Post-war confiscation in the context of monument preservation

This thesis deals with the fate of the confiscated monuments nationalized by presidential decrees (no. 12/1945 and No. 108/1945) in 1945 within the Liberec region. The first part analyzes the wider cultural and historical milieu of the region, especially phenomena related to the expulsion of Germans and the issue of postwar confiscation generally. It focuses on the actual effect of the decrees issued by President Benes and also on the process of the establishment of state institutions for administration of confiscated property. The following part of the work is dedicated to the system of national administration of confiscated property of high artistic value (especially objects which belonged to displaced families). This part of the thesis is based primarily on preserved documents of the state organizations operating with the confiscated property after World War II, such as the National Cultural Commission (stemming from the so called Reinsurance Commission), or the State Heritage Institute. These sources include various directives, transfer protocols, correspondence, etc. Overall, the aim of the thesis is to provide a detailed analysis of the process of systematical gathering and administration of a property seized from displaced persons in a particular region in Bohemia. Keywords Liberec Region,...