Artistic and cultural heritage is one of the great victims of wars. Its destruction, beyond the material aspect, represents a direct attack on the identity and history of peoples.
This conference will examine the measures taken to safeguard and protect cultural heritage during armed conflicts, spanning from the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to present-day conflicts. It aims to highlight how these efforts were managed during the Civil War, particularly in the Basque Country, Catalonia, and the rest of Spain. Additionally, it will address the ongoing restitution of seized artworks, with a special focus on specific cases such as the Sota family and their connection to the Law of Democratic Memory. The discussion will also explore the Nazi plundering during World War II and the measures implemented to protect cultural heritage in contemporary conflicts, including those in Syria, Ukraine, and Gaza.
88th anniversary of the bombing of Gernika.
Artistic and cultural heritage is one of the great victims of wars. Its destruction, beyond the material aspect, represents a direct attack on the identity and history of peoples.
Artistic and cultural heritage is one of the great victims of wars. Its destruction, beyond the material aspect, represents a direct attack on the identity and history of peoples.
“This conference will examine the measures taken to safeguard and protect cultural heritage during armed conflicts, spanning from the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to present-day conflicts. It aims to highlight how these efforts were managed during the Civil War, particularly in the Basque Country, Catalonia, and the rest of Spain. Additionally, it will address the ongoing restitution of seized artworks, with a special focus on specific cases such as the Sota family and their connection to the Law of Democratic Memory. The discussion will also explore the Nazi plundering during World War II and the measures implemented to protect cultural heritage in contemporary conflicts, including those in Syria, Ukraine, and Gaza.”
Programme
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
MORNING
12:00-13:30 Visit to the permanent exhibition of the Gernika Peace Museum (Prior registration required)
AFTERNOON
Place: Elai Alai Aretoa. Plaza de los Fueros, 2. Gernika-Lumo (Bizkaia).
15:30 – 16:30 Accreditations
16:00 – 16:15 Opening of the conference
– Iratxe Momoitio Astorkia (Director of the Gernika Peace Museum)
Presents: Iratxe Momoitio Astorkia
16:15-17:45 Actions for the safeguarding of the artistic and cultural heritage during the Civil War.
– Incautación, custodia, bombardeo, traslado y expolio del arte.
Arturo Colorado Castellary (Catedrático y Emérito de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
– Arte y libros: peligro, salvaguarda y exilio del patrimonio durante la guerra en el País Vasco.
Francisco Javier Muñoz (Profesor de Historia del Arte en la Universidad del País Vasco. UPV/EHU).
– La batalla por los bienes culturales en una Cataluña en tiempos de guerra y revolución. La política patrimonial de la Generalitat republicana.
Santos M. Mateos Rusillo (Historiador del Arte y profesor de la Universidad de Vic – Universitat Central de Catalunya)
17:45-18:10 Coffee break
18:10-18:40 El expolio nazi: una perspectiva global.
Miguel Martorell (Catedrático de Historia Política y Social. UNED)
18:40-19:10 El patrimonio cultural en conflictos actuales: testimonios, estrategias de protección y lecciones aprendidas.
Isber Sabrine (Arqueólogo e investigador del Instituto Milá y Fontanals. IMF-CSIC)
19:10-19:40 Bases legales de los procedimientos de restitución de bienes incautados en la Guerra Civil.
Patricia Fernández Lorenzo (Doctora en Historia por UCM. Socia of Counsel en Arte y Patrimonio Cultural en Ramón y Cajal Abogados)
Wednesday, 30 April 2025
MORNING
Place: Elai Alai Aretoa. Plaza de los Fueros. Gernika-Lumo (Bizkaia)
Presents: Ana Teresa Núñez Monasterio
10:30-11:00 Una advertencia al mundo. Zuloaga y el patrimonio artístico durante la Guerra Civil.
Javier Novo (Coordinador de Conservación e investigación del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao)
11:00-11:30 La incautación de la colección de arte de Ramón de la Sota y Llano: restituciones recientes.
Patricia Fernández Lorenzo (Doctora en Historia por UCM. Socia of Counsel en Arte y Patrimonio Cultural en Ramón y Cajal Abogados)
11:30-11:50 Coffee break
11:50-12:20 El expolio nazi y su legado: 20 años de batalla judicial entre los Cassirer y el Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.
Estibaliz Puente Velilla (Doble grado en Derecho y ADE. Máster en Acceso al Ejercicio de la Abogacía. Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía ISDE. Madrid)
12:20-12:50 El tráfico ilícito de bienes culturales en los conflictos armados
Francisco José Rufián Fernández (Doctor en Derecho y arqueólogo)
12:50 Closing of the conference
13:00-13:30 Visit to the Documentation Center of the Bombing of Gernika. Ana Teresa Nuñez Monasterio (Prior registration required)
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION
Ana Teresa Núñez Monasterio
Centro de Documentación del Bombardeo de Gernika / Gernikako Bonbardaketari buruzko Dokumentazio Zentroa
Tel +34 946270213
fechas
Date: 29 and 30 April 2025.
