Health & Fitness
"Monuments Man" to Speak at Marlboro Library Monday
As a soldier in the US Army during World War II, Ettlinger spent a year and a half as part of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Program whose mission it was to save cultural treasures from the frontline
Meet Harry Ettlinger -- a real World War II “Monuments Man” -- at the Marlboro Library on Monday, July 14 at 2 p.m.
This event is free but tickets are required, and are limited to 2 tickets per family. Pick up your free tickets at the Marlboro Library, 1 Library Court and Wyncrest Drive, beginning July 7.
As a soldier in the United States Army during World War II, Ettlinger spent a year and a half as part of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Program, nicknamed the “Monuments Men,” whose mission it was to save cultural treasures from the frontlines and return looted artworks to rightful owners.
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The unit became famous decades later, first with the Monuments Men book by Robert M. Edsel, and then with the movie released earlier this year starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett and John Goodman.
Ettlinger was born Heinz Ludwig Chaim Ettlinger in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1926. In September 1938, he escaped Germany together with his parents and two brothers and settled in Newark, NJ.
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When he was 19, Ettlinger joined the U.S. Army, and was on the way to the Battle of the Bulge when he was pulled out of his unit to join the Monuments Men. The character Sam Epstein (played by Dimitri Leonidis) in the Monuments Men movie is based on Ettlinger.
Ettlinger, now 88 and living in Rockaway Township, is one of five surviving Monuments Men, and the youngest of those still alive.
For more information, please call the Marlboro Library at 732-536-9406. For more information on programming at the Monmouth County Library, please click on the library’s webpage at www.monmouthcountylib.org
