F. Mentényi Klára szerk.: Műemlékvédelmi Szemle 1998/1. szám Az Országos Műemléki Felügyelőség tájékoztatója (Budapest, 1998)

FORRÁS - Bognár Gábor: Voit Pál 1945. augusztusi jelentése a nyugat dunántúli műgyűjteményének állapotáról

Gábor BOGNÁR REPORT OF PÁL VOIT ON THE STATE OF THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF WEST-HUNGARY IN AUGUST 1945 The standard work on the history of the Hungarian interior art, the book with the title "Old Hungarian Homes" was issued in 1943. After one and a half years its author, Pál Voit as a ministerial commissioner, reported nearly entire devastation of the material subjected of his study. It is recoverable loss that great part of the contemporary Hungarian interiors and private art collections was scattered or annihilated during and mainly after the Second World War. Nowadays publicity can be given to the fact that a major part of the material was not destroyed directly owing to the military activities but fell victim to organized or spontaneous pillages and barbarous destruction. In more occasions the owners succeeded to flee to safeguard their valuable pieces to the West, many of these works of arts can be found in West European or overseas private collections and museums, sometimes they come in sight in auctions. The remaining part was rarefied many times, first the German troops and the Hungarian arrow-cross commandos took away valuable collections. Later the plundering taskforce of the Red Army, coming together with the front line, selected "expertly" the pieces considered valuable and took them along to the secret warehouses of the Russian Empire where many of them are still stored. The other (furniture, book collections, records) were broken to pieces, thrown out from the buildings and burnt. After the Soviet troops' moving onwards, the rest was carried away by the local inhabitants who set about demolishing the building materials of the manor houses as well. In July of 1945, the Provisory National Government commenced measuring up the damages and organizing the rescue. A three-member committee was sent to West Hungary to search for the art treasures taken away and to provide security for the local art collections. Members of the committee were Pál Voit art historian and museum worker (Museum of Applied Arts), János Kapossy main archivist and Sándor Kozocsa librarian (National Széchenyi Library). They submitted a report on their mission to the Minister of Religion and Education, according to their own field of profession. From reasons of topic and extent, now the report of Pál Voigt only can be published. However, it can be found out what is really covered by the expressions "dilapidated during war events", "lost" or "lie hidden" of the later publications and museum catalogues. At the same time, this publication is dedicated to the memory of Pál Voit at the tenth anniversary of his death. Pál Voit arrived in Vas county first, where there was no major damage in the material of the local museum. The furniture of the Archbishop's Palace were also in good condition, the bomb hitting the back wing did not cause serious harm. The cathedral was in ruins, but ecclesiastical objects were preserved in the sacristy. In other villages of Vas county the situation was dissimilar, the greater part of the churches was looted, and in Kőszeg, in the Chernél palace, it was Voit himself - find-