The Safekeepers: A Memoir of the Arts of the End of World War II (Schriften zum Kulturgterschutz / Cultural Property Studies)

The former U.S. 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. Abbreviations Introduction Chapter one: My Castle Chapter two: Honest Duty Chapter three: Museum Man Beginning in Wiesbaden The Regierungsbezirk Assistance to Artists Ready! 20-Aug-45 Chapter four: Westward Ho, Watteau! Chapter five: Fine Arts and Archives Chapter six: The Search for Missing Treasures Walter Ings Farmer, Time Line Map Appendix I The Roberts Commission Appendix II II a Wiesbaden Manifesto November 7, 1945 II b Wiesbaden Collecting Point: List of Contents 1946 II.c Receipt of Custody: List of German-Owned Works of Art (The “202”) II d List of Paintings from the Kaiser Friedrich Museum: The “202” Appendix III III a Miscellaneous Papers III b Nefertiti Appendix IV The Obligations of Victory: Walter Farmer and the Wiesbaden Manifesto Appendix V Photo Documentation Index Item Discusses Life At The Wiesbaden Collecting Point In Germany, Where Cultural Property And Art Works Were Collected And Held At The End World War Ii. In November 1945 The Director Of The Collection Point (the Author) Received A Telegram Ordering Him To Send 200 Premier German-owned Art Works To Washington. He And His Officers Resisted This Command With A Written Protest That Became Known As The Wiesbaden Manifesto. Walter I. Farmer ; Revised And Prefaced By Klaus Goldmann ; With An Introduction By Margaret Farmer Planton. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.

As a child I had constructed an imaginary castle where I could live as I pleased undisturbed by my parents or my siblings who never shared my real world interests.