Experiences of a Monuments Officer in Germany

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Among the welter of directives prepared at the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force in England prior to D-day was one which declared that it was the basic policy of the Supreme Commander “to take all measures consistent with military necessity to avoid damage to all. structures, objects, or documents of cultural, artistic, archaeological or historical value, and to assist wherever practicable in securing them from deterioration consequent upon the processes of war.” To aid in the execution of this policy ten officers were sent into the field with the British and American armies north of the Alps. Two were killed in action, leaving only eight to operate at the time when the Allies were plunging eastward from the Rhine amid scenes of destruction unparalleled in the world's history. They were equipped only with maps and lists prepared on the basis of research by civilian organizations.1 In the American armies such essential items as transportation, clerical assistance, labor, or authority t...