In the chapter describing the preliminary recruitment of American archaeologists for "Greek Desk", the author of the evenly published essay "The American School of Spies" Stefan Talty writes: "In total, about two dozen classicists (ed.: archaeologists, historians and philologists specializing in Ancient Greece) accepted the call for classification. The motive for many of them was a sense of patriotism and “noblesse oblige” (ed.: noble obligation). Then, in 1942, the circle of American archaeologists was but a small hermit group. To refuse to fight for Greece meant not only a betrayal of the country and duty, but also of one's social order. For the classicists it was perfectly clear that the ancient Greek ruins and works of art were in danger all the time, every minute that Greece was under German occupation, a sacrilege that archaeologists could not ignore since it was about the work of their lives. Then there was symbolism: The image of the swastika blowing over the Acropolis of Athens caused much more sadness than the swastika over Rome or Warsaw. Greece was not just beauty. It was democracy itself in the form of chrysalis."
"The American School of Spies" ("The American School of Spies", dutton / Penguin Random House) by Stefan Talty is the retelling of a history of World War II. A story that remains shocking and completely paradoxical as it unfolds around the action of a group of American spies who had developed into Greece of Occupation and shared an extremely unusual quality: they were all archaeologists with a deep knowledge of ancient Greek history. In fact, some of them had worked on excavations on Greek or Asia Minor soil, spoke Greek unrestrainedly and were Greek worshipers.
Recalling several George Clooney's film "Memories Men", which was based on a real story and represented the action of a company of Americans with a special mission to recover artwork stolen from the Nazis, the book "The American School of Spies" illuminates a different aspect of, due to war, a combination between the study of cultural heritage and military action. And this aspect is espionage, collecting as many as possible and with maximum accuracy of information about the enemy.
Because, as Stefan Talty points out, the members of the special unit with the code name ‘Greek Desk’ They were primarily spies and secondary archaeologists. So in this light it is somewhat over-excited to the explanatory subtitle “The archaeologists who fought the Nazis and saved the treasures of Ancient Greece”. Because, in essence, to save the priceless Greek antiquities, the Greeks themselves had taken care, to a very large and decisive extent.
Intellectual spies
The competent agency tasked with establishing the secret spy mechanism ‘Greek Desk’ was the precursor to the CIA. It was called OSS (acronym of Office of Strategic Services, Office of Strategic Operations), founded in 1942 and operated until 1945. After the end of the war he was replaced by Central Intelligence Agency (Central Intelligence Agency).
The OSS had a preference for recruiting people with university education - or careers - based on the belief that American espionage would be effective against German intelligence only if it adopted unorthodox methods. For which ideals were, based on the same reasoning, unorthodox characters.
OSS's mastermind was the general William Donovan., former lawyer despite Wall Street. He officially established OSS in 1942, two years after US President Franklin Roosevelt had commissioned Donovan to create a strong network of spies focusing on Europe. Among the other initiatives he took preparing OSS, Donovan came to Greece. He met with politicians, traveled to various parts of the mainland, worked closely with the US ambassador in Athens, Lincoln McVeigh, who was - and not exactly by coincidence - archaeologist, scholar and in love, together with his wife, with Greek culture.
During his visit to war Greece, Donovan met an adventurous compatriot named Rodney Yang. Among many others, Yang was an archaeologist with a doctor from Princeton, had participated in excavations in the Ancient Agora of Athens and when the war broke out he became the first foreigner to put himself in the service of the Greek Army, where he was not accepted. But, stubborn and stubborn, he turned to the Red Cross, where he managed to become a driver of a war ambulance on the front. Risky and dependent on first-line adrenaline, Yang was seriously injured, but survived. Something that certainly served Donovan wonderfully, who distinguished Young with the ideal commander of the "Greek Desk".
Hitler's obsession
Ambassador McVeigh, before the Greek-Italian War was officially declared, had received orders from the State Department to arrange for the protection of Athens American Archaeological School. This was translated into a coordinated effort by Americans in close cooperation with the Greek Archaeological Society, the associated state bodies and especially the people of museums to prevent antiquities.
"Hitler and his cousty were obsessed with Ancient Greece and its art," writes Stefan Talty in "The American School of Spies". Explaining further that "Hitler, who had been enchanted by the Discussor of Myron, had purchased a Roman copy of the lost original masterpiece, which he exhibited at a Munich museum. He believed that Martian civilization had given birth to the ancient Greek, especially its apogee, in the 5th century BC, when the Acropolis was built on Pericles, with Parthenon etc. In the manifesto "My Fight", Adolf Hitler wrote that there is a racial affinity, in a straight succession, between the ancient Greeks, Romans and Nazis.".
