What Happened to the Louvre During World War II?
The Louvre Museum, one of the most renowned cultural institutions in the world, has long stood as a symbol of art, history, and human achievement. However, during World War II, this iconic museum faced one of the greatest threats in its history. Under the German occupation of France from 1940 to 1944, the Louvre became not just a battlefield for the preservation of art but also a strategic storage site used by the Nazis for their own purposes. This story explores the fate of the Louvre during World War II, how it was used for art storage during the occupation, and the heroic efforts made to protect its priceless collections.
The Evacuation of the Louvre’s Treasures
The Louvre During World War II
As tensions in Europe escalated in the late 1930s, the French government, museum curators, and cultural institutions recognized the imminent danger posed by the possibility of war. The devastation wrought by World War I was still fresh in memory, and authorities took preemptive steps to safeguard the nation’s cultural treasures.
In August 1939, mere weeks before the outbreak of World War II, the Louvre undertook a massive evacuation operation. Museum staff, under the direction of Jacques Jaujard, the director of French national museums, meticulously planned and executed the removal of thousands of artworks. Over 4,000 paintings and sculptures, including the world-famous Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and The Winged Victory of Samothrace, were carefully packed and transported out of Paris. The evacuation was carried out with great secrecy to prevent German authorities from intercepting the artworks.
The art was transported to various châteaux across France, including Château de Chambord, Château de Valencay, and Château de Montal. These locations, deemed relatively safe, served as temporary storage sites for some of the world’s most valuable artistic treasures. Museum workers, art historians, and volunteers risked their lives to ensure the safe transport and concealment of these artifacts.
German Occupation and the Louvre’s Transformation
In June 1940, German forces entered Paris, marking the beginning of a four-year occupation. The Louvre, though largely emptied of its most famous works, remained a significant location. The Nazis, particularly Hermann Göring and the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), saw the Louvre as both a repository and a tool for their extensive art-looting operations.
The Louvre’s grand halls, which had once housed masterpieces from across the globe, were repurposed by the Nazis for their own objectives. The museum functioned as a cataloging and sorting station for art confiscated from Jewish collectors, institutions, and private owners. Thousands of paintings, sculptures, and cultural artifacts seized from Jewish families and art dealers across occupied Europe were brought to the Louvre, inventoried, and prepared for shipment to Germany.
Hermann Göring, Hitler’s second-in-command and a known art aficionado, frequently visited Paris to personally select artworks for his own collection. Many of these stolen pieces were destined for the Führermuseum, Adolf Hitler’s envisioned art museum in Linz, Austria, which was intended to house the greatest art collection in history. The Louvre became an unwitting intermediary in this vast plunder, with its facilities used to store and process looted treasures before they were transported to Nazi strongholds.
The French Resistance and Secret Efforts to Preserve Art
During the occupation, many French museum workers and members of the Resistance continued to protect France’s cultural heritage. Jacques Jaujard, the Louvre’s director, played a crucial role in preventing further German seizure of artwork. While outwardly complying with Nazi authorities, he secretly coordinated efforts to delay and obstruct the looting process. By providing false information, misdirecting Nazi officials, and prolonging administrative procedures, Jaujard successfully slowed down the transportation of stolen artworks.
Additionally, some artworks that had been left in the Louvre were hidden in plain sight or disguised as less valuable pieces to avoid detection. Museum staff, at great personal risk, documented the stolen works, ensuring that records remained intact for potential recovery after the war. Many of these acts of defiance contributed to the post-war restitution of looted art.
The Liberation of Paris and Art Recovery
As Allied forces advanced towards Paris in the summer of 1944, the Nazi occupation of the city began to crumble. On August 25, 1944, the French Resistance and Allied troops liberated the French capital. One of the immediate priorities was the retrieval and protection of stolen artworks.
Fortunately, due to the preemptive evacuation and protective efforts by museum curators, most of the Louvre’s collection remained safe. In the following years, extensive efforts were made to recover and return stolen art, both by the French government and international art restitution organizations.
The Louvre played a central role in these efforts, as the records secretly maintained by museum staff helped identify and track down looted pieces. Many artworks stolen by the Nazis were eventually repatriated, although some remain missing to this day.
The story of the Louvre during World War II is one of foresight, resilience, and defiance in the face of cultural destruction. While the museum was used by the Nazis as a storage and processing center for looted art, the heroic actions of French curators, museum workers, and Resistance members ensured that much of France’s artistic heritage was preserved. Today, the Louvre stands not only as a testament to the beauty of human creativity but also as a symbol of resistance against oppression and cultural theft. The lessons learned from its wartime history continue to resonate in global efforts to protect art from conflict and repatriate stolen cultural treasures. image/gallica.bnf.fr
