 |
| View of the valley from the old city walls that still encircle Rothenburg. |
In the 1930s, John J. McCloy's mother visited one of the most beautiful medieval cities in the world, Rothenburg ob der Tauber* in Germany, where she walked the cobbled streets, strolled through the gardens, and sketched as many scenes as possible. When she returned to the United States, she couldn't stop talking about this beautiful place where every turn revealed another setting that should be captured in an oil painting. Her impressionable son hung on his mother's every word, studied the picture of the city that hung in the McCloy living room, and vowed to some day explore this magical place that conjured so many dreams.
 |
| City walls and guard towers. |
Before he could visit it, though, he'd have to find a way to save it from being demolished during World War II. Hitler had told all his forces to let cities burn rather than surrender, but USA Assistant Secretary of War McCloy, was determined to try to save the city his mother had taught him to love.
