Konserwacja w cieniu wojny. Okoliczności, konteksty oraz przebieg prac konserwatorskich i restauratorskich nad poliptykiem z Góry w latach 1938–1943
Conservation in the Shadow of War. The Circumstances, Contexts and Course of Conservation and Restoration Work on the Polyptych from Góra between 1938 and 1943

Summary/Abstract: The conservation work on the retable from Góra, now the main altarpiece of the cathedral in Poznań, carried out between 1938 and 1943 in Wrocław under the supervision of Günter Grundmann reveals a complex process of very solid and professional conservation which concurrently was a process of creating a medieval work in the spirit of the doctrine of ‘creative conservation of monuments’ (Schöpferische Denkmalpflege). It is not often that ideological motivations do not leave much impact on the integrity of the actions taken. The reconstruction of the events preceding the commencement of conservation works, as well as the analysis of their documentation, related press reports and the course of other ventures of this type undertaken in Silesia, make it possible to outline the history of the polyptych and the circumstances conducive to the growing scholarly interest in it. Locating this phenomenon in the Silesian context and highlighting the processes taking place in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich makes it possible to address the issue of how a monument of decent quality was forced into the cogs of a museum-conservationist machine working to protect the region’s monuments while supporting the cultural policy of the Third Reich.

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