The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War

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.

After seeing the fascinating documentary of the same name, I was excited to find that it was based on this book. I have found this book absolutely absorbing. It is densely packed with intriguing information and detail. Ms Nicholas writes in a manner that makes the subject matter unfold almost like a thriller. Even portions of information that one may deem dry come across in an interesting way. One issue however: I sometimes struggled to keep names in order--there is a large cast of art dealers, Nazis, etc. This may not be a problem for you. I love art, and have found this telling of a rarely discussed part of WWII (I knew almost nothing about it) very interesting and educational; it really broadens your scope of the art world and even the second World War. If you like art, art history, the history of WWII, or are simply looking for a fascinating (true) yarn, The Rape of Europa is an excellent choice. I highly recommend it. Also, if you have seen the documentary but have not read the book, I would encourage you to still read it; it covers significantly more than the documentary is able to.

UPDATE (July 20, 2016): I ended up putting down this book about 1/3 of the way through in exasperation because it just became this muddled mess. You practically need a flowchart to make all the connections which the author hops forward and backwards to and I reverted to making note cards to remember all the key players involved. The subject matter is fascinating but despite wanting to learn more about art theft during WWII, I found myself conducting so much marginalia that I myself was practically writing a compendium. There are so many ways the author could have assisted the reader but essentially reading this book becomes a research project. I'd like to think that I'm smarter than the average bear but I think this book is aimed at a demographic of people who have advanced knowledge. I often wondered if this was a PhD thesis converted into a book marketed for the general population. There is a companion film of the same name which is very good and is why I wanted to read this book. But despite the usual saying that the book is always better than the movie, this is the exception and it pains me to say that.Original Review: I am still in the beginnings of this paperback book. The subject matter is really intriguing and not until I saw the film (a few years back) based on the book did I give this subject much thought. After watching the movie I wanted to read the book, but unless you have a base knowledge of the art that the writer discusses or a good memory of the film which showed the art in question, then you are left to looking it up to have a fuller understanding. Also, separate knowledge of not only the major but also minor Nazis will make this book a fuller read. I don't normally need " pretty pictures" in my reading, but given the subject matter and the myriad of players involved, photos of at least the main surviving works mentioned and a short bio of the people involved you could flip back to. Unless detailed notes are provided by the author, I guess this is where reading on a Kindle or other book reader makes it easier because you can quickly and more easily flip back to your notes and highlights - which is what I normally do whenever a new person or character is introduced as a helpful guide for me because since I've become disabled I am a slower reader without the greatest of retention (not only in pace I read but also the amount of time I can spend reading at one sitting has greatly diminished). After reading a couple Kindle books, I usually find myself wanting the "feel" and "smell" of a good book in my hands so I will switch to a printed book. I wish I had chosen the Kindle version over print for this particular book. While the writing and subject is 5 star, I knocked off a star for the reasons mentioned above and really it is because of my own peccadillo. I don't know if the author couldn't get the rights (which is hard to believe) to include photos of at least the major art works, but it and a short bio in the Addendum (including the artists involved since I don't know a lot about Germanic art) would have made this book richer and given the reader a deeper reading experience and not left them wanting.

Great Service

Si tratta di una ricerca competa sull'argomento.Un po' difficile il linguaggio: dotto e specialistico.

Es un libro muy documentado, de lectura un poco pesada por la cantidad de contenido. Pero es muy interesante e instructivo

Excellent copy of book. Would buy from again

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