The Third Reich's senseless purges and war on European cultural artefacts are profiled by Nicholas, who describes how art treasures were both perserved and destroyed.

"The Rape of Europa is an epic journey through seven countries, into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For twelve long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But heroic young art historians and curators from America and across Europe fought back with a miraculous campaign to rescue and return millions of lost, hidden and stolen...

The legendary names include Rothschild, Mendelssohn, Bloch-Bauer{u2014}distinguished bankers, industrialists, diplomats, and art collectors. Their diverse taste ranged from manuscripts and musical instrushy;ments to paintings by Old Masters and the avant-garde. But their stigma as Jews in Nazi Germany and occupied Europe doomed them to exile or death in Hitler{u2019}s concentration camps. Here, after years of meticulous research, Melissa M�uller...