Speaker 1: Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
Speaker 1: is Womanica. Historically, women have been told to make themselves smaller,
Speaker 1: to diminish themselves. Some have used that idea to their advantage,
Speaker 1: disappearing into new identities. For others, a disappearance was the
Speaker 1: end of their stories, but the beginning of a new
Speaker 1: chapter of their legacies. This month, we're telling the stories
Speaker 1: of these women. We're talking about disappearing acts. On May tenth,
Speaker 1: nineteen forty, Nazi Germany began its invasion of France. The
Speaker 1: campaign destroyed livelihoods and also culture. The Nazis had a
Speaker 1: particular interest in pillaging the belongings of Jewish people, museums
Speaker 1: and galleries. They wanted the center of beauty to be
Speaker 1: in their territory. In this quest, they trafficked art across
Speaker 1: Europe with such fervor that some of the world's most
Speaker 1: meaningful paintings were almost lost. But there was a woman
Speaker 1: so dedicated to the preservation of art that she risked
Speaker 1: her life by hiding in plain sight. Today we're talking
Speaker 1: about Rose Villande. Rose Antonia Maria Villand was born in
Speaker 1: a small town in southwest France on November first, eighteen
Speaker 1: ninety eight. She didn't come from a wealthy family, but
Speaker 1: she was extraordinarily bright. She studied art history at the
Speaker 1: best schools across France, including the e Colle de Louverres
Speaker 1: and the Sorbonne in Paris. Her level of education was
Speaker 1: rare for anyone at the time, especially a woman. Rose
Speaker 1: eventually became an art historian and started volunteering at the
Speaker 1: Jeux de Pomme, a museum that showcased contemporary works from
Speaker 1: foreign artists. She may have seemed quiet and unassuming, but
Speaker 1: she knew each collection in the museum inside and out.
Speaker 1: She set up exhibits, kept records, and wrote catalogs about
Speaker 1: incoming projects, purely out of her love of art. She
Speaker 1: was not paid for her labor. Unlike many of her peers,
Speaker 1: she was not independently wealthy and had to work as
Speaker 1: a teacher to supplement her income. In other words, art
Speaker 1: was her center. In nineteen thirty three, a few years
Speaker 1: after Rose began volunteering at the museum, she noticed a
Speaker 1: disturbing new trend over the border in Germany. Nazis were
Speaker 1: beginning to condemn modern art. She and Jacques Joujar, the
Speaker 1: director of French national museums quietly began labeling the cultural
Speaker 1: goods in their collections. They had a feeling the Third
Speaker 1: Reich would soon set its sights on France and its culture.
Speaker 1: By nineteen thirty eight, Rose had become the lead curator
Speaker 1: of Jeu de Pomme. It was cleared the situation in
Speaker 1: Germany was escalating, so Rose and Jacques revved up their
Speaker 1: own efforts. They started shipping artwork out of Paris, hiding
Speaker 1: pieces and castles and safehouses in the countryside. Rose's hunch
Speaker 1: was spot on. By nineteen forty, the Germans had fully
Speaker 1: taken over France and its cultural sector, including the Jeu d'
Speaker 1: pat Rose's beloved museum was no longer a place for
Speaker 1: the public to enjoy, but a sorting house for looted artwork.
Speaker 1: But Rose refused to abandon her post, so she chose
Speaker 1: instead to hide in plain sight. Her modest nature and
Speaker 1: dowdy style allowed her to conceal her extensive knowledge. The
Speaker 1: Nazis believed that she was just a lowly secretary, so
Speaker 1: Rose remained the only French citizen allowed in the converted museum.
Speaker 1: Hitler planned to create a world renowned museum in Austria.
Speaker 1: Artworks headed that way were often sorted and stored at
Speaker 1: the Jeux d' pomp while new shipments came in. Rose
Speaker 1: recorded visits from Nazi officials in a small notebook. She
Speaker 1: also knew German, so after work she would return home
Speaker 1: and dump everything she heard from that day onto the page.
