PLUNDER: ART THEFT IN WORLD WAR II VIENNA

2

ITINERARYDay 1 Arrive in ViennaDay 2 The History of Art in ViennaDay 3 Jewish Life: Pre-1938Day 4 Vienna Under SiegeDay 5 Nazi PlunderDay 6 The Long Road of RestitutionDay 7 Depart Vienna

Hollywood films have the ability to take one person’s story and make it

feel personal and universal. In Simon Curtis’ “Woman in Gold,” based

on the life of Maria Altman, we experience a woman’s struggle to

reclaim a piece of art that rightfully belonged to her family. Between

the years of 1933 and 1945, hundreds of thousands of priceless pieces

of art, religious treasures and other items of personal and cultural

significance were looted or destroyed by the Nazi Party of Germany.

During World War II, and in the decades following, the Allied armies

tried to recover and reinstate the stolen treasures of Europe. Today,

more than 70 years since the end of World War II, Jewish families are

still trying to track down their looted possessions. On this seven-day

expedition, uncover the history, drama and tragedy of art theft in

World War II Vienna. Visit the top museums of Vienna to understand

how the city came to be a center for art and culture in the 20th century,

walk in the footsteps of Vienna’s Jews before and after the war, and

speak with top experts in the art field to learn about the complicated

issues surrounding art law and restitution.

Plunder: Art Theft in World War II Vienna

3Call 855-890-5298 or visit LATexpeditions.com

DAY 1 Arrive in ViennaArrive in Austria’s capital and transfer to the hotel, located on the Ringstraße. After checking in, enjoy a welcome reception and dinner. (R, D)

DAY 2 The History of Art in ViennaBegin your exploration of Vienna by first understanding the history of art in this magnificent city. Understand how Vienna came to be the center for art and culture in pre-World War II Europe. Start with a guided tour of the Kunsthistorisches Museum to learn about the history of art in Vienna. Enjoy a traditional Viennese lunch at a local Kaffehaus, where many of Vienna’s top artists dined throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. End the day with a lecture on the importance of Vienna’s art scene. Enjoy the remainder of the afternoon and evening at leisure. (B, L)

Before 1938, Vienna was home to almost 200,000 Jews and served as an important hub of Jewish education and culture. Explore what life was like for a Jewish family before Nazi occupation as you take a guided walking tour through the former Jewish quarter of Vienna. Stop at the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial, also known as the Nameless Library, which commemorates more than 65,000 Austrian Jews killed by the Nazis between 1938 and 1945. Enjoy lunch at a classic Austrian Jewish deli.

Then visit the Jüdisches Museum Wien for an expert-led tour through the museum’s permanent exhibition highlighting the history of Jews in Vienna. End the day with a visit to the Arnold Schönberg Center for a lecture on Jewish life before WWII. Tonight, have dinner as a group at a local restaurant. Option to enjoy a performance at one of Vienna’s premier theaters (ticket fees apply). (B, L, D)

DAY 3 Jewish Life: Pre-1938

4

In March 1938, Adolf Hitler announced an Anschluss, or union, between Germany and Austria, beginning the formal German occupation of Austria and the persecution of Austrian Jews. On a continued walking tour through Vienna, learn how life for Vienna’s Jews dramatically changed through this period. Visit the Vienna Museum for a guided tour of the permanent exhibition “Vienna Around 1900,” which displays famous paintings by Gustav

Klimt, Egon Schiele and Arnold Schönberg. Then attend a lecture by a historian to hear stories about the artists, musicians, scholars and academics who fled Austria and those less fortunate who stayed behind. This evening, visit the Albertina museum, which houses one of the most important print collections in the world, after it is closed to the general public. Enjoy a cocktail reception and tour the museum’s impressive collection. (B, R)

With an understanding of the atmosphere in Vienna during the late 1930s, delve deeper to understand how the lives and possessions of Vienna’s Jews were threatened and destroyed by the Nazis. Enjoy a guided tour of the opulent Schloss Belvedere. Constructed for Prince Eugene of Savoy, the two exquisite palaces on the Belvedere grounds have housed generations of Austrian royalty, but today they serve as an art museum. The Upper Belvedere features the world’s largest Klimt collection,

among which you will find both “The Kiss” and “Judith.” Continue to the Leopold Museum, which houses one of the most important collections of Viennese Secessionist masterpieces. Meet with a curator of the permanent exhibition “Vienna 1900.” Discuss how the Leopold Museum is conducting provenance research to identify artwork that was looted or obtained illegally during WWII. Dine this evening with an art insurer to discuss the complicated issue of ownership of stolen artwork. (B, D)

DAY 5 Nazi Plunder

DAY 4 Vienna Under Siege

5

ACCOMMODATIONS6 NIGHTS Hotel Imperial The Hotel Imperial, on the Ring Boulevard, originally opened in 1873. The historic five-star property offers modern amenities amid authentic Viennese charm.

