Based on Lynn H. Nicholas’s award-winning history, The Rape of Europa tells the story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction, and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during World War II. As part of the master plan, Hitler looted Europe’s art museums and private collections, while at the same time implementing plans to destroy art deemed “degenerate.” But the film is not simply about this plunder; it’s also an inspiring tale of sacrifice and heroism. Museum workers in Paris and Leningrad risked their lives to save cultural treasures before the Nazis could loot them, while others protected buildings and sculptures during the Allied Forces’ bombings. The film also documents the extraordinary modern-day efforts to track down and return the millions of lost and hidden stolen treasures. The Rape of Europa begins and ends with the story of Gustav Klimt’s famed Gold Portrait, stolen from a Viennese Jewish family in 1938 and recently returned to the family heirs—now the most expensive painting ever sold. Joan Allen narrates this breathtaking story that chronicles the battle over the very survival of centuries of western culture.