Transfer of Cultural Objects in the Alpe Adria Region in the 20th Century

Transfer, displacement, confiscation, seizure, looting and theft of cultural objects characterize historical and current conflicts of ownership – also in the Alpe Adria region. In an unprecedented transnational, collaborative and transdisciplinary way, the motion of objects across space and time – and their role as symbolic capital – was investigated in a project funded by the EU in the HERA program. Comprehensive studies analyze competing (national) claims, occupation regimes, the mechanics of dispossession and the politics of “safeguarding” objects. Acknowleding diverse views, including the narratives that attribute(d) meaning to gains and losses of cultural assets, the volume presents key examples of coming to terms with the past. Contributions from Austria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, and Slovenia are combined with explorations of the broader context of translocations e.g. in the Czech Republic, providing a more nuanced understanding of unresolved issues of patrimony.