WWII Most Wanted Art™
Monuments Men and Women Foundation
Can a deck of playing cards help find missing artwork stolen by the Nazis during WWII? The Monuments Men and Women Foundation is betting on it.

The Monuments Men and Women Foundation continues the mission of their namesake scholar-soldiers who, during World War II, protected and safeguarded civilization’s most important artistic cultural treasures. And now they are engaging the public to help find still missing objects and return them to their rightful owners.

Works by famous artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Monet, and Raphael, were stolen so long ago, the general public is not familiar with what these masterpieces even look like. Increasing visibility is key to recovering these stolen works of art.

“The Monuments Men Foundation has found a new and creative approach to engage the general public in the search for works of art and cultural treasures missing since World War II.”
— Col. A. Scott DeJesse, Cultural Heritage Preservation Officer at U.S. Army

Playing cards have a long history with the U.S. Military, helping soldiers identify enemy aircraft and most wanted military targets. Inspired by this tradition, HoneyWired created WWII MOST WANTED ART™ playing cards with The Foundation.

This deck of cards includes fifty-two works of art and two sets of historical photo albums featuring works confiscated and coveted by the Nazis and Adolf Hitler. The Foundation worked with the owners of these objects as well as museums and law enforcement agencies to complete research into the circumstances of each loss.

“This new campaign by the Monuments Men Foundation will raise additional awareness of the art and cultural property stolen and lost during that era, and will assist law enforcement agencies around the world in efforts to reunite victims and their family members with their possessions.”
— Randolph J. Deaton IV, Supervisory Special Agent, Art Crime Program Manager, FBI

Since the launch of WWII MOST WANTED ART™ playing cards, the deck of cards have turned up in art and history museums across the world. Courses on art and history have used the cards to teach students about Nazi-looting. And for the 80th Anniversary of D-Day Celebrations, the deck of cards were distributed by the USACAPOC Airborne’s Army Monuments Officers at vital cultural heritage sites across France that the original Monuments Officers of WWII had worked to protect & salvage.

The deck of cards are currently available for order online at the Monuments Men and Women Foundation store, in Europe at playingcardshop.eu, and in person at The National WWII Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, Toledo Museum of Art, Birmingham Museum of Art, Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, Pritzker Military Museum in Chicago, Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, The MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, VA, George Bush Museum Store in College Station, TX, Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX, the prestigious Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, Italy and the Château de La Roche-Guyon in France.

For more information on the history of each individual work of art that makes up WWII MOST WANTED ART™ playing cards, visit monumentsmenandwomenfnd.org/wwii-most-wanted.
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