DAY 6 The Long Road of RestitutionFor your last full day in Vienna, discuss how Austria and various museums have handled restitution cases. With a visit to the Archives of the Austrian Resistance, learn about the projects created to help with the welfare, restitution and compensation for victims of the Holocaust. Then visit Mumok, Vienna’s museum of modern art, to discover how the city is reviving local art. End the day with a meeting with a representative from the IKG Department of Restitution to learn about specific restitution cases and the ongoing effort to bring closure to families. This evening, gather for a farewell reception and dinner at a local restaurant. (B, R, D)

DAY 7 Depart ViennaTravelers depart for the airport. (B)

EXPEDITION EXPERTS

Deborah Vankin April Departure

Deborah Vankin is an arts and culture writer for the Los Angeles Times. In what’s never a desk job,

she has live-blogged her journey across Los Angeles with the L.A. County Museum of Art’s “big rock,” scaled downtown mural scaffolding with street artist Shepard Fairey, navigated the 101 freeway tracking the 1984 Olympics mural restorations and ridden Doug Aitken’s art train through the Barstow desert. Her award-winning interviews and profiles unearth the trends, issues and personalities in L.A.’s arts scene. Her work as a writer and editor has also appeared in Variety, LA Weekly and the New York Times, among other places. Originally from Philadelphia, she’s the author of the graphic novel “Poseurs.”

Jessica Gelt November Departure

Jessica Gelt is an arts and culture writer for the Los Angeles Times. She has dissected the fine points

of a Hollywood recreation of Gustav Klimt’s 1907 masterpiece, “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,” for the film “Woman in Gold,” detailed the installation of an 82-foot-long Murakami painting at the Broad for its grand-opening exhibition, explored the nuances of the transfer of James McNeill Whistler’s famed 1871 “Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1” from Paris to Pasadena, and interviewed many of the art world’s best and brightest, including Mark Bradford, James Turrell and Ed Moses. Her writing has appeared in the New York Observer, New York Magazine, the LA Weekly and more.

DATES PRICING SINGLE SUPPLEMENT DEPOSITNov. 6 – 12, 2018 $6,295 $1,100 $500

See complete Terms and Conditions at LATexpeditions.com.

DATES & PRICING

WHAT IS INCLUDEDComprehensive educational program by content experts and professional on-site guidesAll accommodations and meals as outlined in the itineraryAll ground transportation within the itinerary unless otherwise indicatedAll sightseeing as specified in the itineraryEntrance feesGratuities to porters, drivers and guides for all included arrangementsTransfers to and from airports for those arriving or departing according to the designated itinerary (exceptions may apply)The assistance of an ATA expedition manager for comprehensive logistical and customer service management on the expeditionWireless listening devicesThe assistance of an ATA professional travel team to assist with pre-trip questions, travel arrangements, including flights, extra hotel nights or other servicesComprehensive pre-departure information about the destination and what to expect on the expedition, including a suggested reading list

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDEDU.S. domestic or international airfare or other transportation from your home to the departure point of the trip and from the end point of the trip to your homeTravel and trip cancellation insurancePassport, visa, airport departure and baggage feesMeals not specified in the itinerary, and food and beverages not part of the included mealsPersonal items such as telephone fax and Internet charges, laundry, room service and alcoholic or other beverages not specified as includedGratuities for non-group servicesExpenses you may incur resulting from delays due to bad weather, road conditions, sickness, government action and flight delaysExpenses incurred in making individual travel arrangements in conjunction with the trip, and sightseeing not included in the itinerary

The Los Angeles Times’ travel programs are managed by Academic Travel Abroad Inc. (ATA), a professional travel company hired as an independent contractor.

LAND COSTPrices are listed in U.S. dollars and are based on a person sharing a room with another. Although we do our best to maintain the listed price, because our prices are set over a year in advance, we reserve the right to increase costs due to circumstances beyond our control, tariffs, taxes and VAT received after prices are published and to reflect fluctuations in foreign exchange markets. The land cost is based on a minimum number of guests as described on the trip page.

BOOK NOW 855-890-5298 LATexpeditions.com (Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. PT)