| One of the most successful documentaries of recent years, The Rape of Europa, has been released on DVD with a Street Date of September 16, 2008. Written, Produced and Directed by Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen and Nicole Newnham, and co-produced by Robert M. Edsel, author of the film's companion book, Rescuing Da Vinci, The Rape of Europa, based on Lynn H. Nicholas's landmark book, tells the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe's art treasures during the Third Reich and World War II. Joan Allen narrates this breathtaking chronicle about the battle over the very survival of centuries of western culture.
In a journey through seven countries, The Rape of Europa 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 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 recover major works of art, conservators repair battle damage, and nations fight over the fate of ill-gotten spoils of war.
According to U.S. estimates, the Nazis stole one-fifth of all the known artworks in Europe. While the Allies returned most of the displaced art in the decade following the war, much of the loot is still missing. Tragically, unique masterpieces were destroyed and lost to posterity forever. Other works of art-the last, forgotten victims of the war-survived but remain unidentified, traceable only with costly and difficult investigation.
"A MUST-SEE FILM. IT IS HAUNTINGLY UNFORGETTABLE" - The Forward
"PROVOCATIVE MASTERPIECE" - Philadelphia Inquirer
"MAY BE THE MOST STUNNING DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR" - Toronto Star
Heidi Oshin
Menemsha Films
heidio@menemshafilms.com
www.menemshafilms.com
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