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The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War | 
 enlarge | Author: Lynn H. Nicholas
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $9.46
You Save: $7.49 (44%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 6136
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0679756868
Dewey Decimal Number: 709.043
EAN: 9780679756866
ASIN: 0679756868
Publication Date: April 25, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20081121221340T
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Amazon.com Review
Every few months you'll read a newspaper story of the discovery of some long-lost art treasure hidden away in a German basement or a Russian attic: a Cranach, a Holbein, even, not long ago, a da Vinci. Such treasures ended up far from the museums and churches in which they once hung, taken as war loot by Allied and Axis soldiers alike. Thousands of important pieces have never been recovered. Lynn Nicholas offers an astonishingly good account of the wholesale ravaging of European art during World War II, of how teams of international experts have worked to recover lost masterpieces in the war's aftermath and of how governments "are still negotiating the restitution of objects held by their respective nations."
Product Description
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award
The cast of characters includes Hitler and Goering, Gertrude Stein and Marc Chagall--not to mention works by artists from Leonardo da Vinci to Pablo Picasso. And the story told in this superbly researched and suspenseful book is that of the Third Reich's war on European culture and the Allies' desperate effort to preserve it.
From the Nazi purges of "Degenerate Art" and Goering's shopping sprees in occupied Paris to the perilous journey of the Mona Lisa from Paris and the painstaking reclamation of the priceless treasures of liberated Italy, The Rape of Europa is a sweeping narrative of greed, philistinism, and heroism that combines superlative scholarship with a compelling drama.
"Nicholas knows the art world as well as any military historian knows his battlefield.... Her work deserves the widest reading."--New York Times Book Review
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 See the movie, first October 12, 2008
The book is excellent as a resource after seeing the movie. For nonartistists such as myself, this is a great resource to further my understanding of the film. The film is 5 stars and really shows what happened.
 I am truely ambivalent in this review September 8, 2008
On the one hand, it is a very scholarly account of the systematic theft of Europe's art by the Nazis. I was interested in this book after reading a review of the movie, which came through Sacramento all too briefly (never to return, it seems).
There was also an article on this in, I believe, Smithsonian Magazine.
So my interest was seeded.
It is the story of how about 200 American (and a few British) servicemen were sent out with Patton's 3rd Army (among others) to find and catalog paintings and other artwork looted by the Nazis in every conquered country. They found masterpieces from the Great Masters in every location from caves to Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria. There were literally 2,000 hiding places the Nazis used - many found with the aid of local townspeople. The 200 literally saved Europe's heritage.
Quite a story, wouldn't you agree? However the book is laden with such detail as to be a cumbersome read. Do you really need to know what Picasso was doing in Paris during the occupation or that a Parisian Art dealer fell though an open hatch (and died) on a ship crossing the channel to freedom in England? Just because you know it doesn't mean you have to tell everyone else about the fact.
In wading though this I wonder how Lynn, after 60 years, came across this stuff!
The book is an invaluable source of information for learning every nut and bolt detail of the Nazis' plan to loot Europe for someone needing research. But as a bedtime read?
I gotta tell you I am using discipline to wade through this book because the subject is so interesting. I am almost through.
My parents enjoyed the book and it has received rave reviews so what do I know...
great book on art looting July 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Rape of Europa is an eye-opening book. Nicholas has done a tremendous amount of research that reveals the almost unimaginable extent of Nazi art looting during World War II. But the book never gets bogged down in details. The chilling story moves along quickly. I recommend this book highly for anyone interested in World War II, or for readers who are curious about the political uses of art.
rape of europe March 2, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
What an eye opener. after reading this book one think the world war II was ment by the Germans to get hold on art only. One can never visit an museum in europe/america/ Argentina/south america/auction houses without thinking: what is the provenance of said article: also robbed / fenced/ stolen? How much blood is on it? Is there not an exhibition in London (March 2008) with stolen art by the Russian (so called reparation payment taken from hidden German wareshouses) this month full with French/Paris school / entarte kunst and more? Comming from France the loot was 28 thousant train wagons(containers)
After reading, one should feel never be save anymore regarding own collection!
 See the movie if you can February 2, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
After seeing the documentary movie with the same title, I was anxious to buy the book. The movie is based on the book and generally I find books preferable to movies. In this case, however, I would recommend the movie unless you are an art history major or World War II history buff. The book is a scholarly work with dense writing and extensive footnotes. While I can appreciate such texts, it was not what I was expecting since the movie is so engaging that I sat through it utterly entranced and with an intense desire to learn more.
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