Awarding a Congressional Gold Medal to the Actual Monuments Men (Sorry, George Clooney) (H.R. 3658)

What is H.R. 3658?

(Updated March 15, 2018)

This bill was enacted on June 9, 2014

This bill would grant the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the Monuments Men, in recognition of their heroic role in the preservation, protection, and restitution of monuments, works of art, and artifacts of cultural importance during and following World War II. According the Monuments Men, site,the group was comprised 

of approximately 345 men and women from thirteen nations who comprised the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives subcommission during World War II...Many were museum directors, curators, art historians, artists, architects, and educators. Together they worked to protect monuments and other cultural treasures from the destruction of World War II. In the last year of the war, they tracked, located, and in the years that followed returned more than five million artistic and cultural items stolen by Hitler and the Nazis. Their role in preserving cultural treasures was without precedent.

Argument in favor

Tracked, located and returned more than FIVE MILLION artistic and cultural items stolen by the Nazis.

Argument opposed

The six Monuments Men still alive each deserve their own medal.

Impact

Cost of H.R. 3658

No significant impact on the federal budget.

Additional Info

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