[Commlist] CFP: International Congress: The impact of the Spanish Civl War on the configuration of museums

International Congress:

The impact of the Spanish Civil War on the configuration of museums
Barcelona

Date: February 26-27, 2026

Proposal submission deadline: April 30, 2025
Proposal acceptance notification: May 15, 2025
Second Circular release: September 30, 2025
Submission of texts for publication: January 15, 2026

This is an interdisciplinary congress. Proposals from MCS scholars are 
specially welcome to the fourth axis.


Presentation

Armed conflicts and social revolutions are probably the most significant 
causes of heritage losses, and the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was no 
exception. The social revolution that erupted in Spain as a response to 
the military coup of July 18, 1936, and the nearly three-year-long war 
that followed had a significant impact on cultural heritage. Alongside 
the destruction, a massive protection effort was undertaken. In 
Catalonia, the indiscriminate attacks on religious heritage starting 
from July 19, 1936, were met with a swift response from the authorities. 
The Catalan government, which had full powers in matters of cultural 
heritage, implemented its own program to safeguard archives, libraries, 
works of art, and scientific collections. This plan included the 
confiscation of ecclesiastical and private buildings and collections, 
the mobilization of technicians and volunteers organized into heritage 
protection committees, the creation of depots in the main cities of the 
region, and the transfer of artworks toward the French border as the 
front advanced. In the final days of the war, in February 1939, the 
Spanish Republican government transported part of the Catalan 
collections to Geneva, along with the holdings of the Prado Museum.

With the military victory of General Francisco Franco, the Republican 
depots and evacuated collections came under the control of the National 
Artistic Heritage Defense Service (SDPAN), the body responsible for 
heritage management. After concentrating the collections in Barcelona, 
SDPAN proceeded to return the assets protected by the Republican 
government to their so-called "legitimate owners." However, recent 
research reveals that not all pieces were returned; some remained in 
public and private museums and institutions, which contributed to 
forming the foundation of today's Catalan Museum collections.
This congress is part of the IGUEMUS project: The Impact of the Civil 
War on the Configuration of Museums in Catalonia. Traceability, 
Location, and Destination of Rescued Cultural Assets (PID 
2021-124518NB-I00) and proposes a reflection on the impact of the Civil 
War on the current configuration of museums, addressing all its 
implications: destruction, protection, and safeguarding of heritage 
during wartime; Francoist policies regarding returns and deposits; 
subsequent claims and restitutions; key historical actors; and the 
social impact of research on this subject, especially through various 
forms of mass culture (film, comics, performing arts, etc.).

Aiming to extend this reflection beyond the Catalan context, the 
congress invites an in-depth study of the protection, safeguarding, and 
restitution of heritage throughout Spain during the Civil War and, in a 
broader framework, an analysis of similar experiences in other European 
conflicts of the first half of the 20th century. The goal is to 
highlight both the connections and differences between various 
historical and geographical contexts, fostering a comparative and 
transnational perspective on the impact of war on museums.

The congress is structured around four main thematic axes:

1) Heritage in wartime: destruction, looting, and protection strategies.
2) Heritage in post-war periods: returns, deposits, and diversions.
3) Restitutions and memory: claims, returns, disputes, and contemporary 
reinterpretations of heritage.
4) From Hollywood to comics: multiple narratives in contemporary popular 
culture on past art protection and restitution.


Call for papers:

Proposals related to the four thematic axes of the congress may be 
submitted until April 30, 2025. The Scientific Committee will evaluate 
them and communicate its decision before May 15, 2025.

Proposals must include: title, a 300-word abstract, thematic axis, full 
name, and a short biography of the author(s).

Proposals will be accepted in the following languages: Catalan, Spanish, 
English, French, and Italian.

No payment from the authors will be required.

Proposals should be sent to the following email address:
Iguemus[at]irpc[dot]cat

Publication:

A digital book compiling the communications and presentations from the 
congress is planned. The book will be open access, have a DOI and ISBN, 
and be published by a prestigious publisher.


The guidelines for text submissions will be announced in the Second 
Circular.


Organized by:

Institut Català de Recerca en Patrimoni Cultural (ICRPC-CERCA)
www[dot]irpc[dot]cat
www[dot]iguemus[dot]


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