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Summary:
Every few months you'll read a newspaper story of the discovery of some long-lost art treasure hidden away in a German basement or a Russian attic: a Cranach, a Holbein, even, not long ago, a da Vinci. Such treasures ended up far from the museums and churches in which they once hung, taken as war loot by Allied and Axis soldiers alike. Thousands of important pieces have never been recovered. Lynn Nicholas offers an astonishingly good account of the wholesale ravaging of European art during World War II, of how teams of international experts have worked to recover lost masterpieces in the war's aftermath and of how governments "are still negotiating the restitution of objects held by their respective nations."
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
the rest of the story
Customer Rating:
This a both a work of considerable scholarship and also a work written with considerable understanding of human nature. Essentially it is written in two parts. The first covers the Nazi expropriation or destruction of works of art all over Europe from 1939 through 1942. The second part covers the Allied attempts to recover and safeguard the stolen/confiscated/extorted works of art. The strength of this work is that the author makes clear that this simple narrative is complicated by the fact that not all motives were entirely pure or entirely corrupt depending on the nature of the individuals involved. There were some German army officials who actually tried to safeguard and protect art though their efforts were usually overcome by rapacious National Socialist ideologists and greedy Party officials. "Collaborationist" French officials did all in their bureaucratic power to delay and obstruct the systematic looting. On the other side, not all Allied military personnel behaved correctly with personal instances of indifference and corruption against which the "Monument Men" struggled untiringly. The author is particularly clear about the role of European art dealers who, if they were in business from 1939 to 1945, did some business with the Nazis who ruled Europe. Their ethical challanges are described as is the way they met those challanges with various levels of compromise. The only flaw in the book is that there are not many illustrations of the works involved in theis huge transfer of ownership and location. Of course, such illustrations would practically describe a history of Western art, so instead we have many contemporary photos of the activities being described in the text, which are quite interesting.
See the movie, first
Customer Rating:
The book is excellent as a resource after seeing the movie. For nonartistists such as myself, this is a great resource to further my understanding of the film. The film is 5 stars and really shows what happened.
I am truely ambivalent in this review
Customer Rating:
On the one hand, it is a very scholarly account of the systematic theft of Europe's art by the Nazis. I was interested in this book after reading a review of the movie, which came through Sacramento all too briefly (never to return, it seems).
There was also an article on this in, I believe, Smithsonian Magazine.
So my interest was seeded.
It is the story of how about 200 American (and a few British) servicemen were sent out with Patton's 3rd Army (among others) to find and catalog paintings and other artwork looted by the Nazis in every conquered country. They found masterpieces from the Great Masters in every location from caves to Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria. There were literally 2,000 hiding places the Nazis used - many found with the aid of local townspeople. The 200 literally saved Europe's heritage.
Quite a story, wouldn't you agree? However the book is laden with such detail as to be a cumbersome read. Do you really need to know what Picasso was doing in Paris during the occupation or that a Parisian Art dealer fell though an open hatch (and died) on a ship crossing the channel to freedom in England? Just because you know it doesn't mean you have to tell everyone else about the fact.
In wading though this I wonder how Lynn, after 60 years, came across this stuff!
The book is an invaluable source of information for learning every nut and bolt detail of the Nazis' plan to loot Europe for someone needing research. But as a bedtime read?
I gotta tell you I am using discipline to wade through this book because the subject is so interesting. I am almost through.
My parents enjoyed the book and it has received rave reviews so what do I know...
great book on art looting
Customer Rating:
The Rape of Europa is an eye-opening book. Nicholas has done a tremendous amount of research that reveals the almost unimaginable extent of Nazi art looting during World War II. But the book never gets bogged down in details. The chilling story moves along quickly. I recommend this book highly for anyone interested in World War II, or for readers who are curious about the political uses of art.
rape of europe
Customer Rating:
What an eye opener. after reading this book one think the world war II was ment by the Germans to get hold on art only. One can never visit an museum in europe/america/ Argentina/south america/auction houses without thinking: what is the provenance of said article: also robbed / fenced/ stolen? How much blood is on it? Is there not an exhibition in London (March 2008) with stolen art by the Russian (so called reparation payment taken from hidden German wareshouses) this month full with French/Paris school / entarte kunst and more? Comming from France the loot was 28 thousant train wagons(containers)
After reading, one should feel never be save anymore regarding own collection!
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