War and Cultural Heritage : Biographies of Place

This book explores the relationship between cultural heritage and conflict through the use of new empirical evidence and critical theory and by focusing on post-conflict scenarios. It includes in-depth case studies and analytic reflections on the common threads and wider implications of the agency of cultural heritage in post-conflict scenarios.

The reconstruction of society after conflict is complex and multifaceted. This book investigates this theme as it relates to cultural heritage through a number of case studies relating to European wars since 1864. The case studies show in detail how buildings, landscapes, and monuments become important agents in post-conflict reconstruction, as well as how their meanings change and how they become sites of competition over historical narratives and claims. Looking at iconic and lesser-known sites, this book connects broad theoretical discussions of reconstruction and memorialisation to specific physical places, and in the process it traces shifts in their meanings over time. This book identifies common threads and investigates their wider implications. It explores the relationship between cultural heritage and international conflict, paying close attention to the long aftermaths of acts of destruction and reconstruction and making important contributions through the use of new empirical evidence and critical theory.