Atrocities and Artifacts. The Berlin Museum of Ethnology and a Collecting Trip into Eastern Galicia
Atrocities and Artifacts. The Berlin Museum of Ethnology and a Collecting Trip into Eastern Galicia
Author(s): Matthias ThadenSubject(s): Cultural history, Museology & Heritage Studies, Political history, Social history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Fascism, Nazism and WW II
Published by: Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze
Keywords: Poland; Ukraine; General Gouvernement; Looted Art; Ethnography; National Socialism; World War II; Provenance Research; Hutsuls; Bojkos; Lemkos; Occupation; Holocaust;
Summary/Abstract: This article explores a 1942 collecting trip by staff of the Berlin Museum of Ethnology to Eastern Galicia, then under German occupation. The expedition resulted in the acquisition of 361 ethnographic objects from local populations, including items obtained under coercive conditions amid war, occupation, and the Holocaust. By analyzing archival sources, the article highlights the complex interplay of power, opportunism, and ideology that shaped museum collecting in this context. The legacy of these objects, still housed in Berlin, prompts urgent questions about provenance, restitution, and the responsibilities of museums today.
Journal: Zbiór Wiadomości do Antropologii Muzealnej
- Issue Year: 2025
- Issue No: 12
- Page Range: 41-68
- Page Count: 28
- Language: English
