monuments Men are searching for, and this is one of them. In real life (and on the movie), the soldiers in this unit eventually found it hidden in a crate with other precious works of art in a salt mine outside of Altaussee, Austria.
My Journey to Find the Madonna
On my first solo trip to Europe, I quite literally had the continent at my fingertips. I had only ever been to a couple of places in Europe, and so quite everywhere else was a possibility. I ultimately chose to include Bruges on my itinerary over other locales because I really wanted to see the Bruges Madonna!
On the day I was set to be in Bruges, I left Paris on an early morning train and headed towards Brussels. From there, I caught a train to the west. I actually had very limited time in Bruges that day. My cousin had contacted me spur of the moment and invited me to visit her in Prague, so I happily switched up my plans. I had one main goal in Bruges, and that was to go to the Church of Our Lady to see Michelangelo's Madonna. So, as soon as I got into town, that's immediately where I went.
The church is unique in that it has the second tallest brick steeple in the world. After I paid my fee to enter the building and dropped off my backpack, I began walking through the interior. It's a small building, and filled--just like every other church in Europe--with the interred remains of important individuals. The more wealthy and important you were, the closer you were to the altar.
As I passed by one crypt after another, I kept my eyes peeled for the Madonna. Then, as I turned the corner in the back of the chapel, there she was. I was shocked at how small she is! I was definitely expecting something more on a grand scale, that's for sure. But what she lacked in size, she made up for in intricate details. The Madonna is definitely more elegant in person than I ever could have imagined.
Carved out of a single block of Carrara marble, this sculpture depicts the Christ child and his mother Mary (the Madonna). Mary is seated with a graceful robe draped over her body, and the young child is cuddled up next to her, resting against her knee, and holding her hand. It's a very sweet scene and shows a lovely moment in the life of the young Christ child.
As is true for all Michelangelo's works, it seriously looks like these are real people just painted an ivory white. It's hard to imagine how anyone could turn a chunk of marble into something so realistic and lifelike. But that truly is the genius of Michelangelo.
I stood for a long time appreciating this work, my very first time seeing a piece of artwork stolen by the Nazis, and my very first time seeing a Michelangelo in person. It was a surreal experience for both reasons.
Watching the Monuments Men in Bruges
I had already paid for my Airbnb, so after I left the chapel and grabbed my obligatory waffle and hot chocolate, I checked into it for a few hours before I needed to head back to Brussels to catch my evening flight to Prague. Once inside, I curled up on the bed to relax after a long few weeks of travel. I decided that if anytime was appropriate to watch the Monuments Men, this certainly was it!
I think out of all the times I've ever seen that movie, this time in Bruges was definitely my favorite. Here I was, relaxing on a cozy bed in an apartment in Bruges with the gingerbread house rooflines painting the scene from my window. And on the screen in front of me was George Clooney and the rest of the actors rescuing the Bruges Madonna.
I smiled when I saw that particular part of the movie because now, after all this time, I had finally seen this beautiful artwork for myself.
The Bruges Madonna was definitely safe and sound in her lovely chapel home!
Resources to learn more:
Monuments Men and Artworks in World War II
The History of the Monuments Men
The amazing story of the rescue of the Madonna of Bruges by the Monuments Men
Over $1.35 billion in Nazi art found hidden behind 'mountains of rotting food'
