The star-studded upcoming film The Monuments Men turns Hollywood's focus onto the surprising world of Nazi-looted art, but even today, Canadian experts continue to track down these valuable artistic treasures to return them to their rightful owners.
Based on the book by Robert Edsel, The Monuments Men features George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett and other top stars in its account of the Museum, Monuments and Fine Arts and Archives (MMFAA) section of the Allied army. This group of art historians and curators followed troops into battle in Europe in order to protect important monuments and cultural objects. Its members were also tasked with recovering and returning looted art pieces.
Decades later, this restitution fight continues, including in Canada.
The Max Stern Art Restitution Project, for instance, is an initiative working to recover the more than 400 artworks the Nazis seized or forced influential Jewish art dealer Max Stern to sell during the Second World War. So far, the team has recovered 11 works.
In the attached video, Deana Sumanac reports on Canada's modern-day experts who continue the search for artistic masterpieces stolen by the Nazis.