- As a man obsessed with aesthetic art, Hitler found it extremely complicated to understand the modern art, especially abstract art because of the exaggerated forms and shapes of the subjects.
- Hitler was a frustrated artist. His paintings were mediocre and not that good compared to other artists especially those belonging from the earlier periods. When he became a leader of the Nazi party, Hitler wanted to conquer not only the whole European land but also to dominate the European culture. Hence, by plundering the art museums of Paris and other countries, Hitler immediately started to create a new world of his own wherein he can influence the minds of the people befuddled by war.
- According to the film, Hitler and Goering had their own personal art collections which came from their lootings on different countries. During the Nazi regime, it is a common past time for Nazi officials to collect paintings and other works of art because collecting painting is a very expensive hobby. Hence, it shows their power as well as their influence in the culture of a nation.
- In addition, Hitler created a ‘hit list’ that contains the artworks that he took from other countries. So this justifies that Hitler is indeed interested in collecting paintings from the past century simply because of the beauty they possess.
- The most interesting part of the film happened when a scene from the Louvre Museum in Paris began to tell its own story. Many people protected the valuable treasures of the past by working together, and packing them in sacks in order to deliver it to the ancient French castles scattered throughout the country, In this way, it would be difficult for Hitler to track the painting one by one.
- Rose Valland is a French historian. The accurate details regarding the Nazi plunder of many art galleries were clearly written in her records. To sum up, because of her devotion, she saved thousands of artworks away from the clutches of the Nazis.
- Dean Keller was originally an American war veteran and art preserver. He and the Monuments’ Men rescued the artworks especially those ones that were heavily damaged by the lootings of Hitler’s men. For some people, they are called the Art Heroes because just like Valland, they helped in preserving the beautiful paintings of the past for future generations.
- After the World War II, most artworks stolen by the Nazis were found, some are destroyed but a large quantity of stolen paintings remains missing. According to researches, because the Nazis hid these paintings carefully and out-of-sight from the society, one can trace it back by performing extensive research and investigation that would cost millions of dollars.
- I highly recommend watching this video to everyone else, especially those people who are interested in the untold stories of World War II. The film is a brilliant creation and the narration takes the viewer back to the time wherein the massive lootings began its course in history. The film is very interesting because of its very detailed storyline featuring the people’s struggle in order to save the artworks and preserve it for future generations. As said in the trailer, “Would you risk your life protecting a work of art?” challenges the viewers’ opinions whilst watching the film.
References
The Rape of Europa. Dirs. Richard Berge, Bonnie Cohen, Nicole Newnham. Perfs. Joan Allen, E. Randol Schoenberg, Maria Altmann. Menemsha Films, 2007. DVD
