The special issue “Precarious Past? Research on Baroque Art and Architecture in East Central Europe under Socialism”, edited by Michaela Marek (†) and Eva Pluhařová-Grigienė, originates from a conference held at Humboldt University of Berlin in 2014. In order to enhance a comparative approach to the still understudied field of art historiography under Socialism in Central and Eastern Europe, the six contributions focus on art historical writing on the Baroque era. This topic, due to its connection with the Church and aristocracy, had an ideologically precarious position within the confines of Marxism-Leninism. The papers highlight the complex relationship between the need to fulfill the new ideological requirements and persisting intellectual, personal, and institutional structures that preceded the communist takeovers.