Unpacking Mona Lisa at the end of World War II, 1945
Hitler and his cronies had a wish list of works they planned to plunder from the countries they invaded, and Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the most famous painting in the world then and now, was at the top of the list. It was Jacques Jaujard, director of France’s National Museums, who thwarted Hitler’s scheme, pulled the wool over the eyes of the collaborationist tools of the Vichy government, and kept the Louvre’s contents, including the Mona Lisa, safe for the duration of the war.