Art Out of the Rubble
Swiss Cultural Donations after the Bombing of Schaffhausen in 1944
The accidental bombing of Schaffhausen by American aircraft on 1 April 1944 wreaked death and destruction on the city. The Museum zu Allerheiligen and the former natural history museum were also hit. Valuable artworks and cultural artifacts went up in flames.
The tragic event, whose 75th anniversary will be in 2019, was followed by an unprecedented wave of solidarity throughout Switzerland. Municipalities, cantons, museums, and private individuals donated not only funds but also artworks. For the first time, an exhibition will present the full range of approximately 80 artworks from this cultural donation. The recovery and restoration of damaged works and the acquisitions made possible by donated funds will also be presented.
The loss of the museum of natural history and the founding of the Peyersche Tobias Stimmer Foundation out of restitution payments from the United States are further important topics. Moving film clips, eyewitness accounts, historical photos, and newspaper articles complement the art exhibits and allow us to understand how the face of the museum was permanently changed due to this stroke of fate.
All main exhibition texts are available in English.
A second exhibition in Schaffhausen at the Museum im Zeughaus under the title focuses on the bombing as a historical event. Museum im Zeughaus