Cmentarze z I wojny światowej nie muszą ginąć

• Authors: Drogomir Jerzy J. P.

Title variants

EN

World War I Cemeteries Need Not Perish

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

The group of 400 wartime cemeteries in Western Galicia undoubtedly constitutes a unique example on a global scale, and remains not solely the resting place of thousands who, regardless of the side they fought on, were buried in a fulfillment of Christian and humanitarian duty, but also a valuable historical monument and a completed work of art of great originality. The merit of this monument is enhanced by the fact that it contains a message for the future generations, permeated with contents of universal worth. This message is enclosed not only in the tens of inscriptions but in the undertaking itself, realized on an extraordinary scale, in wartime conditions and in an unusual form, suffused with legible symbols and all-present humanitarianism, expressed primarily by an identical treatment of all the casualties. The establishment of the cemeteries involved wellknown architects, sculptors, painters and artists, often as renowned as Dusan Jurkovic or Jan Szczepkowski, representing various fields. The concurrence of conducive factors i.a. the carefully selected group of artistis, the variety of the terrain as well as unhampered conceptions and realization meant that the cemeteries contributed to considerable progress not only in the up to then weakly developed domain of wartime graves but in sepulchral art in general. Up to 1939 the cemeteries were well tended but after World War II the care bestowed upon them became merely formal and a growing lack of interest produced devastation; the cemeteries were frequently forgotten and some turned to ruin. For some time now, however, interest is on the rise. The fundamental work by Broch and Hauptmann — Westgalizische Heldengraber (1918) — is now accompanied by many new publications whose common feature is a presentation of the alarming state of the cemeteries, together with tenuous aftempts to seek ways for preventing the existing situation. At the same time, the number of renovation work, carried out as a rule due to local initiative, is steadily growing. Frequently, such work is conducted without previous professional consultation and without the supervision of conservators. Despite the fact that the legal status of the wartime cemeteries ensures them state protection and inviolability, one should assume that for quite some time the initiative will belong to local communities. This is the reason, therefore, why we should reflect on endowing these endeavours with such a direction, which would observe the law, not cause incorrect effects and enable the cemeteries to survive up to a time when they could enjoy the protection offered by state agenda. Such forms of protection should be supported by a constant interest in the fate of the cemeteries, revealed by the local clergy and administration. This state of things would also reinstate a status of sacred land and untouchability. The persons involved, additionally, should be aware of the fact that despite a great variety of indivdual solutions, narrowing the problem down to the scale to a single or several cemeteries, without proper attention to the others, lowers the value of the entire complex of wartime necropolises. The exploitation or source material will make it possible to recreate the outline of plots, the location and shape of the graves and to determine data about the people buried there and the original appearance of the given cemetery. A characteristic of ideological premises, shared by all the cemeteries, a review of recurrent elements of architectonic details, comments about the applied material and techniques as well as attention drawn to the problems which could appear in the course of conservation work will serve as a guideline for persons interested in caring for the cemeteries, and explain basic questions. The remarks contained in this article do not aspire to substitute for konwledge necessary in the renovation of cemeteries or for consultations with the conservators of historical monuments.

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 1993
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 162-170

Dates

published

1993

Contributors

author

Drogomir Jerzy J. P.

Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247