In August 1939, Jacques Jaujard, Director of the French National Museums, carried out the largest and most secret operation to save the world's art

In August 1939, Jacques Jaujard, Director of the French National Museums, carried out the largest and most secret operation to save the world's art. A few days before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Louvre was suddenly closed to the public on the pretext of routine repairs. In fact, inside the building hundreds of staff and volunteers were packing masterpieces into wooden crates round the clock. So as not to attract the attention of German intelligence and to avoid panic among Parisians, the treasures were taken out of the city in conditions of complete secrecy. Ordinary civilian lorries, furniture vans and even ambulances were used for transport. The consignments themselves were marked with special coloured labels indicating their degree of importance, while the exact routes and final destinations were known to only a handful of people. The Venus de Milo, together with other key treasures, was secretly delivered to the Château de Valençay, in the province of Indre. When German troops entered Paris and opened the doors of the Louvre, they found only empty galleries and bare frames. Thanks to this secret operation, the Venus de Milo safely survived the years of occupation in the French backwoods