Looted art and restitution in the twentieth century – towards a global perspective

Gaudenzi, B and Swenson, A (2017) 'Looted art and restitution in the twentieth century – towards a global perspective.' Journal of Contemporary History, 52 (3). pp. 491-518. ISSN 0022-0094

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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.1177/0022009417692409

Abstract

Introducing the 'Journal of Contemporary History' Special Issue ‘The Restitution of Looted Art in the 20th Century’, this article proposes a framework for writing the history of looting and restitution in transnational and global perspective. By comparing and contextualizing instances of looting and restitution in different geographical and temporal contexts, it aims to overcome existing historiographical fragmentations and move past the overwhelming focus on the specificities of Nazi looting through an extended timeframe that inserts the Second World War into a longer perspective from the nineteenth century up to present day restitution practices. Particular emphasis is put on the interlinked histories of denazification and decolonization. Problematizing existing analytical, chronological and geographical frameworks, the article suggests how a combination of comparative, entangled and global history approaches can open up promising new avenues of research. It draws out similarities, differences and connections between processes of looting and restitution in order to discuss the extent to which looting and restitution were shaped by – and shaped – changing global networks.

Item Type: Article
Note:

Part of the Special Section of the Journal of Contemporary History entitled 'The Restitution of Looted Art in the Twentieth Century – Transnational and Global Perspectives' edited by Bianca Gaudenzi, Astrid Swenson & Marie-Ann Middelkoop. Further details about the issue are available at the URL below.

Keywords: decolonization, denazification, heritage, looted art, Nazism, networks, restitution
Divisions: School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022009417692409
Related URLs:
Date Deposited: 12 Oct 2017 10:22
Last Modified: 15 Aug 2021 09:47
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/10070
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