Rape of Europa

Adolf Hitler had a dream of creating the world's greatest museum of art. The Nazi's systematic plan of making his dream a reality included the theft of those works Hitler, and fellow art enthusiast Hermann Goering, held in esteem. From the evacuation of the Louvre and the Hermitage Museums to the dismantlement and burying of Cracow's St. Mary's Altar, ordinary European citizens went to extraordinary measures to preserve their art and culture. The film's subject matter is astonishing in scope, encompassing items from DaVinci's “Mona Lisa” to simple household items of Jewish apartments. Many of these works are displaced today, still an important facet of the current art market. With commentary from survivors and historians of WWII, THE RAPE OF EUROPA is a stunning and emotional documentary that depicts the evil that tried to destroy Western Culture and the heroism that saved it. – J.B.H.