Mar 3, 2011.
To complement its current exhibition, Auktion 392: Reclaiming the Galerie Stern, Dusseldorf, which is about the restitution of Nazi-Looted art, the Jewish Museum of Florida will present the film “The Rape of Europa.” Admission is free to members and $6 for non-members. You can RSVP to 786.972.3175 or [email protected]. Walk-ins are welcome.
The two-hour documentary tells the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Third Reich and the Second World War.
In a journey through seven countries, the film takes the audience into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For twelve long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But young art professionals as well as ordinary heroes, from truck drivers to department store clerks, fought back with an extraordinary effort to safeguard, rescue and return the millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures.
The Rape of Europa, based on the book by Lynn H. Nicholas, begins and ends with the story of artist Gustav Klimt’s famed Gold Portrait, stolen from Viennese Jews in 1938 and now the most expensive painting ever sold. Today, more than sixty years later, the legacy of this tragic history continues to play out as families of looted collectors struggle to recover works of art, conservators repair battle damage, and nations fight over the fate of ill-gotten spoils of war.
Jewish Museum of Florida
301 Washington Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139
305.672.5044
www.jewishmuseum.com
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