The Safekeepers: Memoir of the Arts at the End of World War II (Schriften Zum Kulturguterschutz / Cultural Property Studies)

The former US Army captain Walter I. Farmer was stationed with the American Forces in Germany after WW II. In 1945, he worked hard to protect important European and German cultural heritage artifacts, such as paintings and sculptures, from being transported to the United States. Together with other officers of the U.S. Army, who took on this task, Farmer wrote the "Wiesbadener Manifest" which resulted in the artifacts remaining in Germany and they can still be seen in German museums today. In 1996, Farmer was awarded the "Bundesverdienstkreuz" for his outstanding work. Besides being a personal account, this autobiography presents an important document of present-day history. It is completed by an extensive list of documents and archive material.