Robert M. Edsel, Founder and Chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, will be the keynote speaker at the Victory in Europe ( VE-Day ) 70th Anniversary Commemoration marking the end of World War II in Europe. The program is set for May 8, 7 p.m. at the Eisenhower Presidential Library Visitors Center Auditorium.

Edsel is the number one New York Times bestselling author of three non-fiction books, Saving Italy: the Race to Rescue a Nation’s Treasures from the Nazis, Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, and “rescuing Da Vinci. A film based on Edsel’s book, The Monuments Men, directed by and starring Academy Award winner George Clooney, was released in February 2014.

Edsel’s remarks will provide perspective on the lessons learned about the preservation of cultural treasures during World War II under the leadership of Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower. He will also discuss the challenges confronting us today as we bear witness to the destruction of cultural treasurers in Syria and Iraq by the Islamic State.

In addition, Edsel will unveil a major initiative to engage the public in the hunt for some of the hundreds of thousands of works of art and other cultural treasures still missing since World War II.