Rose's Impact During the War
When the Nazis and the Axis Powers rose to power in 1933 against France and the Allied Powers, Rose and many others were put in charge of the Jeu de Paume Museum, by Jacques Jaujard, Director of the Musées Nationaux. The Nazis fired all workers in exception to one, Rose, and they then assigned her as the paid overseer of the museum in 1941. She would work to take care of the maintenance of the building. They took control of the museum and used it as a headquarter for Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg.
At the museum, the Nazis stole and stored all of their stolen works of art. Jaujard instructed Rose to record and spy on the Nazis moves and crimes. Since Rose was a quiet woman, she never caused any scenes or attention to herself in the museum, so she was ignored by the Nazis, however, they did not know that Valland was clever and spoke and understood every word of German that they were speaking, unaware that she could understand their secretive plans. Throughout this time, Rose was busy tracking stolen items from Paris that the Nazis took and delivered throughout the Reich.
Valland was not the only one that was working against the Nazis to return the stolen treasures. She gathered information from the help of loyal drivers, guards, and packers, and then delivered the information to Jacques and the French Resistance. After the Allied invasion of France in June 1944, Valland passed along the information that she gathered of the Nazi's to tell the Monuments Man, James Rorimer. One of the greatest finding that Valland recovered was when she could give the names and the exact location of where the pieces of art belonged.
Rose had recovered thousands of beloved artwork without even the slightest question by the Nazis. Right from the start, she had a great impact on the war that carried over for many years rescuing and retrieving stolen works of art. The Monuments Men lived on, and were doing their duty throughout the war. This shows Rose Valland is a true World War II heroine.
At the museum, the Nazis stole and stored all of their stolen works of art. Jaujard instructed Rose to record and spy on the Nazis moves and crimes. Since Rose was a quiet woman, she never caused any scenes or attention to herself in the museum, so she was ignored by the Nazis, however, they did not know that Valland was clever and spoke and understood every word of German that they were speaking, unaware that she could understand their secretive plans. Throughout this time, Rose was busy tracking stolen items from Paris that the Nazis took and delivered throughout the Reich.
Valland was not the only one that was working against the Nazis to return the stolen treasures. She gathered information from the help of loyal drivers, guards, and packers, and then delivered the information to Jacques and the French Resistance. After the Allied invasion of France in June 1944, Valland passed along the information that she gathered of the Nazi's to tell the Monuments Man, James Rorimer. One of the greatest finding that Valland recovered was when she could give the names and the exact location of where the pieces of art belonged.
Rose had recovered thousands of beloved artwork without even the slightest question by the Nazis. Right from the start, she had a great impact on the war that carried over for many years rescuing and retrieving stolen works of art. The Monuments Men lived on, and were doing their duty throughout the war. This shows Rose Valland is a true World War II heroine.