Heinz Ludwig Chaim "Harry" Ettlinger (January 28, 1926 – October 21, 2018) was one of the
Monuments Men
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...
. On October 22, 2015, Ettlinger and Richard Barancik, a fellow Monuments Man, were awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal
The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...
. Ettlinger also worked closely with the
Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art
The Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art is an American IRS approved 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, which honors the legacy of those who served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program during and after World War ...
and its founder Robert M. Edsel to continue the mission of the MFAA and preserve their legacy.
Biography
Ettlinger was born in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, Germany on January 28, 1926. He migrated from Germany with his parents and his two brothers in September 1938. When they arrived in the United States they first lived in Manhattan, eventually settling in
The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...
'', March 4, 2014. Accessed October 23, 2018. "Harry Ettlinger is back home in his meticulous apartment in Rockaway Township, back from the movie premieres in Berlin, Milan, London, Paris and Washington.... The family settled in Newark, Ettlinger graduated from East Side High School, and when his draft notice came, the Navy was out of the question."
After leaving the service he attended Newark College of Engineering (now
New Jersey Institute of Technology
{{Infobox university
, name = {{nowrap, New Jersey Institute of Technology
, image = New Jersey IT seal.svg
, image_upright = 0.9
, former_names = Newark College of Engineering (1930–1975)Ne ...
) on the
G.I. Bill
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
, graduating with a BS in mechanical engineering in 1950.
A resident of Rockaway Township, New Jersey, he died in 2018 at the age of 92.
In popular culture
In the film ''
The Monuments Men
''The Monuments Men'' is a 2014 war film directed by George Clooney and written and produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov. The film stars an ensemble cast including Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hug ...
'' the character Sam Epstein is based on Ettlinger and played by Dimitri Leonidas.