REBUILDING THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE: REFLECTIONS ON THE CASE OF POST-WAR WARSAW

Abstract

Introduction. It is a well-known fact that in the aftermath of the Second World War, there was need for much rebuilding, when also dozens of important historic towns had been destroyed, including London, Dresden, and Warsaw, as well as even Florence.  In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, heritage values were mainly referred to monuments and archaeological sites, as well as important collections of historic and artistic objects. Reconstruction of the architecture heritage that has been destroyed or lost in an armed conflict not necessarily meant recreating something exactly as it was before. Often, it would result in a new building in the style relevant to the period even though adjusting to the inherited context. In the case of London, the new constructions were designed in modernist style, while leaving the surviving old churches standing in this newly built context. In the case of Florence, the destroyed river sides were rebuilt in modern forms but respecting the rhythm and volume of the lost urban fabric. The cases of Warsaw and Dresden are symptomatic of the period. In the case of Dresden, the severely damaged major monuments were rebuilt and restored as memorials for the past. In the case of Warsaw, the entire area of the medieval city was deliberately annihilated by the enemy, who wanted to cancel the identity of the Polish people. Nevertheless, after the war, Poland decided to rebuild it on the basis of available documentation. Warsaw was one of the early World Heritage inscriptions in 1980 [5]. In its evaluation, ICOMOS noted that the reconstruction of the historic center so that it is identical with the original, symbolizes the will to ensure the survival of one of the prime settings of Polish culture and illustrates, in an exemplary fashion, the efficiency of the restoration techniques of the second half of the 20th century. The post-war reconstruction of Warsaw was recognized as a world heritage site according to the following criteria: as unique and influential European experience, and criterion, as an exceptional example of the comprehensive reconstruction. And although in later debates, it was decided that Warsaw would be taken as an exception and it should not be taken as a precedent for reconstruction of other properties, reconstruction practices in the current situation with destroyed Ukrainian cities (Mariupol now lies in ruins, with 90% of buildings damaged there, and thousands of buildings were destroyed in Kharkiv and Chernihiv).

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