The Louvre reopens.

The Louvre reopens. The Basle altar piece is opened to the sunlight in the courtyard of the Louvre, the world's most famous museum, in Paris. Dating back to approximately 1086, the altar piece was acquired by the French from the Swiss. It is stored in a metal box without markings. Some time ago, according to M. Verrier, Inspector General of French Historical Monuments, there was talk in Vichy of exchange of French and German works of art, in which the Basle altar figured. Vichy was preparing to present it to the Nazi government. However, by their delaying tactics, the French guardians of the Louvre treasures kept the altar piece dafe. When the Nazis first invaded France, the the Louvre's treasures of art were scattered over the countryside and buried in secret hiding places. during the four years of the occupation, the museum was either closed completely or in constant fear of losing what treasures remained. But with the liberation of Paris August 25, 1944, and the Allied sweep to the Reich frontiers and on into Germany, French patriots have begun to dig for the statues and paintings, swathed in burlap and wood, to send them back to the Louvre for its reopening.