The Rape of Europa opens at Dallas’ Angelika Film Center

by John P. Meyer

Documentary chronicles industrial-scale Nazi art thefts during WWII and the Allies' efforts to save these treasures.

The Rape of Europa offers a chilling look at a different kind of Nazi war crime: art theft. We're talking systematized strategic art theft carried out on an industrial scale with that storied German efficiency, which the movie documents in some detail.

The film opens Friday (Nov. 9) at the Dallas Angelika, with co-producer Robert Edsel in attendance at that evening's 7:30 screening to answer questions following the film. He will also hang around (like an old master on a gallery wall) to sign copies of his book, Rescuing Da Vinci, following the show.

TIP: keep your eyes peeled for Raphael's "Portrait of a Young Man." If this turns up at your neighborhood garage sale, don't bother to haggle; just go ahead and give them the full $20 they're asking. You'll be the toast of the next Antiques Roadshow.