The Rape of Europa (tbc)
- Run time: 1 hour 57 mins
- Genre: Documentary
- Release date: 1st January 2006
- Starring: Joan Allen
- Directed by: Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen, Nicole Newnham
- Official Website: therapeofeuropa.com
Plot Synopsis
An epic journey through seven countries documenting the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during World War II. For twelve years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history.
Based on Lynn H. Nicholas’ award-winning book of the same name the film is framed within the story of Klimt’s famous ‘Gold Portrait’ that was stolen from aJewish Viennese family in 1938 and only recently returned to the heiress. Berge highlights how today, more than sixty years later, nations fight to recover the millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures. With the use of rare and unique archival material, the filmmakers follow the course of Hitler’s march through Europe and the Allied advance, whilst in the background is the stark story of the extermination of the Jews. Joan Allen narrates this breathtaking chronicle of the battle over the very survival of centuries of western culture, depicting the personal tragedies and loss, and the bittersweet recovery of art representing vanished cultures and lives.
