Protection and destruction of literary heritage in today's Europe during the Second World War

Mogućnost uništavanja kulturne baštine, koja bi se koristila kao sredstvo političke dominacije, zahtjeva od knjižničara, muzejskih kustosa, arheologa i arhivista da preuzmu odgovornosti koje bi mogle proširiti trenutne definicije njihovih uloga. Baština nije samo predmet estetskog doživljaja, već je ujedno i nadogradnja čovjekovog pamćenja, odnosno instrument kolektivnog pamćenja zajednice. Osim tragičnih gubitaka ljudskih života koji su sustavni dio rata, prisutno je pljačkanje ili uništavanje kulturne baštine čovječanstva u knjižnicama, muzejima i drugim kulturnim mjestima. Europa je iz Drugog svjetskog rata izašla s velikim gubitcima. Cilj ovog diplomskog rada je analizirati koliko je zapravo bilo zaštićeno, a koliko uništeno umjetničko – književne baštine. Dok je svijet izgubio neizreciv broj knjiga i rukopisa te umjetnina i skulptura tijekom Drugog svjetskog rata, značajan broj je sačuvan i vraćen u domovinu zajedničkim naporima knjižničara, znanstvenika i običnih građana.The possibility of destroying cultural heritage, which would be used as a means of political domination, requires librarians, museum curators, archaeologists and archivists to assume responsibilities that could expand the current definitions of their roles. The heritage is not only an object of aesthetic experience, but also an extension of a man’s memory, an instrument of the collective memory of the community. In addition to the tragic loss of human life that is a systematic part of the war, there has been looting or destruction of the cultural heritage of mankind in libraries, museums and other cultural places. Europe came out of World War II with huge losses. The aim of this thesis is to analyse how much was actually protected and how much was destroyed by the artistic-literary heritage. While the world lost an untold number of books, manuscripts, art – works and sculptures during the Second World War, a significant number were preserved and returned to their homeland by the joint efforts of librarians, scientists and regular citizens