I am always looking for obscure things that normal media outlets miss. There is an obscure cable channel that I love. On my cable system, it is channel 274. It is called "The American History Channel" (Not to be confused with The History Channel.) They seem to have an obsession with Hitler and the Nazis. Over the months I have watched some incredible documentaries on this channel. For the last couple of nights, the documentaries have focused on the Nazi looting of artworks owned by Jewish people in Poland.
As I was growing up there were some unpleasant stereotypes of Polish
people starting with the expression: "A big, dumb Pollack." In the
provincial world of my youth in the east end of Houston, Polish people
were seen as dumb, poor, and lacking in culture.
This series of documentaries show a different Poland full of
culture, wealth, and appreciation for art. Hitler's lawyer Hans Frank was
assigned to loot the art of Polish Jews and deliver these treasures to Hitler
and Goring. Along the way, Frank collected a lot of art treasures for himself.
His life ended prematurely in 1946 when he was hanged for war crimes.
The US Army, British Army, and the Red Army seized a lot of these art
treasures at the end of World War II. The US Army rapidly assembled a team of
art experts to assist in these efforts. They were put in officer's uniforms
after quick military training and dispatched to Europe to work with the
recovered art. A great movie was produced about their exploits called "The
Monuments Men." An awesome non-profit foundation was formed in Dallas to
help with the recovery of artworks looted by the Nazis. It is called The
Monuments Men Foundation. The work they do is slow and painstaking. It has all
the best elements of a great detective story. Their work is far from done.
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