In this documentary produced for the BBC World Service, Charles Wheeler investigates the fate of “trophy art”: European masterpieces stolen first by Nazi Germany, and then seized by the Soviets at the end of World War II.
First Half
For fifty years only the Communist elite knew what treasures had been locked away in secret depositories across the Soviet Union after World War II -- until two former Soviet museum curators blew the whistle, and published their revelations in an American magazine. Now the original owners of the stolen artworks, some of whom were victims of the Holocaust, are demanding their property back. The BBC’s Charles Wheeler reports on the uncertain future of Russia’s trophy art.
Second Half
John Simpson, the BBC’s World Affairs Editor, examines the impact of the Iraq War on America's international reputation.
THE CHANGING WORLD is the sister documentary series of PRI's The World. Each week, we offer American radio listeners two in-depth documentaries from the BBC World Service that probe issues critical to our understanding of our evolving world.