Summary

When the Second World War broke out states, even neutral ones such as Sweden, sought to protect parts of their cultural property from destruction. This article deals with why and how some treasures belonging to the Church of Sweden were identified and selected for protection against air raids in the Second World War. On his own suggestion the art historian Johnny Roosval was given the task by the National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet) to coordinate protective measures on churches by giving advice to dioceses and parishes. Soon he also became attached to the military headquarters, which made it possible for him to provide the armed forces with information about cultural property to be protected, and to forward requests for assistance. Measures taken in Storkyrkan in Stockholm following Roosval’s initiative are studied. The evacuation of the fifteenth-century sculpture Saint George and the Dragon was unique in the sense that the resources allocated did not match the protection of any other cultural object in Sweden during the war years or later. The actions taken reflect an authoritative view on cultural heritage shaped by ideas of national identity and Swedish culture. The sculpture, then, signified the association between ecclesiastical heritage and Swedish national identity that the National Heritage Board was making. From having been largely forgotten, Saint George and the Dragon became – at least in the eyes of Roosval and the National Heritage Board – a symbol of national unity and sovereignty threatened by the war in Europe.

概括

当第二次世界大战爆发时，即使是瑞典这样的中立国家，也试图保护其部分文化财产免遭破坏。本文介绍了为什么以及如何识别和选择属于瑞典教会的一些宝藏，以在第二次世界大战中抵御空袭。根据他自己的建议，艺术史学家约翰尼·罗斯瓦尔 (Johnny Roosval) 被国家遗产委员会 ( Riksantikvarieämbetet) 通过向教区和堂区提供建议，协调对教堂的保护措施。不久，他也加入了军事总部，这使他能够向武装部队提供有关要保护的文化财产的信息，并转发援助请求。研究了在 Roosval 的倡议下在斯德哥尔摩的 Storkyrkan 采取的措施。15 世纪雕塑圣乔治与龙的撤离是独一无二的，因为分配的资源与战争年代或以后瑞典对任何其他文物的保护都不匹配。所采取的行动反映了对由民族认同和瑞典文化观念塑造的文化遗产的权威观点。那么雕塑，标志着国家遗产委员会正在建立的教会遗产与瑞典民族认同之间的联系。从很大程度上被遗忘，圣乔治和龙成为——至少在罗斯瓦尔和国家遗产委员会眼中——成为受到欧洲战争威胁的国家统一和主权的象征。