Evacuation of the Louvre museum art collection during World War II
During World War II, the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, was at risk of getting damaged or destroyed due to the ongoing war. In order to keep the art collection safe, the museum staff and government officials made a plan to move the artworks to a safer location.
Think of the Louvre Museum as a big house with a very valuable collection of toys. But because there were bad people around who wanted to break the toys, the grown-ups who worked at the house decided to take all the toys to a different house where they would be safe.
So, the grown-ups made little boxes and carefully wrapped each toy with a lot of paper so they wouldn't get damaged. They labeled each box with the name of the toy inside it and they put all the boxes in big trucks.
It was a big, big job because there were a lot of toys (in fact, more than 40,000 pieces of art!). The grown-ups needed to make sure none of the toys got left behind, and that they were all safe during the trip.
The trucks took the toys to different places. Some went to a big castle in France, some went to other museums and some even went to places outside of France.
After the war was over, the grown-ups brought the toys back to the house. And the kids, just like before, were able to play and see all their favorite toys again.
And that's pretty much what happened to the Louvre Museum. The art collection was moved to different places outside the city, and when the war was over, it was moved back to the museum so everyone could see and enjoy it again.
Think of the Louvre Museum as a big house with a very valuable collection of toys. But because there were bad people around who wanted to break the toys, the grown-ups who worked at the house decided to take all the toys to a different house where they would be safe.
So, the grown-ups made little boxes and carefully wrapped each toy with a lot of paper so they wouldn't get damaged. They labeled each box with the name of the toy inside it and they put all the boxes in big trucks.
It was a big, big job because there were a lot of toys (in fact, more than 40,000 pieces of art!). The grown-ups needed to make sure none of the toys got left behind, and that they were all safe during the trip.
The trucks took the toys to different places. Some went to a big castle in France, some went to other museums and some even went to places outside of France.
After the war was over, the grown-ups brought the toys back to the house. And the kids, just like before, were able to play and see all their favorite toys again.
And that's pretty much what happened to the Louvre Museum. The art collection was moved to different places outside the city, and when the war was over, it was moved back to the museum so everyone could see and enjoy it again.