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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready....
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Since 1996 |
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready....
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The
Rape of Europa
Narration: Joan Allen Directors/Scriptwriters: Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen and Nicole Newnham Based on the book "The Rape of Europa" by Lynn H. Nicolas Music: Marco D'Ambrosio Actual Films Documentary No Rating but could be PG Running Time: 118 minutes The Rape of Europa is a famous oil painting, but in this documentary, it refers to the rape of Europe's art museums and private collections by Nazi officials during WWII. Hitler was determined to take the stolen art back to Germany and build new art museums to house it. One wonders how much would have actually ended up in museums, considering many German high-ranking officers hid massive pieces of art for their own collections. "The spoils of war" was given new meaning in the 1940's. This documentary is centered on several cities and their vast art collections, including Pisa and Florence. Bombing raids by Allied Forces were not always accurate, so cathedrals and museums were hit, destroying priceless art treasures, including frescos. The German Army hauled away paintings, silver, furniture, sculptures and even whole stone fountains from Jewish families, or entire towns. The mode of transportation were truck convoys or several trains, fully packed. When the Germans lost the war, the Allies started to track down the lost treasures and tried to return them to their rightful owners. This process continues today. The group of men who worked for years to discover and return art earned a name - The Monument Men. Art work was found in salt mines, basements or barns, and not always protected from the elements. Straw packed around an oil painting and then getting everything wet is not ideal. The directors interview people who are searching for lost art objects or those who know where something is and try to retrieve it from governments that won't part with it. A Jewish family, now living in America, spent 60 years getting back three oil paintings, and the proof was heavily on their side. One poignant story has a German inheriting many silver Torah tops. He is a Christian and determined to return them to the families, because a Torah top often has the owner's name inside. The camera follows him as he travels from Germany to America to present a set of Torah tops to the grand-children of a Jewish couple who died in Germany. We see the people who packaged the Mona Lisa and hid her in a back room, or the care taken with bringing the famed Winged Victory down a flight of stairs. Looking at this enormous sculpture, you think it is one piece of marble, but actually, it is several hundred pieces. That is a feat in itself. What we learn is that art survives because in the end, people care enough to protect it for everyone to see. Copyright 2007 Marie Asner
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