Protokół polskich muzealników i historyków sztuki z 8 maja 1940 roku oraz jego uwarunkowania
The Protocol of Polish Museum Specialists and Art Historians from 8 May 1940 and the Related Circumstances

Summary/Abstract: The protocol of 8 May 1940 is an important feature in the history of the protection of Polish heritage in the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region. Despite the existence of numerous studies on the effort to save the treasures of the nation’s material cultural heritage, as well as an extensive memoir literature referring to that period and those endeavours, the protocol of 8 May 1940 for a long time remained unused in research. The current text, which is based chiefly on the overview, analyses and comparisons of a variety of archival materials, aims to bring to recollection the contents of the protocol and its collateral appendices drawn up and signed by a group of Polish museum specialists and art historians. The document is presented in the context of the threat to the preservation of Polish collections and the continuing existence of various monuments, church bells and other historical objects, which originated from administrative orders issued by the occupation authorities with respect to an increased collection of metals for the needs of the wartime raw-material reserve of the Third Reich.

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