Pillage and destruction of cultural property has always been a by-
product of armed conflict. Yet no military power in history has
equaled the Third Reich in its ability to use culture not merely as a
trophy of war, but as a weapon of war: a means to dominate,
demoralize and control the nations that it sought to conquer by
stripping them of their cultural and spiritual identity.
Only through the systematic confiscation, theft, concealment, forced
sale and destruction of millions of artistic, religious and
historical works and monuments would Europe, in Hitler’s mind, become
a suitable home for a tausend jahre reich with Berlin as its capital.
Pulling the plug on this diabolical plan is one of the great stories
of modern time, brilliantly recounted by Lynn Nicholas in her 1994
book The Rape of Europa, which has been updated and adapted for the
screen with remarkable never-before-seen footage by the writer-
director-producer team of Bonny Cohen, Richard Berge and Nicolle
Newnham.
Truly a “must see” documentary, The Rape of Europa reveals the
heroism and tenacity of those who risked their lives to save what
others could only covet, control or destroy, and continue to undo the
damage caused by the German war machine more than 50 years later.
Read the full review on the new SAFE blog SAFECORNER: http://
safecorner.savingantiquities.org as well as other posts, such as:
Can Cultural Property Legislation Kill an Academic Discipline?
Repatriation and loss of context
Terminology: is provenience a redundant term?
America's Commitment to Safeguarding Heritage
Cyprus, coins and the American interest
Looking beyond 2007
SAFECORNER is the online community of the non-profit organization
SAFE/Saving Antiquities for Everyone, where dialogs begin, ideas
exchange, and concrete solutions emerge concerning looting and the
illicit antiquities trade. Contributors to SAFECORNER are members of
the SAFE community and other experts and opinion leaders in the field
of cultural heritage protection. If you would like to add a relevant
discussion, report, observation or opinion, please send it to
[log in to unmask] We welcome your comments and
responses.
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