Tasked With the Finding and Protecting Over Five Million Pieces of Stolen Artwork

Speaking of art history, go see The Monuments Men.  It told a story rarely told in history books about a group of art historians, curators, and restorers who went into war zones to find and take back priceless pieces of art that the Germans had taken and hid.  It is really respectful of the war subjects as well as the art, throwing in a good amount of comedy as well.  I mean, Bill Murray is one of the leads, how could there not be some great lighthearted moments?  Joining him is an all-star cast including George Clooney (who wrote and directed as well), Matt Damon, John Goodman, Bob Balaban, an excellent newcomer Dimitri Leonidas, and the always delightful Cate Blanchett as a feisty French bookkeeper.  It also provided an interesting, less portrayed side of Hitler, and how his madness went beyond just power and killing.  He was an exacting genius who respected and understood the importance of art, which added to the terrifying potential of his ultimate dream.  Good old George says it best: "You can wipe out an entire generation, you can burn their homes to the ground and somehow they'll still find their way back.  But if you destroy their history, you destroy their achievements then it's as if they never existed."  Oh, and stick around for the credits to see photographs of the real-life Monuments Men.

(photos collected from imdb, redappleworld, wegotthiscovered, and online.wsj)