tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post1669459339438295360..comments2024-03-27T04:46:33.198-07:00Comments on Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: Russia Urged to Return WW2 Loot.Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-77078026647839391452013-06-23T21:40:51.461-07:002013-06-23T21:40:51.461-07:00Well, I suppose one might ask what all those paint...Well, I suppose one might ask what all those paintings were doing the other side of the Atlantic anyway...<br /><br />There is other material however in public collections which is not "military instruments", such as Hitler's private library in the Library of Congress and the documentary material concerning the wanderings of works of art 1933-45, which should be kept over here in the area it concerns and not halfway around the world. <br /><br />Paul Barfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-41878009843451170622013-06-23T02:50:14.741-07:002013-06-23T02:50:14.741-07:00The US Government gave Germany back its cultural a...The US Government gave Germany back its cultural artfacts long ago. Right after the war there was an exhibition of German paintings at the National Gallery of Art. Although some thought the paintings should be kept there, they were returned in the late 1940's or early 1950's. What was kept were examples of military instruments (planes, tanks etc. some of which are on display today) and Nazi documents like that diary. Quite different things. Russia on the other hand has kept a lot, supposedly as compensation for the damage done to Russian cultural artifacts-- but certainly all the combatants did quite a lot of damage to cultural treasures. As for the US, the destruction of Monte Cassino and participation in the bombing of Dresden come to mind. Cultural Property Observerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05924359202414555962noreply@blogger.com