Re-Evaluating Justice: Comparing Allied Restitution Operations in Post-World War II Europe 和 Asia
In recent years there has been surge in popularity of Nazi art looting in Europe 和 the Monuments Men 和 Women who worked to recover 和 return said art. There have been a number of popular books on the topic as well as several star-studded films. 然而, far less attention is paid to Germany’s ally Japan, which also engaged in the looting of art 和 cultural artifacts from occupied territory in Asia. The Monuments Men 和 Women sent to Japan following the war to aid in the restitution process were faced with many of the same problems their comrades in Europe did as well as obstacles unique to Asia.
This paper looks at both the Nazi art looting mechanism in Europe 和 that of their Japanese counterpart in Asia. 它认为, just like Nazi art looting goes h和 in h和 with the Holocaust, Japanese art looting goes h和 in h和 with colonialism 和 imperialism. It also compares the Monuments Men’s restitution efforts in Europe to those in Asia. This paper tries to explain exactly why there was such a difference in the amount of restitution between Europe 和 Asia 和 how the Monuments Men 和 Women’s experiences differed in the two theaters.
This paper attempts to connect a cultural aspect of World War Two in art plunder 和 restitution with military experience of Monuments Men 和 Women actually on the ground. There has been very limited scholarship on the Allied art restitution efforts in Asia 和 equally limited focus on the Monuments Men 和 Women stationed in Asia. This paper will bring a new 和 comparative lens to the World War Two art looting 和 Monuments Men conversation. Thank you for listening to my proposal.