Blog Post #1: "The Rape of Europa" and my thoughts on the Documentary.
I would like to preface this with a disclaimer: First of all, yes, I am aware how late this is, I have talked to Joanne about it. Secondly, as this is a documentary on the events of World War II, I feel the need to specify that I am a non-religious white American of European descent, and my only connection to the War itself is through my late Grandfather who lived and fought through it as a Scottish troop. When I speak on these issues, I wish to do so with as much care and sympathy to those groups most affected, and to not attempt to overstep in anyway. With that being said, let's review.
The Rape of Europa (2006) is a documentary chronicling the immense amount of damage dealt to the art of Europe from the start to end of WW2, and how even today the art world is still recovering from its injuries. Much of the damage was of course executed by the Nazi party, as Adolf Hitler and his architect Hermann Wilhelm Göring would target not only national museums but also prominent Jewish artists and art sellers in the communities he invaded and conquered, stealing thousands of precious pieces of art. The art they stole would be hoarded in secret locations only found after the War, if they were found at all.
It wasn't only Nazi Germany who caused the damage to the art world, however, as Soviet Russia would also steal artwork from Germany out of vengeance for their destroyed heritage and stolen works. To this day, though some have been returned, Russia still has ownership of thousands of works of stolen German art. America would bomb and decimate the Monte Cassino, believing Nazi troops to be occupying the monetary, instead killing many of the 230 Italian refugees taking shelter inside. Art was looted and re-stolen from trains and other transport vehicles that were stopped on their way to be delivered to the Linz, most of which have never been found. Still today, efforts to find and return lost or stolen artworks to their rightful owners are being made, as well as efforts to restore art destroyed in the fighting, such as the frescos of the Camposanto in Italy.
After watching the full documentary, I came away with a lot of lingering feelings. Mainly disgust at the blatant mistreatment of priceless and irreplicable works of art. I found myself appalled at the Nazi's lack of care when transporting the artwork they had wrongfully stolen, and even more sickened by the amount that they'd simply destroyed. I found myself once again embarrassed (as I often am) at the actions of my own country, as I was told they had bombed the ancient Monte Cassino in an attempt to kill the Nazi's they believed were inside only to kill hundreds of innocents and destroy precious ancient architecture, all while not killing a single Nazi soldier. I found myself wondering, despite not hearing of any in this documentary, how much of my own culture was destroyed by the war? Yes, I am an American, but my grandfather, George Bisset Crawford, was born in Fraserburgh, Scotland. I remember the stories he used to tell me of his life during that time, how when he was but a boy a bomb went off nearby enough for him to go deaf for a week, and how he fought in the War when he was barely an adult. I remember the kilts he passed down to my Father, which were passed down to my sister and I to wear at Christmas, which we passed on to our younger cousins. I remember when he would play the bagpipe with a smile on his face. I remember him going to veteran's day celebrations at my Highschool for my sister and our cousin, dressed in a kilt and Tam O Shanter, and I remember the sadness I felt when he didn't live to do the same for me, how there was so much he had yet to tell me on that day that never came. I still have many family members living in Scotland today, my father's cousins and their children. I have visited Fraserburgh, I've seen the beauty of Edinburgh with its cathedrals and its castle. My father, G. Ian Crawford, named after his father, the sixth George in the line and second to have a middle name, has spent most of his free time researching and compiling the history of our family, back to its roots as a Scottish clan. He's composed a family tree dating back centuries. He's written a book all about it. My entire life I've been surrounded by my families heritage, and I am well aware of the amount of art Scotland is still missing, stolen by England during the Hundred's Year War. It makes me wonder how much more of their art was damaged or lost during WW2, or even WW1?
I think of these things, and I believe I understand only a fraction of the pain felt by the descendants of Jewish artists.
The documentary ended with a Christian man travelling to America to return a set of Rimonim, silver crowns to be place on the Torah, to the descendants of those who originally owned them. Their celebration was beautiful. The joy in the room was contagious, and I found myself clapping along from my seat. And the Christian man joined in on their celebration, was welcomed to! Never in my life have I seen such acceptance. Differences were set aside in that one beautiful moment, in the name of human decency. It made me remember the idea of the American dream I had as a child, of a country where everyone was free to be as they are, and that freedom was celebrated. In the moment, that ideal was real.
But the I remembered the reality of America. How the Dream is but an idea for most. How even in the land of the free, where ones freedom of religion is a constitutional right, people are still striving to destroy history. As we speak, radical groups are trying to stop the history of slavery from being taught in schools, something so intertwined with American history itself, there is no American history without discussing the sins of the White man. Neo-Nazi groups plague the internet, exposing young children to harmful antisemitic ideals, propagating a harmful doctrine. Muslims are labelled as terrorists by misinformed Americans. Immigrants are treated as unwelcomed outsiders in a country built and founded by immigrants. Women, AFAB, and LGBT individuals are having their rights to their bodies taken away, and our children being sheltered from learning about ideas outside of the heteronormative. We have collectively lost our integrity. The American Dream does not exist.
I think about this and wonder: Will the next generation be taught about the Holocaust? Or will the White children of our classrooms be sheltered from the truth, lest they feel shame for the actions of their European ancestors?
I hope, for the sake of our Jewish friends and neighbors, that their history continues to be taught, and that history will not repeat itself.
Sources:
The Rape of Europa. Kanopy, 2007. https://www.kanopy.com/en/ccad/video/2874844.
Gregg, Chrissy. “The Destruction of Monte Cassino: The National WWII Museum: New Orleans.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, January 14, 2021. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/destruction-of-monte-cassino-1944.
Kuta, Sarah. “Rodin Sculpture Has Been Missing from Scottish Museum Collection for Nearly 75 Years.” Smithsonian.com, October 23, 2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rodin-sculpture-has-been-missing-from-scottish-museum-collection-for-nearly-75-years-180983122/.
Loudis, Jessica. “Soviet Seizures of Art from Germany.” Apollo Magazine, April 9, 2020. https://www.apollo-magazine.com/red-army-trophy-art-germany/.
In loving memory of my Grandfather.
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