Groundless accusations
The visit of Hans-Christof von Imhoff, an expert from the
International Museum Committee, to Belgrade, Novi Sad and
Vukovar - for the purpose of establishing the lists of the
works of art the Serbian government was rescuing in an
organized manner in the war-affected regions and matching
them with the Croatian lists and claims - was followed up by
the now usual accusations from Zagreb about a "big robbery"
of Croatia. Such accusations are "substantiated" by claims
that as much as ten thousand to forty thousand works of art
are missing (in some cases it is claimed that these figures
relate to the territory of Vukovar alone).
On his visit to Novi Sad, Mr.Imhoff saw things for himself
and said to an AFP correspondent that "that everything that
was possible to be rescued in Vukovar, was rescued largely"
and that "it seems that the Serbian authorities which were
seeing to the safety of the paintings, did a good job of it".
This is what Dejan Radovanovic, an art historian from the
Institute for the Protection of Historical Monuments of
Vojvodina, had to say about this.
The rescuing of cultural goods from the Vukovar and other
war-afflicted districts began towards the end of December
1991, at the request of the Orthodox Bishop Lukijan of Osijek
and Baranja. This very delicate and highly responsible task
was assigned to the Crisis Committee of the Ministry of
Culture. Thus, a number of specialist teams from the Museum
and the mentioned Institute came to the localities concerned
while bullets still whistled about to the accompaniment of
detonations. A honourable role was played in this mission by
the self-sacrificing and courageous specialists from Novi
Sad.
One of the permanent participants in this mission lasting
several years is Dejan Radovanovic from the Institute for the
Protection of Cultural Monuments of Vojvodina. He said that
only materials from Orthodox churches were being evacuated
initially, as requested by Bishop Lukijan.
NOVI SAD SPECIALISTS TREATING WOUNDS
- The first material was evacuated to Novi Sad on 5 December
1991 - said Mr.Radovanovic. - It was the heavily damaged
iconostasis from the St.Nicholas Church in Vukovar, which was
extracted from the rubble and brought to Negoslavci. It was
packed up, a receipt was signed for it and it was then taken
with the permission of military authorities to the Matica
srpska (MS) Art Gallery in Novi Sad, where it was subjected
to a complete conservation treatment.
QUESTION: While trying to put out a fire in a Franciscan
monastery early in December of 1991, members of a Yugoslav
People's Army unit found in the cellar of that building some
metal cases containing paintings, cardboard boxes containing
applied arts items, and some other unpacked paintings and
items. How much of that material was there and what was done
with it?
- The teams of specialists from Belgrade and Novi Sad
inspected the material, made a list of all items and since
there was no suitable place for storing it in or around
Vukovar, they decided to have it transported to Novi Sad and
stored in the museum depots there. This shipment consisted of
about 450 items from the Town Museum, the Franciscan
monastery, the Bauer Collection and the Art Gallery.
QUESTION: This was followed by the clearing up of the heavily
damaged Vukovar Museum building?
- Yes. That was done by a team of archaeologists from Novi
Sad and Belgrade. The state of the material and of the
museum, collection and art gallery buildings was such, that
the staff of the re-established Vukovar Museum decided to
have the material transferred to Novi Sad.
The materials from Orthodox churches were evacuated
concurrently. The museum materials from the cultural history
collection and items from the Bauer Collection and the Art
Gallery were stored together, and detailed museological
processing (involving the preparation of new museum cards,
photographing and preventive conservation) are under way. The
mentioned material, consisting of more than 2,000 items,
called for the involvement of a specialist for the purpose of
looking after it. This was arranged for in 1992, in agreement
with the Crisis Committee of the Ministry of Culture.
VUKOVAR TREASURES SEEN ALSO BY PARIS
QUESTION: Did the team of archaeologists from Novi Sad and
Belgrade, and their colleagues from the Vukovar Museum,
manage to evacuate the archaeological material which was
buried partly in September 1991, and if so, to where?
- They certainly did. Unfortunately, most of the material was
not buried, so that most of it was smashed and burned in
fires. The material was stored properly and processed, i.e.,
it was identified, listed, cleaned and packed in more than
700 boxes. This material also included a part of a numismatic
collection, which was sealed in a metal container and sent to
Novi Sad.
- The material from Orthodox churches, consisting of
iconostases and icons from Vukovar, Dalj, Opatovac, Bobota,
Marinci and Koprivna, was transferred to the institutions
which can take care of them professionally. The iconostases
from the churches in Vukovar, Vodice and Dalj have been
conserved so far, while the conservation of the iconostasis
from the chapel of the Bishop's Palace in Dalj is under way.
QUESTION: So, you are sure that you know that there exist
full and accurate records concerning the present whereabouts
of the evacuated exhibits?
- In all receipts relating to the materials taken over, it is
stated that the iconostases and icons are being transferred
on a temporary basis to Novi Sad, i.e., to the Matica srpska
(MS) Art Gallery and the Institute for the Protection of
Cultural Monuments there, for the purpose of being conserved
and restored, after which it will be returned. The Institute
for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Vojvodina has
staged with the cooperation of the Ministry of Culture, two
exhibitions depicting the calamity of Vukovar: in the Sava
Centre of Belgrade in April 1992 and in the Yugoslav Cultural
and Information Centre in Paris, towards the end of May of
the same year. The exhibits are still in Paris because of the
sanctions.
QUESTION: Is the truth about the fate ("devastation") of the
Vukovar and other cultural treasures known, for instance,
to the UNESCO departments concerned?
- The international public has been informed on more than one
occasion - through publications, exhibitions and letters and
other communications addressed to UNESCO and ICOM - that a
part of the exhibits from the Vukovar Town Museum, the Bauer
Collection and the Art Gallery, has been evacuated to Novi
Sad. The general public in Croatia has also been informed
accordingly through the interviews given by Marko Omcikus and
myself, which were published in Vecernji list (Zagreb) on 23
December 1991. During their visits to Vukovar, UNESCO
representatives were told that a large portion of the
material is kept in Novi Sad. Although they were invited to
visit the institutions in which it is kept, they showed no
interest in doing so. Neither did Mr.Keiser, a representative
of the Council of Europe, while visiting Novi Sad. It was
only Mr.Hans-Christian von Imhoff that visited Belgrade and
Novi Sad concerning this matter, from 6 to 13 February 1995.
The interest shown by the Council of Europe in the cultural
goods from Vukovar results from the long ago addressed and
continuously renewed Croatia's protests about the
"humiliation and theft" of cultural treasure from Vukovar. It
is an established fact that such treasure was not put in a
safe place even by the liberation of Vukovar, that many items
have disappeared before 19 November 1991, that much of the
material has been damaged beyond repair, and that as of
December 1991, everything possible was being done towards
rescuing the remainder.
Vlado Micunovic