From Unclaimed Heritage to a European Opportunity: The 1915 War Cemeteries of Galicia

There have been many cases of multiply claimed contested heritage but this article deals with discarded and unclaimed, potential heritage It also treats the most sensitive of heritage resources namely, dead human bodies A consequence of the Austro-Hungarian / German offensive at Gorlice-Tarnow in May-September 1915 was 2 million dead combatants These, friend and foe alike, were buried by the KuK Department of war graves for the three military districts of Galicia in over 50 especially commissioned and designed war cemeteries with standard marking and inscription, in the then Austrian province of Galicia The empires and dynasties for which they died ceased to exist in a few years Neither the nation-state in which they are now located (Poland) nor the new successor states that came into existence had any interest in a legacy which was irrelevant or contradictory to their nationalist narratives After 90 years of unclaimed neglect there are two options First, do nothing and let the already advanced decay of the physical structures and the encroachment of nature remove the last traces of a forgotten heritage Secondly, take the unique chance to construct a new distinctively European heritage from the over 30 different nationalities represented and present the strongest component of European history, its internecine warfare The centenary on 1st May 2015 would offer an unrepeatable opportunity to interpret our common European heritag