Professional paper
Heimatmuseum in Osijek
Ante Grubišić
; Museum of Slavonia, Osijek
Abstract
During World War II, the German community in the Independent State of Croatia established a local museum (Heimatmuseum) in Osijek based on a pre-war idea. However, the political circumstances dramatically changed from the time of the idea to its realization. The Germans’ struggle in the cultural and educational field turned into one on the political front. The radical part of the German community’s leadership began to seize artworks from the private property of Osijek citizens, particularly those of Jewish origin, as noted in this paper. The space in which the museum was located was also controversial, as it was a house belonging to a displaced Jew. The museum’s founders ignored the state’s wartime provision requiring the registration of artworks with the city museum, believing it did not apply to the cultural heritage of German origin, which created tension with local authorities and the local cultural community. By the end of the war, all items from the museum and archaeological findings from the excavations in Sarvaš, which were supposed to be housed in the city museum but were seized by the German museum, were transported by rail towards Germany, and ended up in the Lämberg Castle in Czechoslovakia. The repatriation and return of the items to Osijek were fraught with difficulties until 1948, through Belgrade and Zagreb, where some items remained. Moreover, since the museum did not maintain any museum records during its existence, the identification of items today is significantly complicated
Keywords
World War II; Osijek; Heimatmuseum, Osijek
Hrčak ID:
331572
URI
Publication date:
12.12.2024.
Visits: 393 *