Click here to read Shepherd Project’s Discussion of Monuments Men!  

Frank:  Who would make sure that the statue of David is still standing or the Mona Lisa is still smiling?  Who will protect her?

Frank:  How’s Penny?
James:  She’s well.
Frank:  I do question her taste.
James:  So does she.

James:  You want to go into a war zone and tell our boys what the can and can not blow up?

Hitler was a failed art student.

Sam:  This is why Hitler didn’t bomb Paris [because he didn’t want to destroy the art before he could steal it].
Donald:  But he bombed London?
Sam:  Yes, I know.

Preston:  I want to kill somebody!
Walter:  You want to shoot Hitler, Private?
Preston:  Maybe.  And if you call me Private again, I’ll put a bullet in you.

Many people:  You know James, your French is not good.

Frank:  Donny, we’ve all screwed up at one time or another.
Donald:  It’s just, mine was at a high level.
Frank:  You were the best man for the job.
Donald:  So, it’s not just charity?
Frank:  Well, maybe a little.

Frank:  This mission was never designed to succeed.

Frank:  We’re fighting for culture, and our way of life…  Destroy their achievements and their history, it’s like they never existed.  Just like ash, floating.  That’s what Hitler wants, and the one thing we can never allow.

Claire:  Will you stop speaking in French?  Or whatever language it is you’re speaking?
James:  IF it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking German.
Claire:  No.  If it wasn’t for you, I’d be dead.  But I’d still be speaking French.

Claire:  How can I help you steal our stolen art?

Sam:  We weren’t allowed [to enter museums].  My grandpa would say it was because we were too short.  Suddenly, all of Europe was too short for Hitler.

Walter:  I’ve never killed anyone before.
Jean Claude:  It’s easy.
Walter:  Have you?
Jean Claude:  I’m about to.

Walter (when he discovers their fearsome enemy is but a child):  Maybe we’ll keep this to ourselves.
Jean Claude:  I think that’s best.

James:  What’s all this?
Claire:  People’s lives.
James:  What people?
Claire:  Jews.

Frank:  Trophy Brigade—you gotta love a snappy nickname.
James:  What—like Monuments Men?

Jean Claude (?) When he hears Hitler will destroy all the art if he’s defeated:  Then we have to hope no one kills Hitler.  I never thought I’d say that.

Frank:  We questioned if we would ever really be called soldiers….  We are no longer observers.  We are active participants.

Frank:  From the beginning I told you no piece of art was worth a man’s life.  The last few months have proven me wrong.  History is not to be stolen or destroyed.

Frank:  Yesterday we fond 16,000 pieces of art in a copper mine.  It seems the Germans take better care of their art than people.

Claire:  Paris, at night, finds a lot of good husbands, out.

Claire:  You know, in France if you are given an invitation to a formal party, then you dress accordingly.

James:  Hitler really wanted it all.
Frank:  He wanted everything.

Walter:  Your army may not care much about art, but they sure as s*** care about gold.

James:  I seem to have stepped on a land mind.
Frank:  Why’d you do that?
James:  It was a slow day.
Frank:  Don’t move.
James:  Well, at some point I’d like to.
Frank:  He seems to have stepped on a mine.
Walter:  Why would you do that?
Frank:  I asked him the same thing!
James:  So, I’ll just count to three and step off.
Preston:  Take your time.

Barrels of gold—from teeth.

Frank:  You give that Claire a big kiss!
James (wryly):  She’d like that!

American soldier in Germany:  The German’s surrendered.  War’s over.  Isn’t there supposed to be a parade or something?
James:  Probably not in Germany.

Frank (listing what the Monuments Men saved):  5,000 church bells… 3 million books…  5 millions pieces of art recovered

Committee:  Do you think Jeffries would say it was worth it if he could speak?
Frank:  I think he would.

Committee:  You think 30 years from now anyone will remember that these men died for a piece of art?
Frank:  Yeah.