Harry Ettlinger

Harry will lead the audience from Adolf Hitler as a young, frustrated artist through his impact on European culture to the day of his death. With his leadership of Germany in 1933 came the demise of Degenerated Art, that is art generated after the mid 1800’s and the enormous destruction in many, especially in the Eastern, parts of Europe. During the middle of World War II, our country partially realized what was ongoing and established a somewhat unsuccessful policy to counteract the destruction. Out of it came the Monuments Men, who by the end of the War not only attempted to save European culture, but counteract the great theft perpetrated by the Nazis, starting at the top. Harry Ettlinger joined them at that time. He will integrate that broad subject with his personal experiences in the two saltmines and his recovery of his grandfather’s collection of prints.

Harry will lead the audience from Adolf Hitler as a young, frustrated artist through his impact on European culture to the day of his death. With his leadership of Germany in 1933 came the demise of Degenerated Art, that is art generated after the mid 1800’s and the enormous destruction in many, especially in the Eastern, parts of Europe. During the middle of World War II, our country partially realized what was ongoing and established a somewhat unsuccessful policy to counteract the destruction. Out of it came the Monuments Men, who by the end of the War not only attempted to save European culture, but counteract the great theft perpetrated by the Nazis, starting at the top. Harry Ettlinger joined them at that time. He will integrate that broad subject with his personal experiences in the two saltmines and his recovery of his grandfather’s collection of prints. Please note: This session will use AV equipment.

The Monuments Men included more than 350 men and women from the armed forces of the United States and a dozen other nations. 350 men and women whose mission was nothing less than to help find, recover and preserve the artistic and cultural heritage of Europe. They were dubbed “Monuments Men” because their primary task after the 1944 invasion of France was to protect statues, historic buildings and other important cultural landmarks. Join one of these extraordinary individuals in a question and answer period after the showing of "The Rape of Europa". The film begins and ends with the story of artist Gustav Klimt’s famed Gold Portrait, stolen from Viennese Jews in 1938, and now the most expensive painting ever sold. Today, more than sixty 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. Please note: The session will last two and a half hours.