The problem with this belief was that it existed solely in Hitler's mind and repulsed. Something that, of course, did not in any way intimidate his staff. On the contrary, the more unsupportable the theory of their racial connection with the Ancient Greeks, the more rabid they attempted to usurp the ancient Greek heritage. And not only theoretically, but also by looting monuments itself.
In "The American School of Spies" Talty cites a number of incidents in which German stagers invaded museums and archaeological sites throughout Greece and behaved, as the American writer writes, "as if they were going shopping." Although there was a strict order for respect for antiquities, Nazis did not cease to underestimate what they could: from statue fragments and movable vessels to entire statues, which were sent either to Germany or Austria.
" Bury them again"
However, beyond the risky spy missions and the wanderings of the archaeologists- agents of the "Greek Desk" between Egypt, Turkey and Greece for the posting of valuable information under the nose of the Germans, one of the most interesting topics covered by the book "The American School of Spies" is the desperate efforts they have made, often at the risk of being performed on the spot by the Nazis, some committed to sending their curators of museum collections to Athens, Crete, Delphi, etc.
In 11 November 1940 the management of the Greek Archaeological Service issued an urgent order to all persons involved. The wording was different, but the meaning was "hide antiquities as best as possible, save as many as you can". And indeed, as it is filmed at "The American School of Spies", within a short period of museums throughout Greece, even the iconic Archaeological Museum of Athens, were left with empty rooms. The famous exhibits just disappeared. Literally the earth had swallowed them, as the elaborate marble floors were excavated, ad hoc catacombs were created and the antiquities that had once emerged from the soil were dived again into it.
In their new occupation, of course, all the necessary measures had been taken to wrap themselves up with insulating and anticorrosive materials, to encase, etc., but, as Stefan Talti points out, those responsible for this incredible reverse excavation of ancient Greek treasures did not stop worrying about any alterations from bacteria and microorganisms of the soil, which could destroy the nation's unique relics. Either altering their colorings—where there were such ones—or devouring the marble of the sculptures.
One would say that one of the surprises of the book "The American School of Spies" is that the parallel stories of the curators who undertook the rescue of antiquities prove more exciting even than those of the de facto protagonists, that is, the archaeologists-spymen of the "Greek Desk". Especially in how, in a comical way and playing literally with fire, museum officials pretended to be ignorant—and helpless—every time a Nazi officer ordered to present him with hidden antiquities.
Excellent in the role of "I don't know, I didn't see, I didn't hear", etc., the Greek curators managed to hide from the German conquerors even the lists of the re-buried antiquities. They were never intimidated and did not succumb to threats, presenting all sorts of pretexts and excuses so that Germans would be disappointed, finding themselves that the hauling statues and objects from the bowels of the Greek land was empty meaning – if not impossible under the given circumstances. It's supposed to be because nobody knew exactly where it was buried.
The contribution of the Greek Desk
So if the real heroes were the Greeks, who with the help of Americans, British etc. archaeologists rescued antiquities, then why does the book honor a group of people, as stated on the cover: "The archaeologists who fought the Nazis and saved the treasures of Ancient Greece";
And yet, even if their individual interventions have not been recorded, among the executives of the 'Greek Desk', the fearless men and women of this secret mission, a crucial contribution to the country's protection against the disasters that Nazis could have caused during their departure phase is credited.
In his study Stefan Talty follows step by step his establishment and implementation ‘Young Plan’ and all methods to ensure that the Germans would not bomb Athens, would not pulverize the Acropolis and would not level archaeological sites and museums. .. He saw souvenirs for their passage from the country they supposedly admired. Thus, through the "Young Project", "The American School of Spies" reflects its strategy Rodney Yang, a man who during the war devoted himself wholeheartedly to espionage, but counting the days until machine guns would be silenced and he would finally return to the mental love of his life, Archaeology.
Something that, in the end, succeeded in living post-war by excavating Gordion, the legendary capital of Frigia, in the depths of Turkey. Where Young shared the unrepeatable joy of discovering antiquities with his old and trusted colleague in the "Greek Desk", archaeologist/curror Dorothy Cox. A woman who, according to common confession, was considered the OSS' most capable spy, but who was paid less than men for her services.