Art Fag City at the Reeler: The Rape of Europa

by Art Fag City on January 24, 2007 Events


Göring gifts a painting to Hitler
Image courtesy The Jewish Museum

Upon the recommendation of Tyler Green earlier this month on Modern Art Notes, I attended the premiere screening of The Rape of Europa last week at the Jewish Museum. My review of the documentary now finds a place over at The Reeler, but I’ve included the first two opening paragraphs here to give you a taste of what you will be reading.

Given the huge number of World War II films in constant rotation in theaters, on DVD and the History Channel — a glut of titles retelling the heroic acts of men in the midst of tragedy — I’m almost surprised when I discover features that bring something totally new to the table. Take The Rape of Europa, a documentary about the systematic plunder of art by the Nazis during World War II and Allied efforts during and after the war to minimize the damage. Having had its premiere last week at the New York Jewish Film Festival (and screening several times in the upcoming months, most notably on March 4 at The National Gallery of Art in Washington before reaching PBS this fall), the film feels especially current as the Iraq War continues and countless priceless treasures are lost.

One obvious advantage to making a documentary on a war that ended more than 60 years ago lies in the fact that we know more about the invasion plans than we do about those of the present war. This is a key point in Europa, which cites numerous examples of art pillaged by the Nazis that remains disputed or missing, eventually establishing the connections between the Nazis’ interest in fine art and their conquest strategies; directors Bonni Cohen, Richard Berge and Nicole Newnham note the strategic invasion of the museums of Florence and Rome, the merciless destruction of Polish architecture and other art believed to be “degenerate” and the pillaging of invaluable treasures from the State Hermitage in Russia. Once the magnitude of Nazi plundering is established, the film discusses the role of Allies like the Monuments Officers — Americans assigned the responsibility of finding and returning art hidden by the Germans — and Rose Valland, a French art historian who worked at the Jeu de Paume Museum, a central German art storage depot where she secretly recorded from where and to whom stolen art work came and went.

To read the full review click here.

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