Contested Heritage

Jewish Cultural Property after 1945

Contributions by Elisabeth Gallas Contributions by Caroline Jessen Contributions by Yonatan Shiloh-Dayan Contributions by Yechiel Weizmann Contributions by Iris Lauterbach Contributions by Bilha Shilo Contributions by Anna Holzer-Kawalko Contributions by Enrico Lucca Contributions by Amit Levy Contributions by Adi Livny Contributions by Yfaat Weiss Contributions by Gil Rubin Contributions by Yehuda Dvorkin Contributions by Ada Wardi Contributions by Stefanie Mahrer Contributions by Joachim Schlör Contributions by Lina Barouch Edited by Elisabeth Gallas Edited by Anna Holzer-Kawalko Edited by Caroline Jessen Edited by Yfaat Weiss

Book cover: Contested Heritage

Extent: 221 pages

Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Subjects: Art & Art History, Cultural Studies, Jewish Studies

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(December 2019)

ISBN: 9783525310830

6.3 x 9.25 inches

Price: $63.00

Out of stock

The volume offers a fascinating insight into lesser-known dimensions of the aftermath of the Holocaust and the history of Jews in postwar Europe


In the wake of the Nazi regime’s policies, European Jewish cultural property was dispersed, dislocated, and destroyed. Books, manuscripts, and artworks were either taken by their fleeing owners and were transferred to different places worldwide, or they fell prey to systematic looting and destruction under German occupation. Until today, a significant amount of items can be found in private and public collections in Germany as well as abroad with an unclear or disputed provenance. Contested Heritage. Jewish Cultural Property after 1945 illuminates the political and cultural implications of Jewish cultural property looted and displaced during the Holocaust. The volume includes seventeen essays, accompanied by newly discovered archival material and illustrations, which address a wide range of topics: from the shifting meaning and character of the objects themselves, the so-called object biographies, their restitution processes after 1945, conflicting ideas about their appropriate location, political interests in their preservation, actors and networks involved in salvage operations, to questions of intellectual and cultural transfer processes revolving around the moving objects and their literary resonances. Thus, it offers a fascinating insight into lesser-known dimensions of the aftermath of the Holocaust and the history of Jews in postwar Europe.

  • Contributions by Elisabeth Gallas
  • Contributions by Caroline Jessen
  • Contributions by Yonatan Shiloh-Dayan
  • Contributions by Yechiel Weizmann
  • Contributions by Iris Lauterbach
  • Contributions by Bilha Shilo
  • Contributions by Anna Holzer-Kawalko
  • Contributions by Enrico Lucca
  • Contributions by Amit Levy
  • Contributions by Adi Livny
  • Contributions by Yfaat Weiss
  • Contributions by Gil Rubin
  • Contributions by Yehuda Dvorkin
  • Contributions by Ada Wardi
  • Contributions by Stefanie Mahrer
  • Contributions by Joachim Schlör
  • Contributions by Lina Barouch
  • Edited by Elisabeth Gallas
  • Edited by Anna Holzer-Kawalko
  • Edited by Caroline Jessen
  • Edited by Yfaat Weiss