АКТИВНОСТИ ЕТНОГРАФСКОГ МУЗЕЈА У БЕОГРАДУ ТОКОМ ОКУПАЦИЈЕ 1941−1944: УЛОГА И МЕСТО У КУЛТУРНОЈ ПОЛИТИЦИ ОКУПАЦИОНОГ АПАРАТА
ACTIVITIES OF THE ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM IN BELGRADE DURING THE OCCUPATION 1941–1944: THE ROLE AND PLACE IN THE CULTURAL POLICY OF THE OCCUPATION APPARATUS

Summary/Abstract: Until recently, the study of the work of Serbian museums during the occupation in World War II was a topic of marginal interest for both museum workers and historians. The common image of cultural life in Serbia during the occupation is one of deadness, stagnation and almost complete suspension of work. Recent research has shown that museums in Serbia, those found by the occupying forces in 1941, continued to operate in changed conditions, and that the German occupation apparatus included the revitalization of museums on the territory of Serbia under German military administration. Specific research focused on the work of the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade will show the complexity of the network of actors who influenced the work of this institution during the occupation, will partially shed light on their roles, and will also open questions about the potential importance of the museum fund for the cultural policy of the Third Reich. In this regard, special attention was paid to the exhibition opened in 1942 and completed in 1943 in the building temporarily assigned to the Ethnographic Museum, in Balkan Street. The analysis of the available data on this exhibition directs us to draw certain conclusions about who it was intended for and what its purpose was. Both the occupation and quisling authorities had reasons to emphasize the traditional elements of rural culture, and part of the propaganda significance was certainly given to its segments in the museum. The unfavourable outcome of the war for the Axis powers and the unrealized „new order” in Europe made it impossible for ethnology to be fully used for this purpose, but mapping actors and their positions in the scientific propaganda system can bring numerous conclusions about the dangers of misuse of science, which are potentially applicable to other historical-political contexts.

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