Defending National Treasures

by Karlsgodt, Elizabeth Campbell

• ISBN13: 9780804770187
• ISBN10: 0804770182
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-04-07
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr

Summary

Defending National Treasuresexplores the fate of French art and cultural heritage during the Nazi occupation of France. The French cultural patrimony was a crucial locus of power struggles between German and French leaders and among influential figures in each country. Karlsgodt examines the preservation policy that the Vichy regime enacted in an assertion of sovereignty over French art museums, historic monuments, and archeological sites. The limits to this sovereignty are apparent from German appropriations of public statues, Jewish-owned art collections, and key "Germanic" works of art from French museums. A final chapter traces the lasting impact of the wartime reforms on preservation policy. In Defending National Treasures, Karlsgodt introduces the concept of patrimania, wherein officials succumb to the opportunity to acquire coveted artwork looted from Jewish collections for the Louvre and other museums, and warns that the modern drive to expand museum collections can encourage similar unethical or unlawful acquisitions.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
List of Abbreviations	p. xiv
Introduction	p. 1
Visions of National Renewal
Cultural Affairs under Vichy	p. 17
Defending French Style and Beauty	p. 52
Asserting French Sovereignty
Exodus	p. 67
Museums Fit for France	p. 87
Saving Historic Sites	p. 102
Archeology and the National Revolution	p. 119
Accommodation, Opportunity, and Compromise
Recycling French Heroes: The Destruction of Bronze Statues	p. 145
Endangered Local Patrimony: Bronze Statues in Paris, Chambéry, and Nantes	p. 165
Jewish Art Collections	p. 191
Art as a Negotiating Tool	p. 235
Le patrimoine and Postwar France
The Vichy Legacy	p. 263
Conclusion	p. 295
Primary National Museum Storage Depots, 1939-1940	p. 305
Provincial Museums in 1939 Protection Plan	p. 306
Evacuation of Provincial Collections, 1941-1944	p. 308
Composition of the National Museum Advisory Councils	p. 310
Notes	p. 311
Bibliography	p. 355
Index	p. 369
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