IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 499 
Recognizing the efforts and contributions of the members of the Monuments, 
Fine Arts, and Archives program under the Civil Affairs and Military 
Government Sections of the United States Armed Forces during and 
following World War II who were responsible for the preservation, protec-
tion, and restitution of artistic and cultural treasures in countries occu-
pied by the Allied armies. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 6, 2006 
Ms. GRANGER (for herself, Ms. SLAUGHTER, and Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN) sub-
mitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the efforts and contributions of the members 
of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program 
under the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections 
of the United States Armed Forces during and following 
World War II who were responsible for the preservation, 
protection, and restitution of artistic and cultural treas-
ures in countries occupied by the Allied armies. 
Whereas the United States Government established the 
American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of 
Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas in 1943 
to promote and coordinate the protection and salvage of 
works of art and cultural and historical monuments and 
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records in countries occupied by Allied armies during 
World War II; 
Whereas the American Commission for the Protection and 
Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War 
Areas is also known as the Roberts Commission, in honor 
of its chairman, Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts; 
Whereas, in connection with the establishment of the Roberts 
Commission, the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives 
program (MFAA) was established under the Civil Affairs 
and Military Government Sections of the United States 
Armed Forces; 
Whereas the establishment of the Roberts Commission and 
the MFAA provided an example for other countries, 
working in conjunction with the United States, to develop 
similar programs, and more than 100 foreign MFAA per-
sonnel, representing at least seventeen countries, contrib-
uted to this international effort; 
Whereas the MFAA was comprised of both men and women, 
commissioned officers and civilians, who were appointed 
or volunteered to serve as representatives of the Roberts 
Commission and as the official guardians of some of the 
world’s greatest artistic and cultural treasures; 
Whereas members of the MFAA, called the ‘‘Monuments 
Men,’’ often joined frontline military forces and some 
even lost their lives in combat during World War II; 
Whereas, during World War II and for years following the 
Allied victory, members of the MFAA worked tirelessly to 
locate, identify, catalogue, restore, and repatriate price-
less works of art and irreplaceable cultural artifacts, in-
cluding masterpieces by Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rem-
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brandt and Vermeer, that had been stolen or sequestered 
by the Axis powers; 
Whereas the heroic actions of the MFAA in saving priceless 
works of art and irreplaceable cultural artifacts for fu-
ture generations cannot be overstated and set a moral 
precedent and established standards, practices, and pro-
cedures for the preservation, protection, and restitution 
of artistic and cultural treasures in future armed con-
flicts; 
Whereas members of the MFAA went on to become renowned 
directors and curators of preeminent international cul-
tural institutions, including the National Gallery of Art, 
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern 
Art, the Toledo Museum of Art, and the Nelson-Atkins 
Museum of Art, as well as professors at institutions of 
higher education, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, 
New York University, Williams College, and Columbia 
University; 
Whereas other members of the MFAA were founders, presi-
dents, and members of associations, such as the New 
York City Ballet, the American Association of Museums, 
the American Association of Museum Directors, the Ar-
chaeological Institute of America, the Society of Architec-
tural Historians, the American Society of Landscape Ar-
chitects, the National Endowment for the Humanities, 
and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as re-
spected artists, architects, musicians, and archivists; and 
Whereas members of the MFAA have never been collectively 
honored for their service and contributions to humanity, 
and they are deserving of the utmost acknowledgment, 
gratitude, and recognition, in particular the 13 known 
Monuments Men who are still alive: Now, therefore, be it 
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Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) recognizes the men and women who served 
in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program 
(MFAA) under the Civil Affairs and Military Gov-
ernment Sections of the United States Armed 
Forces for their heroic role in the preservation, pro-
tection, and restitution of monuments, works of art, 
and other artifacts of inestimable cultural impor-
tance in Europe and Asia during and following 
World War II; 
(2) recognizes that without their dedication and 
service, many more of the world’s artistic and his-
toric treasures would have been destroyed or lost 
forever amidst the chaos and destruction of World 
War II; 
(3) acknowledges that the detailed catalogues, 
documentation, inventories, and photographs devel-
oped and compiled by MFAA personnel during and 
following World War II, have made, and continue to 
make, possible the restitution of stolen works of art 
to their rightful owners; and 
(4) commends and extols the members of the 
MFAA for establishing a precedent for action to pro-
tect cultural property in the event of armed conflict, 
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and by their action setting a standard not just for 
one country, but for people of all nations to acknowl-
edge and uphold. 
Æ 
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