Osmanlı'dan Cumhuriyet'e Kültür Varlıklarının Korunması Meselesinde Kurumlar Ara

This article touches on the concept of conservation the cultural assets in Turkey from 1920 to 1950 with regard to the inter-institutional relations. The relations among the institutions such as Ministry of Education, General Directorate of Foundations, municipality, special provincial administration, Prime Ministry, Ministry of National Defense, which were in charge of the cultural assets were evaluated. Inter-institutional relations, even though sometimes affected positively, generally had negative effects on the cultural assets. Lacking a central authority to be influential in conservation of the cultural assets and the condition of the foundation artifacts which were dispersed to different institutions were among the issues that this article deals with. Furthermore, the investigation of cultural assets which could not reach our time through their reflections in the institutions archives and the press is another topic to present the attitude of the era towards cultural assets. Although the prime ministry usually tried to assume the role as the central authority, the cultural assets could not be protected from the damages particularly in provinces. When counted the historical buildings that were allocated to the military during the World War II, many historical artifacts were damaged due to the misusage by the institutions, inaccurate restoration and the lacking of consciousness among administrators about the conservation of cultural assets.