Throng

PART 1 - Saturday 5 September, 8.30pm

This two-part series tells the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Second World War. In a journey through seven countries, the program takes viewers into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For 12 long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But heroic young art historians and curators from the US and across Europe fought back with an extraordinary campaign to rescue and return the millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures. Now, more than 60 years later, the legacy of this tragic history continues to play out as families of looted collectors recover major works of art, conservators repair battle damage, and nations fight over the fate of ill-gotten spoils of war.

PART 2 - Saturday 5 September, 9.30pm

In a journey through seven countries, this sweeping series takes the audience into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. The Rape of Europa begins and ends with the story of artist Gustav Klimt’s famed ‘Gold Portrait’, stolen from Viennese Jews in 1938 and now one of the most expensive paintings ever sold.