A Critique on Authenticity and Integrity in Reconstruction: Perception of Architectural Heritage and Cities of Postwar Era from Europe

Summary Interaction with heritage objects, which represent the transition between the past and present, is part of people’s daily lives in historical cities. However, even though heritage is a cultural asset, it is also the outcome of the social and political conditions regarding the selection, protection, and management of heritage objects. After the Second World War, different European countries developed diverse approaches regarding the rebuilding process of their cities, which were heavily destroyed due to air raids. While some followed the strategy of constructing a modern city from scratch, some decided to reconstruct the prior structures before the cities were demolished. Furthermore, there are examples where the authorities have selectively chosen what they wanted to remember and build. When these strategies are analysed in today’s conditions, they raise the question of how these different approaches affected the appreciation of these cities in the contemporary world, concerning their perceived authenticity and integrity, since perception can vary regarding the issues related to heritage objects. In most cases, while experts emphasise the protection of the environment and safeguard the authenticity of the historical objects, for the general public, the visual integrity and the impact of the changes to their daily lives might be more critical, which establishes a difference towards the social value of the authenticity. Therefore, this paper aims to demonstrate the possible diversity of ethical and aesthetic approaches to restoration and reconstruction, from the perspective of authenticity and integrity, by comparing three cities from different parts of Europe with similar demographics. The selected cities in this research are Coventry (United Kingdom), Dresden (Germany), and Gdańsk (Poland), which were all damaged by air raids during the Second World War and implemented different reconstruction approaches to their cities after the war.