International Congress

First circular of the International Congress: The Impact of the Spanish Civil War on the Configuration of Museums which will take place on February 26-27, 2026, in Barcelona.

This congress is part of the IGUEMUS project: The Impact of the Spanish Civil War on the Configuration of Museums in Catalonia. Traceability, Location, and Destination of Rescued Cultural Assets (PID 2021-124518NB-I00) and proposes a reflection on the impact of the Civil War on the current configuration of museums, addressing all its implications: destruction, protection, and safeguarding of heritage during wartime; Francoist policies regarding returns and deposits; subsequent claims and restitutions; key historical actors; and the social impact of research on this subject, especially through various forms of mass culture (film, comics, performing arts, etc.). 

Aiming to extend this reflection beyond the Catalan context, the congress invites an in-depth study of the protection, safeguarding, and restitution of heritage throughout Spain during the Civil War and, in a broader framework, an analysis of similar experiences in other European conflicts of the first half of the 20th century. The goal is to highlight both the connections and differences between various historical and geographical contexts, fostering a comparative and transnational perspective on the impact of war on museums. 

First circular