Rose Valland! Gutsy WWII Hero, Spy! Nazis, Germans & Stolen Art, Jeu de Paume

ROSE VALLAND: The ‘The Monuments Men’ film aside, real life France's Rose Valland risked her life everyday during WWII as curator at Paris' Jeu de Paume (where she began work for free!). The Jeu de Paume was the site chosen by the Nazi's to store their stolen art, priceless artworks and treasures from across France and beyond. The Germans did not know two things. One, Valland spoke German. Two, she was brave and a patriot. All during the war and especially as it drew to an end Valland meticulously tracked & recorded the thefts, and in the process alerted the French Resistance (even getting messages to the SOE so as to abort bombing runs planned on German trains leaving France which were actually laden with artwork). Post-war Valland scoured Europe retrieving lost art & even getting near to Goering's chateau (virtually obliterated by Russian bombing) to retrieve 2 famed marble Lions. The BIG question: WHY IS THERE NO STATUE OF VALLAND? (One possible answer? While much looted art was recovered, far more ‘orphaned art’ still hangs in museums and other locales and hasn't been returned to rightful owners. Something unmentioned in the film).

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