THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON HISTORICAL MONUMENTS, 1933-1937 (original) (raw)
Heritage Conservation in the Interwar Period (1919-1939) - Special issue At the end of 1933, the International Commission on Historical Monuments (ICHM) was founded under the framework of the International Museums Office. The ICHM was a result of the discussions at the Athens Conference in 1931, at which the participants had explicitly expressed the wish to cooperate more closely internationally in the field of the conservation of cultural heritage. The ICHM considered itself a coordinating body for experience and documentation, a platform for exchange and a source of inspiration for the national administrations. They aimed to generate greater respect among the people for the testimonies of the past and to stimulate a spirit of international solidarity. Even before the ambitious goals of the Commission could bear fruit in practice, the disintegration of the international community put an abrupt end to the ideas of the Commission members around 1937. In this research note, a brief overview of the institutional and personnel anchoring of the ICHM is given, likely to be an impulse for further research questions.