Speaker 1: She reported all of it back to Jacques, her partner
Speaker 1: in avenging art. Jacques then passed on the information to
Speaker 1: the resistance movement, allowing them to keep tabs on presless items.
Speaker 1: Throughout the war, it wasn't all smooth sailing for the
Speaker 1: elusive Rose. She was dismissed from the Jaux du Pomp
Speaker 1: four times by the paranoid Nazis, but Rose, soft spoken
Speaker 1: and diplomatic, always talked her way back in. As the
Speaker 1: war raged on, Rose became increasingly comfortable in her spying.
Speaker 1: She made fast friends with the truck drivers and security
Speaker 1: guards employed by the Germans. They trusted her so much
Speaker 1: that they would tell her which apartments were being ransacked
Speaker 1: and which trains were being loaded up with stolen art.
Speaker 1: By nineteen forty four, the liberation of France was on
Speaker 1: the horizon. An American platoon filled with museum directors, curators,
Speaker 1: art scholars and educators called the monument Men landed in France.
Speaker 1: Their goal recover all the stolen artwork. Rose's longtime conspirator, Jacques,
Speaker 1: put the monument Men in touch with Rose, but she
Speaker 1: was suspicious. He'd been undercover for so long, been vigilant
Speaker 1: for so many years that she had a hard time
Speaker 1: trusting the men. The men also struggled to see Rose
Speaker 1: as an ally. This meek little woman was really a spy.
Speaker 1: But all of that changed one August morning. A train
Speaker 1: filled with paintings by artists like de Ga, Gaugain and
Speaker 1: Picasso was ready to depart for Germany. But Rose was
Speaker 1: on the case. She shared a copy of the Nazis
Speaker 1: shipment order with Jacques, who passed the information to the
Speaker 1: resistance army, who derailed the trains and blocked the tracks.
Speaker 1: The delivery was thwarted, and so began a working relationship
Speaker 1: between Rose and the monument Men. She sent them to
Speaker 1: castles in Bavaria, to homes across southern Germany, even a
Speaker 1: booby trapped salt mine with more than ten thousand pieces
Speaker 1: of art inside. Soon after the liberation of France, Rose
Speaker 1: joined the first French Army, she traveled across Europe to
Speaker 1: oversee the return of thousands of crates of artwork. Under
Speaker 1: her direction, art was shipped directly to Paris, by passing
Speaker 1: collection points where pieces could have been retrafficked or damaged.
Speaker 1: When she returned to France in the nineteen fifties, she
Speaker 1: was appointed head of the works of Arts protective services
Speaker 1: at the Louver and she began working on her memoir.
Speaker 1: In it, she refrained from depicting herself as a hero. Instead,
Speaker 1: she described her sacrifices as a duty. After retiring, Rose
Speaker 1: volunteered in the art world until the end of her
Speaker 1: life in nineteen eighty. Although Rose was an officer of
Speaker 1: the Legion of Honor and played an undeniable role in
Speaker 1: protecting her nation's history, her funeral was not that of
Speaker 1: a decorated war hero. In fact, not one official representative
Speaker 1: came to pay respects. For years, Rose's legacy was buried
Speaker 1: with her. It wasn't until nineteen ninety four, when Lynn H.
Speaker 1: Nicholas published a detailed account of the Nazis practice of
Speaker 1: looting art, that Rose's legacy was brought to light in
Speaker 1: the general public. Compared to the monument men who were
Speaker 1: aided heavily by Rose. Her story is still a little known,
Speaker 1: but the detailed notes she took after long hours working
Speaker 1: at the Joux du Pommes led to the discovery of
Speaker 1: more than sixty thousand pieces of art. Her legacy touches
Speaker 1: people every day, whether they know it or not, through
Speaker 1: the paintings on the walls of museums all over the world.
Speaker 1: All month, we're talking about Disappearing Acts. For more information,
Speaker 1: find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast special
Speaker 1: thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co creator.
Speaker 1: Talk to you tomorrow.