Franz von Wolff-Metternich
Franz von Wolff-Metternich | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Graf Wolff Metternich, Franz 31 December 1893 |
| Died | 25 May 1978 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | German |
| Education | University of Bonn |
| Occupation(s) | Art historian, Curator, Professor, |
| Awards | French Légion d'honneur |
Graf Franz Wolff Metternich (31 December 1893 – 25 May 1978) was a German aristocrat, art professor, historian and curator.[1]
Biography
[edit]During World War II, he was responsible for the conservation of Rhineland and French art collections under the Kunstschutz principle, from 1940 to 1942. He was placed in contact with Jacques Jaujard, who as deputy head of the Louvre had secretly organized the evacuation of much of the Louvre art collection, which were sent into hiding to various locations across France. While Wolff Metternich had been appointed by Hitler to oversee France’s art collections, like many aristocrats he was not a Nazi member, and helped Jaujard preserve France’s art from Nazi looting.[2]
However, in 1942, he was recalled from his post in Paris, France by the Nazis for thwarting their attempts to plunder French National art collections.[3] He was awarded the Légion d'honneur in 1952 from President of France Charles de Gaulle at the suggestion of Jaujard.
References
[edit]- ^ "Franz Wolff Metternich". arthistorians.info. Archived from the original on 2018-07-01. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
He put his convictions into action during the second world war, overseeing the protection of works of art in the Rhineland and occupied France
- ^ "Saviour of France's art: how the Mona Lisa was spirited away from the Nazis". The Guardian. 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
On 16 August 1940, Count Franz Wolff-Metternich, who had been appointed by Hitler to oversee France's art collection, duly arrived. In his diary, Jaujard recalled that Metternich almost seemed relieved to find the Louvre to be empty. Like many German aristocrats, Metternich was not a Nazi party member and, as long as he was able to, he tried to help Jaujard to preserve France's art from looting Nazis such as Hermann Goering, Joseph Goebbels and Joachim von Ribbentrop.
- ^ "After the sumptuous Russian Ark, director Aleksandr Sokurov turns his gaze on the Louvre". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
We know from The Monuments Men that the Nazis took what they wanted from private collections, many of them owned by Jews, but they had less success with the French national collections, overseen by Jaujard. Wolff-Metternich helped him protect those, against the rapacious demands of Goebbels and Goring. The count was recalled in 1942 for getting in the way of the plundering
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