Jacques Jaujard (3 December 1895 – 21 June 1967) was a
senior civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
of the French
fine art
In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...
administration instrumental in the evacuation and protection of the French arts collections during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Evacuation of the Louvre museum art collection during World War II
During the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
in 1938, he supervised the evacuation of the
Museo del Prado
The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...
collections to Switzerland.
Before the German army arrived in Paris, and during the
German occupation
German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...
, and against the orders of the
Vichy government
Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...
, he organized the removal and safe storage, in the provinces (first in the
Château de Chambord
The Château de Chambord () in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France, is one of the most recognisable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture, which blends traditional French medieval forms with ...
, then in the Château de Sourches, Château de Saint-Blancard, etc...) of the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
art collection, helped by curators
, André Chamson, and René Huyghe">André Chamson">ené Michel/nowiki>, ''Dictionary of Art Historians''
Life
Germain Bazin was b ...
, André Chamson, and René Huyghe.
With the help of Rose Valland, he was instrumental in the saving of the French arts collections during World War II.
Franz von Wolff-Metternich, who was responsible of the conservation of the French art collections under the
principle, from 1940 to 1942, knew what was going on but voluntarily did not do anything. However, in 1942, Wolff-Metternich was recalled from France because he disagreed with the Nazis' looting, and at the end of the war, Jaujard had to hide in
(who was in the resistance under the nickname ''Mozart'') during his resistance activities, and married her later.
for his actions during World War II. The main entrance of the
is also named after him.