The Rape of Europa: Art in Totalitarian Europe

What were the fates of art, artists, monuments, private collections, and museums under European totalitarianism and in the crossfire of World War II? How and why did well-educated and well-trained museum professionals, art historians, and artists participate in or react to Hitler’s planning for the huge Linz Museum, the widespread European seizures of art collections (which were largely Jewish), the huge wartime losses of art, and the postwar actions of restoration and restitution? The title of this FIG is drawn from Lynn Nicholas’s highly regarded history and also from a 2005 documentary film. The main course of the FIG will introduce students to several models of interdisciplinarity required for dealing with this broad range of modern art. Student will explore historical, artistic, aesthetic, and ethical issues. Individual and group research projects will proceed from consideration of a common core of readings to engage students in original research on the provenances and histories of individuals, works, and monuments affected by these actions. History 120 will provide the historical context, while English 100 will focus on the research and writing skills that will be important for the work of this FIG.