2016/06/08 by Gilly Carr, Caroline Sturdy Colls · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Psychology · #Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation #Archaeological Research and Protection #Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration
paper · doi:10.1080/13527258.2016.1191524
openalex publication_date 2016/06/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In this article we propose the concept of taboo heritage as a way to describe a legacy of war so sensitive that it never undergoes heritage creation. Attempts at creation, such as heritage listing, renovation or excavation, are blocked by local authorities. We also examine the transition from taboo heritage to sensitive heritage, the next step along the ‘heritage continuum’, which we propose can only occur through the combined efforts of the passage of time, the role of activists and official authorisation. We take as our case study two of the British Channel Islands of Jersey and Alderney, occupied by German forces from 1940 to 1945. Labour camps were built in both islands, where the dead were also buried locally. We explore how the existing legacy of these events is still taboo heritage in Alderney, but has achieved partial progress in the transition to sensitive heritage in Jersey.