Recognizing Repatriation’s (Literal) Foot Soldiers

The “efforts of Allied officers and soldiers … to save and repatriate stolen treasures during and after the war is a chapter of World War II history still not particularly well known. Even during the war their work — when compared with saving lives and preserving ways of life — was sometimes discounted. Some members of the military referred to these soldiers as ‘Venus fixers,’ a term with more than a hint of the effete. But the accomplishments of these soldiers, better known as the Monuments Men, are finally starting to come into sharper focus.”