The widespread plunder and nationalization of art that has occurred in Cuba since the Revolution is very much like the ransacking and looting of both publicly and privately owned art collections that took place in Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union during the Communist era. However, the most notorious and well documented looting of art in the 20th century took place at the hands of the Nazis before and during World War II. An exploration of how the issue of Nazi looted art has been handled by different countries in the decades following the War provides an instructive backdrop for Cuba and its eventual handling of its legacy of expropriation and nationalization.
