William the British definitely was not the most admirable taking advantage of the situation.
#2 | Written by William Herald about 15 years ago.
The Brits were among the first to pretend indignation over the theft of art works by the Nazis. Yet when their chance arrived what did the wonderful Brits do:
British troops and the Naval War Trophies Committee also looted artworks from Germany, including several pictures by marine artist Claus Bergen (“Wreath in the North Sea in Memory of the Battle of Jutland”, “The Commander U-boat”, “Admiral Hipper’s Battle Cruiser at Jutland” and “The German Pocket Battleship Admiral Von Scheer Bombarding the Spanish Coast”), Carl Saltzmann (“German Fleet Manoeuvres on the High Seas”) and Ehrhard (“”Before the Hurricane at Apia Samoa and “During the Hurricane at Apia”).[36] The pictures were looted from the Mürwik Naval Academy at Flensburg, as documented by a 1965-66 Ministry of defense file in the UK National Archives. The trophies were sent to British museums, five remain in the National Maritime Museum in London (NMM)[37], one picture (“Before the Hurricane at Apia”) was lent to HMS Calliope in 1959, lost, and formally written-off in 1979. The National Maritime Museum admitted in January 2007, that “the documentation at the NMM and the National Archives is not complete”, according to spoliation guidelines, the pictures should be regarded as having been “wrongly taken”.[8][36]
The British are notorious thievish bastards; even now look at the real estate they are stealing in the occupied parts of Cyprus. They are taking the homes of Greek Cypriots for virtually NOTHING. CAN ANYONE SAY “WAR CRIMINALS” ?.
Foolish Thoughts, Silly Notions… About The Parthenon Marbles
24 April, 2010
It was recently reported that Greece returned a fragment of The Parthenon Marbles after a loan agreement with Italy, where it had been housed in a Palermo Museum, since its donation by the widow of a British diplomat in 1836.
What is Greece thinking!
Has its spirit buckled under the pressure of its economic crisis?
Let’s get a few things straight about ownership first…
The Parthenon Marbles are not a fragment of history to be dispersed and shared by various museums around the world, primarily European ones, despite their lofty claims of putting the history of civilization in a context otherwise unappreciated or poorly understood, had it not been for their vigorous protection and generosity, all paltry excuses for what they have really done…
Which is support and condone the acts of greedy and surreptitious subjects—think Elgin—of Cultural Vandalism.
This, of course, is morally reprehensible.
The revered and ancient temple that sits on top Mount Acropolis, whose location happens to be in Athens, Greece, built to honor the patron goddess of the city, Athena, is where the Marbles belong—
Not London, Italy or France.
And as the movement for their return to their rightful place foments, museums are quickly running out of excuses for storing them in their houses, where despite claims they do not benefit financially from their presence, the traffic they attract—especially London—certainly suggests some form of profit derived from these exhibits.
Still resistance to the return of the Marbles to their rightful place—and context—that would be Athena’s house, and not theirs—persists.
However, with the advance of time, these excuses have paled, and the bold definition of Elginism, crafted by British architect, Matthew Taylor, its stubborn beauty and succinct use of language, merely deepens the holes of arguments presented thus far.
A perspective from Things That Never Made It Into Print…
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