Opinion | Why saving art during war can be as important as saving lives

"As a very young child, some of my earliest memories are of walking in the historic neighborhoods of post-World War II London. Noticeable were the gaping holes where houses formerly stood. These dandelion-strewn bomb craters could easily once have been art-filled homes, architectural gems or museums. I played on the grounds of the massive, nearly 350-year-old Holland House, which was almost completely destroyed in the 1940 Blitz.

But, thanks to remarkable foresight, the majority of London's major international art collections were kept secure against German bombing. Much of it was hidden in Welsh mines or stored in the deep tunnels of the London Underground, which also safeguarded much of the city's population during the bombings"