The Last Remaining Monuments Man Dies at 98

Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1924, Private First Class Barancik served with the U.S. Army 263rd Regiment, 66th Division, until the end of the war in Europe. He then joined the 42nd Division, 232 Infantry, in Austria. In Austria, Barancik first learned of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program and immediately applied for duty. He was given temporary assignment with the Education, Religion, Fine Arts, and Monuments Office in Salzburg, Austria, alongside Corporal Clyde J. Davis, also of the 42nd Division. For several weeks, Barancik and Davis assisted in the movement of stolen art treasures to the central repository of Property Control Branch and served as guards. Barancik later remarked that, “When I arrived in Salzburg, I was not only overwhelmed by the beauty of the town but the quality of the men in the Fine Arts Section. They were typically older and very well educated in the Fine Arts.”

At the conclusion of his military service, Barancik took advantage of being in Europe and attended a short-term program with the Royal Institute of Architects in London. Afterwards, he studied architecture at the University of Cambridge and the École des Beaux-Arts at Fontainebleu before returning to Chicago. Thus began a long and successful career as an architect specializing in hi-rise apartment buildings, office campuses, shopping centers, and hotels.