How was heritage understood and implemented in European socialist states after World War II? By exploring national and regional specificities within the broader context of internationalization, this volume enriches the conceptual, methodological and empirical scope of heritage studies through a series of fascinating case studies. Its transnational approach highlights the socialist world’s diverse interpretations of heritage and the ways in which they have shaped the trajectories of present-day preservation practices.

How was heritage understood and implemented in European socialist states after World War II? By exploring national and regional specificities within the broader context of internationalization, this volume enriches the conceptual, methodological and empirical scope of heritage studies through a series of fascinating case studies. Its transnational approach highlights the socialist world’s diverse interpretations of heritage and the ways in which they have shaped the trajectories of present-day preservation practices.

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements

Introduction: Heritage Under Socialism: Trajectories of Preserving the Tangible Past in Postwar Eastern and Central Europe
Corinne Geering and Paul Vickers

Part I: Transfers and Exchanges in Heritage Policies and Practices

Chapter 1. The Past Belongs to the Future: Heritage in Soviet Policymaking on Cultural Development
Corinne Geering

Chapter 2. International Experts – National Martyrdom – Socialist Heritage: The Contribution of the Polish People’s Republic to the Early UNESCO World Heritage Program
Julia Röttjer

Chapter 3. International Tourism and the Making of the National Heritage Canon in Late Soviet Ukraine, 1964–1991
Iryna Sklokina

Chapter 4. International Contacts and Cooperation in Heritage Preservation in Soviet Estonia, 1960–1990
Karin Hallas-Murula and Kaarel Truu

Part II: Canonizing and Contesting the Past: Heritage, Place and Belonging under Socialism

Chapter 5. Socialist Royalty? The Ambiguities of the Reconstruction of the Royal Residence in Budapest in the 1950s
Eszter Gantner

Chapter 6. Justifying Demolition, Questioning Value: Urban Typologies and the Concept of the “Historic Town” in 1960s Romania
Liliana Iuga

Chapter 7. Making Sense of Socialism through Heritage Preservation: Stories from Northwest Bohemia
Čeněk Pýcha

Chapter 8. Socialism and the Rise of Industrial Heritage: The Preservation of Industrial Monuments in the German Democratic Republic
Nele-Hendrikje Lehmann

Conclusion: Transnational Heritage Networks in Socialist Eastern and Central Europe
Corinne Geering